Bill Text: TX SR820 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Recognizing the 100th anniversary of the first landing at Mineola-Wisener Field Airport.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-05-19 - Reported enrolled [SR820 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-SR820-Enrolled.html
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WHEREAS, July 4, 2017, represents the centennial of the | ||
first landing by an aircraft at Mineola-Wisener Field Airport in | ||
Wood County; and | ||
WHEREAS, On the Fourth of July, 1917, Lieutenant Ralph W. | ||
Stone of the United States Army Signal Corps landed his Curtiss | ||
JN-4 "Jenny" biplane at what was then known as Massingale Meadow, | ||
proving the field's suitability as an emergency landing site | ||
between Love Field in Dallas and a military base in Shreveport, | ||
Louisiana; witnessing this first landing was a 12-year-old local | ||
farm boy named Robert Henry Wisener Jr.; and | ||
WHEREAS, Over the next few years, the field was used by | ||
such pioneer aviators as Wiley Post, who was the first man to fly | ||
solo around the world, and Hollywood stunt pilot Roy Wilson, who | ||
in the summer of 1923 taught Henry Wisener how to fly; in 1926, | ||
Mr. Wisener leased the site, renamed it Royal Field, and began | ||
providing flight lessons, aircraft repairs, and aircraft fuel; | ||
together with his brother, Bryce, he also established the Royal | ||
Flying Circus, which offered airplane rides and performed | ||
aerobatics; and | ||
WHEREAS, In 1941, Henry Wisener bought the site and 50 | ||
adjacent acres and lengthened the runway to accommodate newer | ||
aircraft, and after World War II, the brothers added an aircraft | ||
repair shop, a classroom, a flight office, and a beacon tower; | ||
from 1963 to 1983, the airport was leased to the City of Mineola | ||
and called Mineola Municipal Airport, and since 1983, it has been | ||
known as Mineola-Wisener Field Airport; and | ||
WHEREAS, Over the years, this historic airfield and the | ||
family behind it have been honored on a number of occasions; | ||
Charles Lindbergh presented the airport in 1928 with a | ||
certificate from the Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of | ||
Aeronautics, and the Texas Historical Commission has conferred | ||
on the airport both an Official Texas Historical Marker and a | ||
Texas Treasure Business Award; on May 2, 1980, the city of | ||
Mineola celebrated Henry and Bryce Wisener Day, in recognition of | ||
their contributions to American and Wood County aviation; today, | ||
the site of the airport is also home to the Royal Flying Circus | ||
Aviation Museum and to a chapter of the Experimental Aircraft | ||
Association; and | ||
WHEREAS, Still owned by the Wisener family, the | ||
Mineola-Wisener Field Airport is the oldest privately held | ||
public-use airport in Texas and the home base of more than 70 | ||
aircraft, and it continues to support the local economy and to | ||
contribute to the rich history of aviation in the Lone Star | ||
State; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 85th | ||
Legislature, hereby commemorate the 100th anniversary of the | ||
first landing at Mineola-Wisener Field Airport and extend to the | ||
Wisener family and to everyone associated with the airport | ||
sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for | ||
Mineola-Wisener Field Airport as an expression of high regard | ||
from the Texas Senate. | ||
Hughes | ||
________________________________ | ||
President of the Senate | ||
I hereby certify that the | ||
above Resolution was adopted by | ||
the Senate on May 19, 2017. | ||
________________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
________________________________ | ||
Member, Texas Senate |