July 2, 2019 Toddie's Rocket

The Liberty Gazette

July 2, 2019

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Clint and Toddie were buds. Both hailed from the Big D, both invested in real estate development, oil, and restaurants. When Clint founded the Dallas Cowboys, Toddie bought a piece of that, too.

Clint was a hands-off owner, trusting the experts he hired to do their jobs. He also loved practical jokes. Before the Cowboys’ first Superbowl, he wrote to Coach Tom Landry: “Dear Tom: I have taught you all I can. From now on, you're on your own.”*

While Clint Murchison lived large, he didn’t live all that long. The last few years of his life, he was bankrupt and battling a rare nerve disease, wheelchair-bound until his death at age 63.

Toddie Lee Wynne’s life went a little differently. He and his brother built Six Flags in Arlington in 1961, the name honoring the six countries that have held power in Texas: Spain, France, The Confederacy, Texas, United States, and Mexico.

Many years before, not far away, the Cuellar family had worked as cotton pickers and cow hands on a ranch in Kaufman. The matriarch was a mother of 12, and accustomed to cooking big meals. One weekend, to help make ends meet, she made extra food and sold it at the county fair. Her dishes were such a hit, she made more money that weekend than the whole family had the entire year. From that success came the El Chico chain of restaurants.

The Wynne family loved Mama Cuellar’s cooking so much, that when they opened Six Flags, one of the first restaurants in the theme park was El Chico. This, friends, is how we got introduced to Tex-Mex. Tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, guacamole, thanks to the Cuellars, and Toddie Wynne.

And here comes the aviation part. It is bitter-sweet.

Toddie partnered with the U.S. government and the state of Texas to purchase Matagorda Island. His one-third of the enclave was the southwestern end, with plenty of room for an airport. Toddie kept his DC-3, and later his Convair there. Oh, the luxury! Astronaut Deke Slayton would fly in and give impromptu airshows. Imagine the parties!

In 1981, his real estate business partner David Hannah II convinced him it was also a great place to relocate their Space Services, Inc. Unfortunately, their Percheron rocket exploded on the launch pad during an engine test. That’s okay, these things happen. Just ask Elon Musk. You regroup, try again.

In 1982, they launched the Conestoga I rocket. It shot 30 miles straight up, as planned. But Toddie would never see the success of his most interesting investment, the first privately-owned rocket to go into space. While waiting for the launch, he had a heart attack and died on the way to the hospital.

Both launch pads are still visible. On the website Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields, you can see aerial photos and old aviation charts that keep the history of Wynne Airport alive.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

---
 * Dick Hitt (1992). Classic Clint; the laughs and times of Clint Murchison, Jr. Plano, TX