Airplane Landing

From "Lexington" by Mary Wilson and Sharon Y. Asher, published sometime after 1975.

FIRST AIRPLANE LANDING IN LEXINGTON

There were few flying facilities in Southern Indiana during the formative years of aviation. When a plane flew over the community, everyone would rush out and watch it until it was out of sight. No one ever dreamed that a plane might land in the small town itself.

One day, however, in the spring of 1922 a plane having engine trouble was forced to land in a field owned by Charles Shields, approximately one mile from Lexington.

Every child in the school at the noon hour walked out to see this phenomenon! The excitement was so great that no one thought to ask permission of the teachers to do so. In fact, the teachers themselves followed the pupils out to see the plane.

As this was the first plane that any of the children had ever been close to, the excitement and talk lasted for many days.

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