Z170       Jan. 21 – Robert Kane; The Wright Brothers Civilian Flight School, Feb.-May 1910

In February 1910, Wilbur Wright arrived in Montgomery, Alabama, looking for a suitable location for a civilian flight school to teach men how to fly their airplanes. A local businessman convinced Wilbur to select a nearby abandoned cotton plantation. Wilbur accepted the offer, and the Wright Brothers established the first civilian flight school in the United States near Montgomery. The school lasted only ten weeks, but in April 1918, the War Department selected the same location for an aircraft and engine depot. That installation has since grown into Maxwell Air Force Base.

Z171       Jan. 28 – Paul Dean; What’s Happening to Our Forest:  The History, Science and Future of Forestry in America, as Told by a Semi-Retired Forester

Paul Dean will provide a colorful timeline of the impacts of European settlement upon our North American forest. He will explain how this once pristine continent of native old growth fell victim to the invasion of settlers with their axes, livestock and diseases, as they moved westward, exploiting forests until they were almost gone. A gruff outdoorsman president instituted the beginning of forestry in America. Paul will give you a unique perspective of forestry in America.