♪ (acoustic guitar music) ♪
It started as a group of, I think, fourteen farmers
who flew into Stillwater, Oklahoma
during Farm and Home Week in August of 1944.
That was an annual occasion where farmers and homemakers across the state
would gather on the OSU campus -- Then it was OAMC,
Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College.
But in that particular year, it's right at the end of the war --
I mean, it's 1944 in August, so there's still another year left.
But these guys fly in to join the festivities.
So the following year, August of 1945, additional farmers join them.
And so, there's now I think over twenty farmers who fly in.
And I guess they flew in formation over Stillwater, over the campus,
and then spent the week here.
So that's August of '45, they begin, actually, an organization.
They begin to plan an organization.
So by '46, there's an official Flying Farmers Organization
sponsored by Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College
located here in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Flying was a critical component during World War II.
Many of them, of course, were aware of the number of aircraft
that were being produced for the war.
And so, flying as a way of motor travel really taking off.
But these guys, oftentimes, they're out in Western Oklahoma,
larger farms, larger ranches.
And they would use airplanes, actually, as a tool
to help them in their operations.
So, they would use them to fly over fence lines,
and make sure their fences were good. They would use them to look for livestock.
They would use them for pest control. But also -- And then cropdusting.
And so they used them for a variety of different reasons.
They also used them for farm operations if they had replacement parts they needed.
♪ (acoustic guitar music) ♪