The Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 5, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 25, 1980 Page: 4 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Megaphone and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Southwestern University.
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Linda Ferguson
Laura Bennett
Teresa Ginn
Keith Spencer
Paz Delrosario
Henry. At the race, he met his old
college buddy, Sam Edwards, who
was one of the participants. After
the .race, they both took a balloon
Kyle Donaldson
Dan Dalton
Ronnie Reed
Megan Murphy
Jeff Peak
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pointed at them. Landowners are
more or less receptive to balloons,
depending on how familiar they are
with them, according to Mrs.
Henry.
After twenty minutes of wander-
ing on county road 151, Mrs. Henry
finally found her husband with his
balloon next to Nickerson Farms.
The balloon took only ten minutes
to pack. - ..
"Some people cannot believe that
this huge balloon fits into that little
bag," said Mrs. Henry, pointina to
5
In the past five years, the Henrys
have participated in the Hot Air
Balloon National Championships in
Indiana, and Iowa. They skipped
one year to attend the World Cham-
pionships in Europe.
To qualify for the National
Championships a balloonist must
the low
early tv
to the
"The reason we came to George-
town was because it was con-
venient and close to Houston," said
Mrs. Henry.
Another element of the races at
Georgetown was the relaxing at-
mosphere. "Balloon races not
sponsored by the Balloon Federa-
tion of America (BFA) are more
hang-loose, more relaxing," she
said.
4 THE MEGAPHONE September 25, 1980
■ ■ # ■ > ■
In their hotel room, the Henrys
told how they got hooked on
ballooning. "We attended the Great
Houston Balloon Race in 1976.’ She
(Mary Lou) loved it; she saw every
race that weekend," said Mr.
Delicious Chili Coneys
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the owner or even getting a shotgun a sack no larger than a large tley
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The custom-made balloon, or
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Continued from page 1
that would take them to their
balloons.
Mrs. Henry talked of her balloon-
ing experiences as she got lost
thanks to the help of a reporter who
gave wrong directions: "We
haven't had any catastrophies, but
we had an amusing incident when
we landed in a tree and the fire
department had to come and help
get us down. We only had $200
worth of damage."
In her five years of ballooning
she has found more joy in her
recreation than any other sport. "I
wouldn't get up early to go fishing
or hiking, but I would get up any
day to go ballooning."
-When asked about the most
dangerous thing to ballooning, she
replied quickly, "Gravity. Serious-
ly, most balloonists are afraid of
■telephone wires." She told of a case
when an inexperienced pilot and
her father were burned to death
when, they ran into some telephone
lines.
Another problem balloonists en-
counter is cattle and their owners.
"Half the time they (cattle) will
run away from you, and the other
half they will chase you because
they are so frightened," said one
balloonist.
When balloons must land in
—someone’s field, they risk the
chance of being reprimanded by
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participate in a series of Sanc-
tioned Tasks, sponsored by the ”
BFA. One hundred balloons are
then selected out of about 300 par-
ticipants.
"But the majority of balloonists
don't like to compete," said Mr.
Henry. Statics support this by the
fact that for every racer par-
ticipating in the Sanctioned Tasks,
there are about six other bal-
loonists not competing. Mrs. Henry
is one of the five, "I would rather
fly than compete," she said.
The Henrys are members of Te-
jas Aeronauts, a Houston balloon
club with about 75 members.
Because ballooning is such an ex-
pensive sport, the club owns two
balloons for Its 50-60 members who
can't afford aerostats.
Mr. Henry estimates the cost of
his hobby at $2000 per year.
"Those who don't own balloons in
the club can fly for $45 per flight,
along with a $10 annual fee,", said
Mr. Henry. "So members take
turns flying club balloons; and the
next time they chase. That assures
that everyone has a chase crew."
The Houston club, located In "the
third best area in the country for
ballooning," according to Mr.
Henry, consists of "almost all
kinds of people. Someone from
almost every endeavor par-
ticipates. We have housewives,
students, Ph.D's, electricians, and
corporate presidents In the club."
Mr. Henry observes that
"generally, balloonists are very
well educated. It is such a complete
change of pace from pressure. It is
an escape; and usually the better
educated think they have
something to escape from."
The escapees arrived at San
Gabriel Park Saturday afternoon
to find the wind prohibiting them
from performing for the crowd.
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envelope, made by the Barnes 18 . . T
Balloon Company in North - G
Carolina took four women over one ' E , ’ 83888 ’*
month to sew Zoopendotis, together d
The gondola was hand woven by in- 8
dividuals contracted by the com- gd
pany. Each gondola has its ownun- l
ique design. The design of the
envelope was created by the
Henry's.' y rkzaf the Univrsity of
he Henry's dreamed up the Houston. "We both took lessons
name Zoopendous for their balloon from Bill Martoff, who is probably
when they were at the Alberquque the most experienced balloonist in
Balloon Festival. While thinking of the world," said Mrs. Henry,
a name for their soon-to-be balloon, Both Sam Edwards and Bill Mar-
one said "It's fantastic, it's stupen- toff participated in the Williamson
dpus, it's zoopendous!" County Fair balloon races.
Because of their city planning
consultant business, the couple
balloon only once every one or two
weeks. Although they receive
numerous invitations to perform at
other events, they have time for
only three or four trips a year.
q-suda
■L. R, -- Toke nit Ad With Youl
253 LobkFor Your Name in This Ad
Each Week And Win A Free
Expirn 10/16/80 Hamburger and Drink
Hunbs^aets 406 M- *•*» Ave easesss French Fries
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The Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 5, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 25, 1980, newspaper, September 25, 1980; Georgetown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1560089/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 11, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Southwestern University.