LOCAL LEGENDS

The energy at the Thompson Falls Airport on Saturday was worthy of a visit from a celebrity. The celebrity was Miss Montana, but not the pageant winner. The historic restored DC-3 airplane visited Thompson Falls over the weekend to honor the late Norm Allen, a former smoke jumper who lived in Thompson Falls.

The event was presented by Ruth Cheney, a retired Army Colonel who lives in Thompson Falls and wanted to honor Allen. Miss Montana flew in with another local celebrity at the helm, Thompson Falls graduate Art Dykstra. Five men jumped from the airplane as it passed the Thompson Falls airport. The jumpers wore authentic World War II uniforms, and four of them used the iconic round parachutes, the same ones Allen and others would have used to jump from planes during the war.

Dykstra was excited to bring Miss Montana to his hometown, where nearly 200 people greeted him and the rest of the crew on the ground. The plane is owned by the Museum of Mountain Flying. Dykstra has volunteered with the museum for 10 years and was involved with the Miss Montana restoration project from its inception. "It's exciting to be here," Dykstra said, noting that it had been decades since Miss Montana landed in Thompson Falls. He also explained that the event was full circle for him, as he first started learning to fly at the local airport. He said the crew started at 6 a.m. Saturday to get ready for the short trip to Thompson Falls. "The logistics is horrendous," Dykstra noted, "but once we get in, it's a great airplane to fly."

Dykstra said the jumpers did well and the drop worked out great, despite the wind in the valley on Saturday.

Allen's family was there to meet the jumpers on the ground, as was Dykstra's. Also in the crowd were several former smoke jumpers who had descended from Miss Montana during her firefighting days. Dave Petteys of Thompson Falls said his first jump ever, when he was practicing to become a smoke jumper, was out of Miss Montana.

Bill Meadows of Trout Creek completed several jumps out of the Miss Montana as a smoke jumper. "The DC-3 is one of the greatest planes I ever jumped out of," said Meadows, whose career took him from Alaska to the Northern Rockies. Meadows hadn't been on the Miss Montana in 40 years. He climbed in for a tour on Saturday. He talked about the cramped quarters when the plane was full of jumpers and gear. "The drone of the engines, that's a sound that you never forget."

Shannon O'Keefe of Sheridan, Montana, was one of the smoke jumpers who drifted into Thompson Falls Airport on Saturday. "This really is all about Mr. Allen. It's amazing what he did," said O'Keefe, who was in the Marine Corps and the Montana National Guard. "This is super cool."

On the plane are commemorative plates honoring veterans, including Norm Allen, the late Robert Clark and Paul Lanz, who got to ride on Miss Montana on Saturday from Missoula to Thompson Falls.