SPRINGFIELD, Vt. -
It was July 26, 1927, at exactly 2 p.m. that Charles Lindbergh landed at Hartness State Airport in Springfield, Vt., as part of his cross-country good will tour to help commemorate his historic trans-Atlantic flight. He crisscrossed the country landing in 48 states. Hartness was Vermont's only airport at the time.
"We are going to attempt to and at least show the landing here at the airport, rain notwithstanding," said Walter Striedieck, a Lindbergh re-enactor.
In 1927, close to 30,000 people turned out to see the aviation pioneer land in Springfield.
"We are not going to have that kind of a crowd today due to the weather, but we will look forward to re-enacting this particular event when it was a gigantic historical event for this part of southern Vermont," Striedieck said.
A picture of the landing hangs in the airport, and several people who where there in 1927 returned Thursday. Don Whitney was 4 at the time.
"I remember seeing the plane and he getting out. We couldn't stay for the speeches because being a dairy farmer we had to go home and take care of the cows, do the milking," Whitney said.
Marjorie Spaulding found herself in the picture. She was 6.
"I was small. There was such a crowd my father put me on his shoulders and held me until after the speeches," she said.
Helen Childs was a bit older. She was 14 when Lindbergh landed.
"Oh, he reminded me of my brother, he did. He was tall, he had tousley hair and all I could think of was he's just like my brother. I didn't think of him as Lindbergh, I thought of him as my brother," Childs said.
Bob Beardsley actually got the chance to sit in the pilot's seat of the Spirit of St Louis. He was 6 1/2.
"What I remember is they put me in the plane and it had a wicker seat. I always remember that wicker seat. And they pushed it into the hangar and I left. It was a good memory," Beardsley said.
Also on hand for the celebration, a special guest-- Lindbergh's daughter Reeve, who had not been born when her father visited Springfield. Ironically enough, Reeve has lived in Vermont her whole adult life.
"I found it touching and kind of wonderful to know that the place I have lived for years and years was also a place my father had come to as a young man in the heyday of his aviation career. So I guess if I am able to come back to this part of the state I am happy to do it," Reeve Lindbergh said.
All on hand Thursday enjoyed the chance to relive part of Vermont's and this country's history.
The festivities were sponsored by the Springfield Garden Club, the Springfield Airport Commission and the Vermont Agency of Aviation.
