PARKS SCRAPBOOK VOL.1 NO.2

Vol. 1 No. 2

The Sphere of the Air College

Parks Air Lines, Inc. and Affiliations

This segment of Parks scrapbook items includes more than 45 pages of photos and news articles detailing the earliest beginnings of Mr. Oliver L. Parks’ aviation endeavors. The plot unfolds as Oliver Parks began his career as airplane pilot and car salesman for Gravois Motor Company. You’ll be amazed to discover how quickly he established Parks Air Lines, Inc., which grew to include Parks Airfield, Parks Aircraft Company, Inc. and Parks Air College. Mr. Parks article, titled “The Sphere of the Air College”, published in March 1929 in Aero Digest magazine provides a fitting closure to this segment.

© 2011 by Terry L. Bowden

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BARNSTMR'S SCRAPBOOK ARCHIVES

In the pages that follow, you will find a hodge-podge collection of photos and information that I collected over the years, with the greatest of intentions, to someday publish some articles, books, or perhaps a few short stories about aviation history. Though a few of these records have not been published before, a majority of them have. Still, I collected this stuff anyway because it was fascinating to me. Perhaps there’s not much here of interest to others, but I have enjoyed finding and assembling these items into a semi-organized mess. I don't see a book happening any time soon. So, I hope you'll enjoy these scrapbooks in the mean time....Terry

Vol. 1 No. 1

The Complete Story of

Parks Aircraft, Inc.

This document contains more than 40 pages of Scrapbook material and the original 13-page manuscript called, “The Complete Story of Parks Aircraft, Inc.”, written by Terry Bowden. A polished 7-page version of this work became published in “Vintage Airplane Magazine”, December 1991.

© 2011 by Terry L. Bowden

Dad's Toys from the Attic

Recently, my wife and I pulled Dad's old toys out of storage. Saved first in the attic of our Grandparent's homestead, and later moved to the attic of Dad's hangar at Deer Pasture Airfield, these items date back to the mid and late 1930's. These toys, along with a few family photos are all we have left to remind my siblings and me of our Father's youth. My siblings and I are now deciding what to do with these interesting relics. They're possibly worth some monetary value to some folks. But this is nothing compared to the sentimental value for us. Some probably will end up on the knick-knack shelves of our homes for us to admire occasionally in memory of Dad. The Texas heat has gotten the best of some of them, broken down and so badly deteriorated that they are literally turning to dust. And so, it seemed to me that the best way to save and hold on to these simple items was to capture them in pictures.

Click on images to enlarge.

They give us just a glimpse into a time in our Dad's life, long before we knew him... when he was just a boy. There is no doubt that Dad's love for airplanes had started at a very young age. And one other thing is clear... Dad and his sister (our beloved Aunt Janice) were hard on their toys. Each one is broken in some way, showing they were well used. There's not much else to say about them. It's fun just to look at them and try to imagine our Dad playing and enjoying them as a little boy.