The Cumberland Times-News published the following reports during the 1920’s and 1930’s:
January 2, 1926 – FLYERS BATTLE STORM – Battling for several hours an 80-mile gale high in the air over Cumberland yesterday, four Army aviators in an L.W.F. transport plane were finally forced down and landed their plane intact on the Mexico Farms flying field below this city.
March 8, 1926 – Instruments and equipment for the installation of a meteorological airways station at Mexico Farms have arrived here. Five Army Aviation Section enlisted men will man the station.
September 16, 1926 – A new meteorological station of the United States Army Aviation Corps at Mexico Farms made successful opening ‘aeronautical tests’.
September 24, 1926 – The Cumberland Airport, located at Mexico Farms, was officially opened yesterday with radio contact with the government station at Bolling field, Washington.
September 6, 1927 – BARNSTORMER ACTIVITY – A.M. Noll of Bellfonte, Pa., is piloting a Waco Nine, one of the latest planes, and is making a considerable amount of money taking people for airplane rides, taking off from the government airfield at Mexico Farms. (Interestingly, A.M. Noll’s name and signature appears in the log book of the 1927 Waco 10 aircraft, restored and owned by Harold Armstrong, based at High Rock Airfield and which is still flown frequently).
A.M. Noll’s Waco 9 at the Government Field during his barnstorming flights.
January 9, 1928 – Trans-Atlantic flier Clarence D. Chamberlin will not visit Cumberland on his nationwide tour later this month. The Chamber of Commerce and other groups declined to pay him $1,000 plus an additional $500 for entertainment that had been a condition of his visit.
June 30, 1928 – CRASH – Two US Army fliers, Major R. A. Hale and Capt. J. R. Nugent, escaped injury yesterday when their Liberty-motored Douglas plane in which they were en route from Bolling Field crashed. According to attaches at Mexico Farms, the plane was side-slipping into the field when it lost landing speed and fell, alighting on and damaging the running gear and wing, the plane pitching over on its nose.
A photo of the Douglas crash site at the Government Field at Mexico Farms.
September 21, 1928 – The Mexico Farms airport, used by the US Army as an emergency landing field, proved its worth yesterday when an eight passenger Fokker Tri-motored plane en route to Los Angeles landed and took off again. It was considerably larger than most of the ships using the local field.
April 10, 1929 – Two weather beaten pilots made emergency landings during a storm here at the Mexico Farms airport, which is used as an emergency landing field by US government fliers.
August 3, 1929 – An Army observation plane circled over the city and was thought to be taking pictures. The Elks’ lodge recently marked its roof in the manner approved by the Army and was notified that pictures were made.
October 4, 1929 – For the second time in two weeks, the government landing field at Mexico Farms served as a stopping point for a giant Curtiss Condor 21-passenger plane, one of the largest planes manufactured.
November 7, 1929 – PASSING DIRIGIBLE – The Navy dirigible Los Angeles passed over the city this morning en route from its hangar at Lakehurst, N.J. to Akron for elaborate ceremonies to dedicate the master ring of the world’s greatest fighting and largest dirigible, the Navy dirigible ZR S-4 named the Akron, now under construction. The dirigible was flying at an elevation that afforded a wonderful view of the huge machine and its gleaming aluminum casing. The roaring of its powerful motors brought many out to view it as it passed over Cumberland headed west towards Frostburg. During this time of limited service funds and intense inter-service rivalry it was not uncommon for the Navy to detour from their proposed route of travel to fly over cities along the way and thereby advertise and show the citizens how their tax money was being spent for aviation projects. (As a first grade student at Pennsylvania Avenue Elementary School, the author witnessed this over flight. The dirigible was massive in size and flying very low with crewman in the control car readily visible along with the helmsman who operated a large control wheel such as one might see on an ocean vessel.).
AIR MAIL 1925-27 – The Times-News said that Vince Barnett, later known as Hollywood comic actor Smiley Burnett, flew air mail flights between Cumberland and Pittsburgh, PA. According to H. Kenneth Poling, Smiley Burnette, cowboy screen and recording star, appeared at Sam Ternet’s New Theater on Virginia Avenue in Cumberland in 1947. Burnette’s then current movie was ‘Bordertown Trails’. Charles Lattimer said he took care of and fed Burnette’s horse in the alley behind the Virginia Avenue New Theatre.
1929 – PITTSBURGH FINANCIER – Andrew Mellon, the Pittsburgh millionaire, visited the Government Field at Mexico Farms as passenger aboard a Ford Tri-Motor Airplane.
January 26, 1928 – RECOMMISSIONED – Captain A. Hammond Amick received notice of his recommissioning as a captain in the Air Service Reserve with the rating of Junior Airplane Pilot.
November 2, 1929 – Five Army bomber planes, three Curtis Condors and two Keystones, stopped at the Mexico Farms airfield en route from Langley field, VA. to Dayton, Ohio. They will eventually fly to Havana, Cuba.
1931 – LARGE AIRPLANES USE THE LOCAL PORT – A giant Curtiss Condor 21-passenger plane and an eight passenger Fokker Tri-Motored plane enroute to Los Angeles, CA used the Government Field.
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Wings Over Cumberland 