[Clipping: "Talk to TH"] Part: 1 of 4
This clipping is part of the collection entitled: National WASP WWII Museum and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the National WASP WWII Museum.
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Talk to TH
PADRE DREAMERS
I have been meaning to write to you for some
time to say how much my son Martin and I
enjoy Texas Highways, which is a gift from Mr.
H.W. Elliott. We have had some wonderful holi-
days in Texas and look forward to returning for
another one in 2003.
The October issue has just arrived on a very
wet and cold day here on the East Coast of
England. On opening the magazine and seeing
the pictures of South Padre Island and the
memories it brought back, we soon forgot the
weather outside, and we were back in Texas.
ANNE SHAW
Suffolk. England
A SWARM OF LETTERS
T hank you for Melinda Rice's excellent article
on the WASP (November issue), in which I
see reflected many experiences of my own. I was
assigned to the Eastern Flying Training Command,
Napier Field, Dothan, Alabama, which was an
advanced flying school for male cadets. While
there, I tested repaired aircraft, flew mail to cadets
at the gunnery school at Eglin Field, Florida.
and made operational flights to other bases in
the Command area. Other WASP based there
were flight instructors or had duties similar to
mine. To my great regret, my service in the WASP
was short. It remains a high point in my life.
ELEANOR "MICKEY" McLERNON BROWN
WASP CLASS 44-9
Victoria
T he WASP trained in Sweetwater, only 28
miles from my home, but I didn't run into
one until 1944, at Charlotte, North Carolina.
She was ferrying a P-51 Mustang, and we light-
bomber pilots were making snioe remarks about
all women fliers-definitely within her hearing.
No comments from her. But she warmed up
thatpngine, taxied to the end of the runway, hit
the brakes, powered up to the limit, and then
let it go. She elevated off the deck just enough
to raise her wheels, stayed low until the end of
the runway, then pulled straight up and did a
beautiful slow roll. There was utter silence and
an extreme abundance of egg-on-face in our
area. They did a tremendous job.
CHARLES E. PORTER
Ocala, Florida
I n the summer of 1943, my dreams got a
real boost when Avenger field was made a
training base for military pilots. Heck, I didn'tSouth Padre Island provides a great break from
the winter blahs. See Marty Lange's beachy feature
in the October issue.November's story on the Women Airforce Service
Pilots of World War II sparked wonderful memories
for many readers.
care that they were girl pilots. They were real
pilots 'that were flying for th U.S.A. in a war
against its foes. I spent hot, dry days hitchhiking
the 28 miles from my hometown of Colorado
City to the airfield, then hunkered down for hours
at the edge of the field just to sense the ex-
citement of those pilots, and hitchhiked home.
In January 1951,1I joined the U.S. Air Force
and became a fighter pilot, flying the F-84F,
F-101B, F-102, and the F-4C on armed sorties
during the so-called "Cold War"including Vietnam.
It was the fulfillment of the dreams of a young
boy while watching those women fly at Avenger
Field. Their abilities, courage, and devotion were
a significant part of the incentive for me to be-
come a pilot-but they were never aware of it.
C.A. WILKINS
WacoFOR THE BIRDERS
I enjoyed Lori Moffatt's article "Seven Days in
the Valley" in the November issue and was
pleased to see mention of the outstanding Rio
Grande Valley Birding Festival, soon to be a
decade old.
Your birding readers might be interested in
a brand-new event, the Balmorhea Birdfest,
which was held for the first time in October
2002. Some 32 members of our local birding
club attended the inaugural festival and spot-
ted 106 species, including Lewis's woodpecker
and Hutton's vireo. We had a grand time.
The second annual Birdfest is set for October
30 through November 2, 2003. (A good place
to stay is San Solomon Courts in Balmorhea
State Park.)
JERRY HALL
Wimberley
Ed. Note: For more on the Balmorhea Birdfest,
call Ellen Weinacht at 915/375-2325; email:
birdingbalmorhea@tek-niques.com. You can
reach Balmorhea State Park (and San Solomon
Courts) at 915/375-2370.
LOVE THAT FUDGE
T hank you, thank you, for the Tunnel of
Fudge recipe and article! [See Ann Galla-
way's November Speaking of Texas item.] I
have fond memories of the Tunnel of Fudge
cake my mom would surprise us with when
we were kids living in Houston. I recently made
the cake for our annual Onion Creek Ranch -+-January 2003 TEXAS HIGHWAYS 3
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[Clipping: "Talk to TH"], clipping, January 2003; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth894201/m1/1/?q=%22Military+and+War+-+Transportation+-+Aviation%22: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting National WASP WWII Museum.