The Liberty Gazette
December 24, 2019
Ely Air LinesBy Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely
In this very galaxy, relatively speaking, not that long ago (although writing a two-volume book set feels like it), we sought to bring the lines we draw in the air down here to paper. It was always a community thing, and always will be. We feel like we have an advantage because we live in both this community in Liberty, Texas, and in the aviation community. Sharing stories here each week allows us to bring our dual citizenship in these communities together.
Community is a place where a guy who picks up garbage twice a week has so much heart and soul that for our neighbor who is mobility-challenged, he never leaves the trash can on the street, but hustles it up near the house where she keeps it. He makes it easier on her not to have to retrieve it, because he cares.
Community is a place where we can share information about airplanes to the local first responders, as we did years ago in the early days of this column. It’s the place where police and fire fighters want to know more about responding to issues concerning aircraft, because they care.
Community is a place where the local librarian plans cool and interesting events for kids and families, like reading stories and making crafts, encouraging literacy, because she cares.
In 2007, when Cynthia started letting us fill this space in the Gazette, we had heard some people say, “What? We have an airport here?” Soon, the airport began getting recognition for the true asset it is. Its purpose: to serve everyone.
Great blessings came from the entire local community as well as the aviation community to benefit a family with a newborn in intensive care via a fly-in fund-raiser. Bill Buchanan did a live report from our plane as we flew lazy circles over the airport. A flying “poker run” brought pilots from all over Southeast Texas to the Liberty Municipal Airport. They enjoyed breakfast cooked by the Liberty Lions Club, bought fuel (spending money here), and were impressed with the community and the airport.
With it all came recognition that, as they say, in a small town can have a couple different outcomes. Either way, everyone knows everyone. So, when you’re turning and forget to use your blinker and it’s late at night, an officer could pull you over and remind you that it’s important to use your blinker every single time. And in our case, after giving an informational talk about aircraft to first responders, they could say, “Hey, aren’t you the airport people?”
So every week when we bring you another story, whether it’s based on our adventures high in the sky, or something revealing the humanity of our “other” community, we do it with one purpose in mind: to share goodness with our hometown community, Liberty, Texas.
Merry Christmas!
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