Steve Bertheau

I knew your dad, Don, Rocky, and Sam very well. I started taking lessons from them out at a little grass runway in a corn field near Athen, MI. i was 15 years old when they started training me. Your dad was a great man and we had some great times and great dives in Athens out of your dad’s red and white Cessna 182. Don, Rocky, and Sam also spent a lot of time with me showing me the ropes - all of them were so accomplished, yet they took the time to help me - great characters all of them - Don and your dad were always there to talk. Eventually Jim Plumber started coming out to Athens and then Athens kind of went short of cash, so we all moved over to Austin Lake, near Kalamazoo, MI. What a blast I had growing up with those guys and jumping out of airplanes! Those guys taught me a lot - leaving the plane, grabbing a formation, then a back-flip and back together. The sport changed from that style to skipping the back-flip and just grabbing as many formations as possible. Your dad, Don, Sam, and Rocky didn’t seem to like the change - they thought that it all looked a little sloppy. Anyway, great memories and great times - I will look for photos for you - all the best! Steve Bertheau