A Mid-Winter Bright Spot!
In the middle of the worst winter most of us old-timers can remember, there was one bright spot we all shared. No, Santa Claus did not come back with more of the good things we modelers behave all year for. No, none of the Miss America candidates brought us coffee and doughnuts at our meetings. And, no, Jim Rasor did not promise us fair skies and gentle breezes from March to December this year. Yes! You didn't even have to guess, did you? Right! It was our Annual Regional Mall Show! And what models there were! Big models, little models--even a rubber-powered indoor stick model! Some of you younger guys might be asking, "What's that?" Or even, "Who cares?" Well, let this ol' guy tell you. Long before the advent of off-the-shelf, out-of-the-box, into-the-air models, there was a time of deprivation and darkness called the Great Depression. The gloom of that time was gradually dispelled beginning with Lindbergh's solo flight from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, to Paris, France, (of course) several years earlier. Lindbergh's flight awakened the world and America to the wonders of flight and inspired an intense interest in aviation, aviators and machines that could fly with wings. Look at the faces of the ittle girls in the foto as they see at the show, apparently for the first time up close, what machnes with wings look like. That's the real thing, the thrill of discovery. That's the motivator that makes things happen! 
video by: Eric Lyon