In 1922, Parker D. Cramer airfield was established which today is a private runway located just behind the Clarion
BILO. Parker D. Cramer airfield was the first municipally owned airfield in the
United States, and it served as a local strip and as a USPO Airmail emergency field.
A man named Bill Cramer (Parkers brother) invented a three light system, which told flying pilots how the weather was
on the route to Cleveland. When Airmail pilots flew over and saw a red light
they knew to land, because the weather was bad. If the pilot saw a yellow light
it was in their best judgment to go on to Cleveland, because the weather was questionable.
When the pilots flew over and saw a green light, they knew to continue on to Cleveland, for the weather was clear.
Another aviation innovation that was pioneered in Clarion County was a system invented by a man named Sparky
Kratzer. The pilot would fly his plane low over the hangar and the runway lights
would kick on. A disadvantage to this was the lights would kick on every time
a loud diesel truck came rumbling by! Primitive (to today’s
standards) air shows were held at Parker Cramer, where pilots such as Parker Dresser Cramer and Red Bartow would fly stunts
to give spectators a thrill.
Parker D. Cramer was the
fourth licensed pilot in the entire United States. In 1928, Parker Cramer attempted
to fly trans-Atlantic, through the Arctic. Unfortunately, he ran out of gas,
and landed his airplane in Greenland. Cramer was welcomed back to Clarion County a hero for surviving.
On August 9, 1931, after
being selected for another try at the trans-Atlantic run, Parker D. Cramer disappeared somewhere off the coast of Norway. His last known words were “I can
see the coast of Norway!”.
Things of importance to
Clarion County would be that in 1936, Red Bartow invented, tested, and perfected modern runway lighting and the rotating beacons,
that are found at all public airports. In addition, Bartow was also a local stunt
man. Pictured is Bartow in a bi-plane, flying underneath the old 322 bridge that
connects Marianne to Clarion in the year of 1924.
In the year 1924, a world
famous explorer named Captain Raold Amundsen crash landed his plane into the Cosgrove farm in Miola. Executing a forced landing
and hitting a stump, spinning around and flipping over. Captain Amundsen and
four of his companions escaped without harm, and the plane they were in had minimal damage and would later go on to fly over
the North Pole.
Throughout airmail history,
there has been a route that runs directly through Clarion County . The check
point for these early air mail pilots was simply the steeple of the Clarion County Courthouse.
I was able to obtain a copy of the actual pilots directions to and from a variety of locale’s. For example, from
Bellefonte to Cleveland, the pilot will pass thorough Clearfield, B & M Junction, Brookville, Clarion, which its instructions
read “one mile north of course, emergency field (Parker Cramer Airfield) marked by white cross and red brick hangar
is here. The Clarion River passes north edge of city, railroad from the east
ends here.” Thereby giving proof that Clarion’s own Parker Cramer
was used for air mail purposes. After Clarion, the pilot will pass through Franklin, Sandy Lake, Shenango, cross over the
New York Central, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore & Ohio Railroads, until reaching Lake Erie, and flying down the lake shore.
When World War II came along
in 1942, aviation history in Clarion County essentially died off, because all the accomplished pilots were over in Europe
fighting. The University, although, did its part to help by establishing a ROTC
of sorts. It offered ground school courses at the college, and did the actual flight training over at Parker Cramer.
In 1951, Rhea Airfield was
established which ran from Country Fare to where Pizza Hut now stands in Marianne. A lot of flying shifted to here because
Rhea was a longer strip, and was a nicer facility. Shown is John Vowinkel’s
AT-6 Texan at the end of Rhea Airfield, facing toward where Pizza Hut stands.
During the 1960’s,
aviation in Clarion County declined because of a lack of interest, and there was no real good airport. Those who did fly,
didn’t stop in here, when they could fly a bit farther and go to DuBois or Frankin.
Finally, in 1975, the Clarion
County Airport as we know it was completed, and opened on August 24, 1975. That
about concludes the history of aviation in Clarion County. In todays aviation world all of the historic events, happen out
of large airports.
Clarion County has had a
very diverse, and colorful aviation history, from the days of Parker Dresser Cramer to the present, Clarion was then, and
still is today, a great place to fly out of, and a great place to fly to.
Researched by Brian Cumpston.
