Elmer George Ashbaugh

  General Notes:

Elmer Ashbaugh followed in the steps of many of the descendants of Christian Lauffer that were pioneers in every walks of life. Even his daughters Eleanor and Jean followed this pioneering path with Eleanor in Aviation and Jean in Deep Sea diving. The following story is with courtesy of Saint Vincent College Center for Northern Appalachian Studies as compiled from information from Jean Ashbaugh /Loughry and Eleanor Ashbaugh as published in "A Place in the Sky":

The story of Elmer Ashbaugh and his daughter Eleanor begins in an old log cabin without electricity and ends with a Space Shuttle flight that almost was. was born in the log cabin in 1897. After an eighth grade education in a one room school house, Elmer eventually got his start in the automobile industry. He studied auto maintenance in Detroit, then returned to the area and established his own garage in Harrison City. After marrying and having three daughters, Elmer developed his interest in aviation. He frequented the J.D. Hill Airport, the new Pittsburgh -Greensburg Airport, and associated with World War I pilots and the likes of Dave Patterson, Norman "Happy" O'Bryan, Clyde Hauger and Charlie Carroll. In 1932 he started taking flying lessons from Dave Patterson. After his solo flight in 1934, Elmer flew on weekends, doing aerial exhibitions at the Greensburg Airport and giving sight seeing tours for one dollar per person. He flew parachute jumpers in his Travel Air on Sunday afternoons. These spectacles brought large, curious crowds. Elmer quickly became a recognizable name among aviation enthusiasts in the area. Seeing the potential for an airport near to his hometown of Harrison City, Elmer thought of building one. In 1935 he did. Originally twenty-five acres, the Harrison City Airport had an 1,800-foot runway that ran parallel to Route 130. The Ashbaugh home was within this twenty-five acre plot. Elmer later purchased an adjoining farm, increasing the size of his airport to forty acres. He tore down the barn farm and remodeled the house for his family. Elmer often taxied his airplane right up to the front porch, went inside for lunch and took off from his front yard. He decided his runway was not level enough, and, soon after opening, he made improvements. He graded the property every morning at sunrise, much to the chagrin of neighbors trying to catch a few extra winks of sleep. He built a hanger at the east end of the runway which housed his Travel Air, a Piper Cub and a Piper Trainer. Crowds often gathered just to watch him maneuver his aircraft into the hangers. Elmer knew many World War I pilots. He must have enjoyed their tales of the Great War and their death -defying feats. One of these men, W.F. Niedernhofer went into business with Elmer in 1936. They purchased a twelve passenger Ford Tri- Motor with the intention of starting an airline in Florida. Elmer piled his family into the Tri- Motor and headed for the Sunshine State. They are today considered to be the first family to ever move by aircraft. Their airline did not last long, only from November 1936 to February 1937. The Depression kept many people grounded, they had competition from another airline in Florida, and the Tri- Motor consumed a gallon of gas a minute, producing a financial drag on Elmer. Fortunately, Elmer had maintained his airport and garage in Harrison City. He was able to return there with his family. In 1939, Elmer received a flight instructor's license and began giving flight lessons. When the United States entered World War II, many of his young students went on to become aviators in the war, including his daughter, Eleanor. She soloed at the age of sixteen, becoming one of the youngest pilots in the state. Too young to join the WASPs, Eleanor became a member of the Civil Air Patrol. She was thus able to fill an important role for which the military could not spare pilots. The war came home to the Ashbaugh family when federal regulations required a twenty -four hour guard to be posted at all airports. Elmer hired a guard for the day- time, but took care of the night duty himself. He slept in the hangar. Gas rationing hindered the operation of the Harrison City Airport and Elmer's garage business. Seeing no choice in the matter, Elmer enlisted in the U.S. Ferry Command at the age of forty five and ferried aircraft all over the United States. After the war, he returned home to find his airport in disrepair. The months spent away had taken their toll on the runway. Threatened with being shut down for good, Elmer quickly repaired ruts and graded the runway. His airport continued in operation until 1953 when a water line was laid along Route 130 making the forty -acre site ideal for homes. He closed up the airport with an impressive twenty year record of no accidents or fatalities. Elmer kept his home and a building at the west end of the airport where he operated a gasoline station, garage, storing airplanes on the top floor. Elmer Ashbaugh died in 1985 at the age of eighty eight, in the same house he used to taxi up to at lunchtime. Eleanor Ashbaugh continued making headlines as a pilot in the 1940s.

Elmer married Helen Stirling Waugaman, daughter of William Hiram Waugaman and Ida Virginia Stirling, on 29 Apr 1922. (Helen Stirling Waugaman was born on 30 Apr 1898 and died on 11 Aug 1974.)