The First Time I Flew in a Plane...

I jumped out of it! Yes, this was the first time that I flew in a plane.

For me, when I think of camp it is friends that jump to mind first. In this instance it is friends that literally jump to mind. It was August 10, 1979. The second girls' camp session of the summer just finished. On our "day" off a group of us from Phantom Lake Y Camp went skydiving. The event was spearheaded by Jill "Madam" Scheer. Jill had gone skydiving at this jump school, Para-naut, before. Para-naut was located in Omro, Wisconsin which is near Oshkosh where the annual world famous EAA AirVenture Show is held. The building on site did not help to instill any confidence to those of us who were a bit apprehensive about the day's activity. Reflecting on the day Barb thought the place did not look like it had passed any safety inspections. Ever. A memory "Joe Ma-Ma" had of our arrival was of Riley pulling into the gravel lot next to the bar and grass airstrip, taking a look around, shaking his head, and peeling off (Riley did come back).

We started the morning "in school" and spent time practicing our landing. There was a wooden deck that was about 4 - 5 feet off the ground that used for part of our training. Jumping and landing on the ground from the deck platform we were told had about the same amount of force as a landing from a jump with the parachute deployed. I believe three of us went up in the plane at a time and we jumped from an altitude of about a half mile. We jumped out one at a time with a parachute tether (a static line) attached to the plane. We were to count to ten and if the chute did not open by then we were to pull our emergency chute's cord. I believe my chute opened by the time I counted to three. At which I shouted "Geronimo!" The weather was fantastic with hardly a cloud in the sky. There was just a bit of a breeze and only one of us (Barb) landed in a nearby corn field. I remember the quiet and being able to see the curvature of the earth. It was amazing and awesome. The time in the air seemed to take a splendidly long time until you were right on top of the ground. A quick peek down and I readied myself for the touchdown. My landing was not a "textbook stander," but it was a fine "sideways roller" if I do say so myself. Joe enjoyed his jump so much he went up again. The group photo includes (standing L-R): Jill, Dirty Harry, Jane Ralph, (kneeling L-R) Barby S., Karen "KJ" Johnson and Jeff Harrits. Missing from the photo are Riley Cooper, Joe "Mama" Murphy, myself, maybe Charlie Russell and a few others that I don't recall. I am the one hanging from the parachute in the next photo. All and all, it was one of the most memorable days off experiences I ever had at camp!

Helping us to commemorate the day we came up with a short song using the music from a popular camp song at the time, The Little Bird Song.

The Little Skydivers Song (To the tune of the Little Bird Song)

Way up in the sky

The skydivers fly

While down on the ground

The little wimps frown

With a toggle on the left

And a toggle on the right

The skydivers jump

Into terror and fright

Ssssh, they’re panicking!

The shoot opens up