An air show, sponsored by the Cumberland Pilots Club, was held on September 7, 1941 and featured acts by club members. Parachute jumps were accomplished by George De Grange, a professional parachutist, and local pilot Sanford Jenkins. Aerobatic displays were by Ronald ‘Torque’ Landis, Capt. Danny O’Riley of the Irish Navy (this was actually Bernie Miltenberger), and Piper Cub aerobatics by Wade Berg. There were also air races and a flour bombing contest with local pilots participating. At the conclusion of the air show passenger rides continued until dark. Roland ‘Grandma’ Walker was persuaded to drive the airport’s Model A Ford coupe slowly up and down the north and south runway to serve as a moving target for the flour bombing airplanes. Participants flew at a conservative altitude and no one was able to hit the moving Ford. Sanford Jenkins, a dare devil pilot, dive bombed the Model A and at the last moment released his last bomb directly through an open window, spraying Grandma with white flour as Sanford zoomed the Cub in a vertical climb. The crowd could hear Sanford laughing uproariously. As Grandma got out of the stopped Ford he was covered from head to foot with flour and looked like a ghost. Grandma Walker was a good sport, however, even if his childhood friend Sanford did score a direct hit. Later in life Roland (an older brother of Wallace and Raymond Walker) became a Methodist minister, attaining a Doctor of Divinity degree.
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Wings Over Cumberland 