DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker in Hansford County has to say — and friend, this one's worth pulling over for. Now picture a Monday morning, September 24, 1934. A small monocoupe airplane drops out of the Texas sky and settles into a pasture about a quarter mile west of where you're standing right now.
The pilot taxis his craft to a stop near a windmill, steps out, and — cool as you please — turns to the curious resident watching all this unfold and says, "Lady, can I park my plane in your back yard?" That's the kind of question that'll stop a person cold. Because the pilot asking it was Charles Augustus Lindbergh. Born 1902, died 1974.
The Charles Lindbergh. And riding along with him was his wife, Anne — Anne Morrow Lindbergh — and the two of them were making their way from California to New York. Now here's where it gets interesting.
Lindbergh had about one hundred miles worth of fuel left in the tank. He could've pushed on to a bigger town, sure. But bigger towns meant bigger crowds, and Charles Lindbergh knew exactly what kind of scene that arrival would cause.
So he chose Spearman. Quiet, small, out-of-the-way Spearman, Texas. A passing motorist got dispatched into town to fetch fuel for the airplane.
While that errand was being run, the Lindberghs rested, enjoyed some refreshments, and — generous souls that they were — gave their hostess a proper tour of the plane. The very plane they'd just landed in her back yard. But word travels fast even in a small town.
Maybe especially in a small town. As news of the Lindberghs' landing spread across Spearman, schoolchildren were excused from their classes — excused from their classes — to come out and see the famous aviator with their own eyes, and to watch the plane depart two hours after it landed. Two hours.
That's all it was. Brief in duration, as the marker puts it. But for the people of Spearman, on that Monday morning in September 1934, it was about as significant a local event as any of them were ever going to see.
A world-famous man who could've landed anywhere, chose a windmill and a pasture and a gracious lady's back yard. Some mornings just turn out that way.
What the marker says
At ten minutes before 11:00 a.m. on Monday, September 24, 1934, a small monocoupe airplane landed in a pasture about 1/4 mile west of this site. The pilot taxied his craft to a stop near a windmill, deplaned, and asked the curious resident, "Lady, can I park my plane in your back yard?" The day proved a momentous one for Spearman residents. The pilot was Charles Augustus Lindbergh (1902-1974), traveling from California to New York with his wife, Anne. With about one hundred miles worth of fuel left in his plane, Lindbergh chose to stop in this small community to refuel in oder to avoid the inevitable crowds his arrival would cause in a larger town. A passing motorist was sent into town to purchase fuel for the airplane while the Lindberghs rested, enjoyed refreshments, and gave their hostess a tour of the airplane. As news of the Lindberghs' landing spread, school children were excused from classes to see the famous aviator and watch the plane depart two hours later. Although brief in duration, the visit by Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh to this small rural community was a significant local event. (1989)