Where dreams came true

WARREN -- It was 90 years ago this summer that a young Neil Armstrong missed church one Sunday to take his first flight in a metal airplane off Parkman Road in Warren.

More than 70 people gathered Sunday afternoon at the Neil Armstrong Lunar Module site, where a special tribute took place to acknowledge not only Armstrong's first flight on July 26, 1936, but also his landing on the moon on July 20, 1969.

Children had the opportunity to make and decorate paper airplanes and color pictures of Armstrong as a boy with his dad.

The public also enjoyed bright orange Tang and a variety of flavors of moon pies that astronauts often enjoyed in space.

James Valesky of the Warren Heritage Center said it was on July 26, 1936, that a 6-year old Armstrong, accompanied by his father, came to the airport in Warren where the lunar module site sits today and flew in a plane over parts of Warren and neighboring communities.

"We celebrate the 90th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's first flight. He took that plane flight on the very spot where we are today. This spot is where many dreams became possible, not only for Armstrong, but also another astronaut, Ron Parise from Warren. There is a lot of history here at this spot," he said.

Valesky said his wife Jan did research and found that Armstrong's family not only lived in Champion, but when he was 3, his family lived for a short time at 339 Homewood Ave. in Warren.

Jan Valesky found a birth record of Armstrong's sister who was born in Warren and where the family lived.

Linda Perich Carpenter, whose father, Pete Perich, spearheaded the effort to get the lunar module replica constructed 25 years ago, said she has heard the story of Armstrong's first flight.

"His airplane flight here when he was 6 led to the dreams he had as a boy, in high school and as an adult. He was so excited about his first airplane flight in a Tin Goose, which was the nickname for the Ford Trimotor, an early all-metal aircraft;'' Carpenter said.

She said the Trimotor was only going to be in Warren for one day before it went to Columbus.

"If that plane was not there that July day, Armstrong's flight would never have happened," she said.

His father left church with his son to go see that Trimotor plane, which was made of all aluminum, and received its nickname because it flew like a goose.

"Neil thought he was only going to see the plane, but the pilot asked him and his father if they wanted to go for a ride. They used their church money to go on that flight. By the way, they missed church," Carpenter said.

She said Armstrong and the others on the plane were given gum to chew because their ears would pop when they went up in the plane. Carpenter said Armstrong was fascinated by the plane propellers and hearing the the engine roaring,

She said they flew over parts of Warren and then farmlands of nearby communities, as well as Mosquito Lake.

CHANGED LIFE

"That little boy that day experienced something that would change his life and would one day take him to the moon," Carpenter said. "Young Neil from Wapakoneta would experience something here in Warren that would one day take him to the moon."

Carpenter said she had a vision to honor Armstrong with what he had accomplished in life and told her father about having a lunar module replica site at the location of where Arnstrong flew in the airplane.

"This was my dad's dream and his legacy to leave this for the city of Warren,'' Carpenter said.

She said her father was able to get many volunteers and donations to make the lunar module site a legacy.

"My father. Pete Perich wanted this for the city of Warren. I remember my dad spending endless hours to make this project a reality. The community came together to make his historical landmark a reality,'' Carpenter said.

The site has been open for 25 years.

Don Wiggins, who was a machinist and one of those who worked on the module, said he remembers getting the call from Perich about the idea.

"He asked me if I would be able to build something for him and told me the idea and we met over the project,'' Wiggins said.

Wiggins said over the years, many of the people who helped with the lunar module have died.

"The group was all dedicated volunteers. We worked many hours and had a lot of coffee and donuts," he said.

Wiggins said while many people appreciate the lunar module site and enjoy visiting it, he is often shocked when he tells people, including those who live in Warren about it, and they don't know about it or have never stopped to see it.

He said this is similar to people who live in Niles who have never been to the William McKinley Memorial.

Warren resident Ed Novak said he and many others tend to the care of the module site with landscaping and maintenance.

"To me and others, it is the gem on Parkman Road," he said.

To conclude Sunday's event, six children who made paper airplanes took turns flying them to see who flew the farthest.

Just as Armstrong had a dream to be an astronaut the public also had the opportunity to share their dreams.

The public was able to write on small cards what their dreams were and place them in a large jar.