Town celebrates 90th anniversary of Lindbergh landing

Town and community officials celebrated the 90th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s visit to Springfield on Wednesday at the Hartness State Airport with a glider flight and participation from Lindbergh’s daughter, Reeve Lindbergh, who resides in St. Johnsbury.


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Posted by Jorge A Trivino on Wednesday, July 26, 2017

2017-07-27 / Front Page 'He was a visionary' Town celebrates 90th anniversary of Lindbergh landing By KELSEY CHRISTENSEN kchristensen@eagletimes.com Reeve Lindbergh (left) signs 2nd Lieutenant for the Civil Air Patrol, Jorge Trovino’s (right) copy of Charles Lindbergh's landing at the Hartness State Airport in 1927. Charles Lindbergh was an American aviator who was catapulted to fame by winning the Orteig award for making the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris, inspiring confidence in the emerging aviation industry. At the time, the Hartness State Airport was the only one in Vermont, and Lindbergh stayed with Gov. James Hartness at his residence. — KELSEY CHRISTENSEN Reeve Lindbergh (left) signs 2nd Lieutenant for the Civil Air Patrol, Jorge Trovino’s (right) copy of Charles Lindbergh's landing at the Hartness State Airport in 1927. Charles Lindbergh was an American aviator who was catapulted to fame by winning the Orteig award for making the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris, inspiring confidence in the emerging aviation industry. At the time, the Hartness State Airport was the only one in Vermont, and Lindbergh stayed with Gov. James Hartness at his residence. — KELSEY CHRISTENSEN SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Town and community officials celebrated the 90th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s visit to Springfield on Wednesday at the Hartness State Airport with a glider flight and participation from Lindbergh’s daughter, Reeve Lindbergh, who resides in St. Johnsbury. “I feel as if this place, and flying in the glider, brings my parents back to me,” Reeve Lindbergh said. On July 26,1927, Charles Lindbergh visited the Hartness State Airport in Springfield in the Spirit of St. Louis, a single-seat, single-engine custom built monoplane during a world-tour following his history-making transatlantic flight from New York to Paris, the first solo transatlantic flight and the first non-stop flight between America and mainland Europe. At Wednesday’s celebration, Reeve Lindbergh explained that her mother Anne Morrow Lindbergh was the first American to earn a pilot’s license, though she never flew in the famous Spirit of St. Louis glider before going up herself in the Spirit of Anne Morrow at the Hartness State Airport. “I love seeing the tape of my father landing here in Springfield, and all the people just dressed to the nines,” Reeve Lindbergh said. Around 20,000 people arrived to the Hartness Airport to see Charles Lindbergh land in 1927. Reeve Lindbergh says it’s a joy to return to Springfield, which she does year after year. “I love the people,” she said. In 1927, the Hartness State Airport was the only airport in the state of Vermont, and to this day it has the longest runways in the state aside from the Burlington International Airport. “James Hartness had the foresight to see that aviation was a forthcoming endeavor. He was a visionary,” selectboard member Peter MacGillivray said. “There’s a lot of firsts: first airport in Vermont, first Civil Air Patrol, and Lindbergh.” MacGillivray has been flying himself since 1970, and recalled flying from the Hartness runway to Ludlow on the 50th anniversary of the landing. “I just had this strange feeling I was flying in the same airspace as Lindbergh,” he said. Following his landing in Springfield, Charles Lindbergh stayed at Hartness’ private residence, now the Hartness House, making it the only stop on his tour in which he stayed at a private residence. “I’m fascinated that I keep on finding these bits about Springfield. Springfield is downright famous,” selectboard member Walter Martone said. “Our airport is a hidden gem and it shouldn’t be hidden anymore.” Charles Lindbergh was trained in flight with the U.S. Army Air Service and later became 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in 1925. Following his transatlantic flight in the Spirit of St. Louis, Lindbergh was awarded the Orteig Prize, a $25,000 reward put up by hotelier Raymond Orteig to the first person to fly non-stop from New York to Paris. Several attempted the feat, but Charles Lindbergh won the award, catapulting him out of relative obscurity. The Lindberghs’ connection to Vermont isn’t limited to the 1927 visit to Hartness Airport: Lindbergh’s wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh resided in Passumpsic, Vermont in her later life to be closer to daughter, Reeve. Additionally, Middlebury College awarded Anne Morrow Lindbergh an honorary degree for her achievements in aviation and writing. Daughter Reeve Lindbergh has lived on a farm in Vermont since the 1980s and authored a number of books that span various genres, from her memoir about being the daughter of famed aviators, (Under a Wing), a diary-esque look at her mother’s last years, (No More Words) and two children’s books (The Day the Goose Got Loose, My Hippie Grandmother).