Charles H. Blosser

Charles H. Blosser (September 7, 1895—December 30, 1989[1]) was the namesake of Blosser Municipal Airport in Concordia, Kansas. A longtime airplane enthusiast, Blosser owned and ran the airport privately until transferring it to the city of Concordia.

Blosser moved to Norway, Kansas, from Saline County, Missouri. On October 20, 1921, he was married to Isabell A. Collins at Belleville.[2]

Aviation accomplishments

In 1930, Blosser laid the first dirt airstrip on his farm on what would become Blosser Municipal Airport.[3] He later donated the land to the city for airport use.[4]

In 1935, Blosser was honored by the Concordia Chamber of Commerce for his "heroic services during the Republican River flood" in June of that year. Blosser would fly over flooded areas, acted as a spotter for rescue boats, dropped food to stranded individuals and acted as a shuttle service by flying people back and forth across the flooded river. Blosser is credited with rescuing twenty-eight people from the flood.[5][6]

In 1988, he was awarded the Kansas Governor’s Aviation Honors Award and was inducted into the Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame in 1990.[7] At one time, he was the oldest living licensed pilot in the United States.[5]

Blosser was instrumental in making Kansas a member of the National Bureau of Reclamation and in working with the late Senator Frank Carlson and the United States Bureau of Reclamation in getting flood control along the Republican River.[5]

Local politics

Blosser was elected mayor of Concordia and served a term from 1931 to 1933.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Obituaries (Charles H. Blosser)". Belleville Telescope. January 4, 1990. p. 3. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Charles H. Blosser". Find-A-Grave. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Blosser Spends His 84 Years High in the Sky". Fort Scott Tribune. November 7, 1979. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Tires Trouble Aerial Tradition". Warsaw, Indiana Times-Union. September 7, 1978. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 Wings Over Kansas
  6. ↑ Unruh, Tim (May 31, 2010). "Flood of Memories". Salina Journal. Archived from the original on July 4, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  7. ↑ Kansas Aviation Museum Archived April 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ Emery, Janet Pease (1970a), It Takes People to Make a Town, p30 Salina, Kansas: Arrow Printing Company. Library of Congress number 75-135688
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