History of the Bloomsburg Airport

The 1930s

Beginning in the late 1920s, a number of people and organizations in Bloomsburg began to advocate building an airport to enhance the town’s economy and status. Key aviation proponents included Harry L. Magee and Willie Law, the Bloomsburg Flying Club, the Bloomsburg Rotary Club, and the Bloomsburg Morning Press. Their efforts paid off, as the Bloomsburg Airport opened for business in April 1932. Over 6,000 people—equivalent to more than half the town’s population—showed up to celebrate this important occasion. For most of the decade the airport was a hub of activity. Air shows were held on the weekends, sightseeing rides were offered, and Columbia Airways provided charter air service to Philadelphia, New York, and other major cities in the region. Due to several factors, the airport shut down at the end of the decade.

In September 1931, Harry L. Magee formed the Bloomsburg Flying Club with seven other prominent air-minded citizens: Sam Bigony, John Abusio, James Law, Charles C. Housenick, Milton K. Yorks, Reginald Hemingway, and D. W. Beckley, M.D. The BFC played a key role in the drive to build the airport.

After the airport opened, the Bloomsburg Flying Club advertised sightseeing rides in the Bloomsburg Morning Press. Cost: $1.00. Beginning in 1934, they offered regular charter service to eleven different cities. For $30.00, one could fly round trip to Philadelphia in an open cockpit Waco, or for $45.00 one could enjoy the flight in a closed cabin Waco.

In 1934 the Aeronautics Division of the Department of Commerce designated the airport as an approved repair station.

The 1940s

Harvey Andruss of Bloomsburg State Teachers College played a key role in reopening the airport in 1940. Sensing that World War II would probably engulf the U.S. in the near future, he obtained a contract for the school from the Civil Aeronautics Authority to participate in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. Under this federal government program, students took aviation courses at the college and flight training at the airport. Once America entered the war, the Navy V-5 and V-12 programs trained more than 1,000 pilots. Aviation cadets practiced day and night, leading the Morning Press to praise the populace for putting up with all the activity. After the war ended, the town finally purchased the airport. Returning veterans took flying lessons under the G.I. Bill, air shows were periodically held, and Columbia Aircraft Services operated a repair shop and sold Piper Cubs.

During World War II, the military-college-airport programs pumped an estimated $2 million per year into the local economy.

In May 1945, the town of Bloomsburg purchased the airport from Harry Magee. Until this date, the facility was a privately owned and operated airfield. In an editorial, the Morning Press proclaimed that, “the town left without an airport in the post-war program will find itself in much the same position as a town without a railroad in bye-gone days.”

After the war, airport manager Andy Perugino—an ex-G.I.—ran many advertisements in the Morning Press, promoting private, commercial, and instrument flight training. Columbia Aircraft Services’ newspaper ads promised free flying lessons if one purchased a low-cost Piper Cub from the firm.

The 1950s

People continued to use the airport during the 1950s. Activity, however, declined as G. I. benefits ended, young veterans started raising families, larger aircraft could no longer use the runway, and the college aviation program faded away. Yet, for quite a few members of the community, the Bloomsburg Airport remained an important part of their lives.

During the 1930s and 1940s, the government classified the airport as a commercial field. As civil aircraft grew larger and heavier, the government reclassified the field in the 1950s. It became a general aviation facility.

As a municipally owned facility, the airport was now able to obtain federal funds to make improvements.