Many pilots have flown in and out of the Orange Municipal Airport over the years. Several of these arrivals have brought well-known pilots and passengers to the Orange runway.
In 1946, famed industrialist Howard Hughes flying a B-23 twin motored plane, and his passenger, film actor Cary Grant, made a stop at the airport. The pair had landed there to meet Mrs. Selznick, wife of movie producer David O. Selznick, according to a June 6, 1946 Enterprise and Journal article. Mrs. Selznick had driven to the airport after picking up their son in Concord, New Hampshire where he attended school. Len Bedaw, current airport manager said the airport today still gets a lot of corporate traffic with students attending private schools as well as corporate business traffic.
Hughes and Grant had arrived from Boston where they had inspected several sites for a movie in which Grant would be the lead. It is unclear what this movie was. Grant did state, though, that the movie might also include scenes of houses from the Connecticut River Valley, according to the Enterprise and Journal article.
Hughes and Grant, whom the article described as “friendly and down to earth fellows,” stayed at the airport for about 15 minutes talking with the airport’s William Wessell, and signing autographs. Among those who had the chance to get an autograph were Joseph Lillie, Donald Hayden, Frank Martz and Harlan Lanou Sr., who was a member of the Athol-Orange Aero Club, according to his son, Harlan Lanou.
Apparently, Hughes and Grant were not the only famous stars who have utilized the airport. Bedow recalled that Christopher Reeve, famous for playing the role of Superman, once stopped at the airport about 25 years ago, to top off the fuel in his jet.
Reeve explained to Bedaw that he was in a hurry to get to a meeting in Boston, to which Bedaw quipped, “If you are in a hurry, there is a phone booth by my office.” Reeve didn’t think he was funny, Bedaw added. Others who came to the airport, Bedaw continued, were members of the Gillette and Kellogg families, who both attended a defensive driving class that was once held at the airport.
More information on the modern-day Orange Municipal Airport can be found at www.flyore.com
The Wheeler Memorial Library Community History Archive, which has digitized newspapers dating from 1883-1975, can be found at wheeler.advantage-preservation.com
Carla Charter is a freelance writer from Phillipston. Her writing focuses on history with a particular interest in the North Quabbin area. Contact her at cjfreelancewriter@earthlink.net.