The Cumberland Sunday Times reported the following in August 1987:
A piece of history flew into Cumberland last Friday when a Virginia man landed his 1918 OX-5 powered Curtiss Jenny airplane at Mexico Farms. Ken Hyde, an American Airlines pilot from Warrenton, VA., stopped at the Mexico Farms Airport on his way home from the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, said Bob Armstrong, a McCoole resident who along with his father, escorted Hyde from Wisconsin. Mexico Farms, which is privately owned by the Johnson family, is the second oldest airport in the state of Maryland, dating back to the early 1920’s when it was used as a military auxiliary landing strip. The Jenny was used by the US government as a trainer for air combat during World War I, but was not used in actual fighting. After the war, surplus Jennys found their way into civilian usage, where they were highly regarded for their durability. Jennys were a frequent sight at Mexico Farms in the 1920’s. “It was like seeing the past relived when Hyde landed,” Armstrong stated and added, “We had old-timers out there who remembered the Jennys at Mexico Farms. I think it brought a tear to a couple of eyes to see a Jenny again.”
Gene Moore, a local pilot basing his Champion Citabria at Mexico Farms, had to convince his house guest, Bill Kramer from Kansas, to visit his hangar. Kramer, the pilot and owner of a modern Beechcraft Bonanza, inferred that Mexico Farms was just another lazy grass airfield with nothing of particular interest to him. The reluctant Kramer, along with Moore, arrived at Mexico Farms and was surprised to observe Ken Hyde’s Curitss Jenny glide in for a landing. Gene, who had difficulty containing his enthusiasm, simply stated in a matter of fact tone, “You just never know what you might see at this lazy grass landing field at Mexico Farms!” When driving back to Cumberland after intently watching the Jenny being refueled and departing from the airfield, Gene Moore discretely mentioned to his Kansas friend that one does not see many Curtiss JN-4 Jennys flying these days.
Ken Hyde’s Jenny on his Mexico Farms stop in 1987.
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Wings Over Cumberland 