Page 4 - Volume 15 Number 1

editor’sbriefing
In mid-December, I received an early Christmas present in the form of a new book about Walter
and Olive Ann Beech, the legendary founders of Beechcraft. For two days, in spite of a sizable “to-do” list, I couldn’t put it down. Entitled “The Barnstormer and the Lady,” the 230-page book is filled with photos and never-before-published letters, private diary entries and personal recollections from family, friends and former employees.
Written by Dennis Farney, an award-winning writer for the Wall Street Journal, the book is not intended to be an exhaustive encyclopedia on Beech airplanes and all their variations. Plenty of those exist already. Instead, this is a smartly told tale of one of aviation’s power couples and their extraordinary rise to become one of the best known aircraft companies in the world. It is part love story and part biography of Olive Ann’s reign as the queen of aviation.
This book would not have happened without the determination of their daughter Mary Lynn Oliver. I had the opportunity to interview Mary Lynn in her Wichita home a few years ago, when the seed of this book was first forming in her mind. After she welcomed me in, the first order of business was to show me to her office, where she keeps many of the Beech family’s artifacts and treasures. Standing in the middle of the room, I was almost dizzy surveying the dozens of framed photos from the Beech early days, shelves holding Walter’s racing trophies, and even his leather flying helmet and goggles. I could have stayed for days.
At the time, Mary Lynn was painstakingly going through boxes of personal items, papers and records that belonged to her mother. Much of Beech’s photographic history and documents were already archived at Wichita State University for safekeeping. She shared that her parents, being determinedly private people, certainly would not have approved of the story of their personal lives being made pubic. But, she said, it is a story that needs to be told.
Walter and Olive Ann’s partnership is proof that opposites do indeed attract. Walter was a celebrated daredevil and charming mischief-maker. Olive Ann was stylish, refined, yet tough as nails. He was the kind of guy who, to break up the monotony, pulled the elegantly dressed Olive Ann into a swimming pool at their engagement party. Mary Lynn told me the story (which is also recounted in the book) of a time when Walter and Olive Ann were visiting New York. Walter did something that made Olive Ann so furious that she packed up her things and took the next train back to Wichita. Somewhere in the Midwest, the train suddenly stopped. An airplane was blocking the tracks. A few minutes later, Walter stormed into Olive Ann’s car, knelt down and apologized. He then swept her up and away they flew.
At the time I interviewed Mary Lynn, Hawker Beechcraft had just been formed, after being owned by Raytheon for two tumultuous decades. After being shunned for so long, Beechcraft was back, including the iconic bright red Beechcraft sign that had hung from one of the plants. No one was more thrilled than Mary Lynn, and she knew her parents would have been, too.
Now, as I read this book, there’s news that Hawker Beechcraft announced it will remain in Wichita after being courted by another state. However, in its effort to remain profitable, the company plans to close some of its operations on the historic “square mile,” including Plant One, where the Olive Ann’s legendary Mahogany Row once resided.
Although change is inevitable, I was struck by how some things remain the same. I found the following excerpts particularly timeless.
“We sell TRANSPORTATION,” wrote Walter to his customers (with the emphasis his.) “TIME to the modern business executive is money, and it is our desire to save the active executive’s TIME.”
A sign in Walter’s office underscored his labor-management philosophy: “The greatest sin against the working man is the company that fails to make a profit.”
A customer called to say he was having trouble with his engines on his new Beechcraft. Called on the carpet, the director of customer support assured Olive Ann that he had people working with the engine manufacturer to rectify the problem. “Mr. Cary,” she replied, “this customer did not buy Teledyne Continental engines, he bought a Beechcraft, and I expect us to assist him quickly to resolve the problem.” The customer received new engines.
Olive Ann wasn’t surprised when she, along with Frank Hedrick and Edward Burns, were ousted by Raytheon in 1982. “Mr. Hedrick, we sold the farm,” she told him. “If they don’t like us living on it, that is their prerogative.”
When visiting the Beech executive offices after she retired, Olive Ann noticed the numerous framed photographs of Beech airplanes had been replaced with other artwork. She remarked to then-president Linden Blue,
“It looks to me as if you people have forgotten what business you’re in.”
Stories about great airplanes are often stories about amazing people as well. The company and the people who built those classic airplanes with a “built-in tailwind” continues to fascinate, even as the memories
of its past begins to fade.
(You can purchase “The Barnstormer and the Lady: Aviation Legends Walter and Olive Ann Beech” at amazon.com and other major bookstores.)
Dianne White Editor
A Story Worth Telling
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