Phoenix to rise at air show

Legend has it that the magnificent phoenix arose from ashes to shine again.Over at Lancaster County Airport on the “Rock Hill Road,” plans are in place for a special air show Saturday and Sunday. If we don’t have our usual weekend rainstorm, the Palmetto Thunder Airshow will offer young folks an opportunity to view some of our military planes of yesteryear and today. Yes sir, that phoenix is about to arise. Now, I’m not trying to hawk tickets or convince you to spend an enjoyable day around airplanes and such, but these vintage aircraft strike a chord with me. And it’s not because I served in the U.S. Air Force, either.   There will be many booths of interest at the airport this weekend. I understand Lancaster County will provide some interesting facts regarding its recycling efforts.Trust me, recycling is not a new concept and it truly has a rightful place among these airplanes.They are perfect examples of how something good came from discarded rusting metals that were leaning against “plunder building” walls during World War II.I know; I helped collect them for the war effort. As a youngster during World War II, I was always fascinated by the hundreds and thousands of military craft designed and produced in towns and cities across the continental United States.We schoolchildren emptied old garages, sheds and scoured overgrown lots and fields for any kind of scrap material that could be reused.To be honest, a little piece of something that came out a Chesterfield Avenue shed could’ve easily wound up in some of the old aircraft to be displayed at McWhirter Field this weekend.This air show comes at an appropriate time in our history, too. Germany surrendered to Allied Troops on May 8, 1945, and Armed Forces Day is Saturday. Many of those who will attend this air show never experienced life during the period of World War II. Boy, it was really exciting that afternoon when a P-38 dual-tailed fighter plane made an emergency landing at our first airport, Colbourne Field. For you younger folks, that’s how the intersection of Great Falls Highway and Airport Road got the name, “Airport Crossroads.” The airport has long since moved to the bypass, but that crossroad still exists. When the Lockheed Lightning pilot landed at Colbourne, the short grass field was lined with washboard ruts, but the pilot had no other choice.You know, it didn’t take very much to excite us boys. We were happy just to go by there to see the ruts he navigated over to land. The only honest-to-goodness World War II aircraft we got to see up close (and play on) were the ones that Col. Elliott White Springs set up at Springs Park. That park no longer exists; it’s being recycled into a housing development.You know, so much of life now relies on recycling the memories of older folks.I urge everyone to join in the county’s efforts to recycle. I’m glad I did as a boy and still do. Bless Pete, you never know. The aluminum cans you collect may just be another phoenix in the making.