WWII pilot, George McLeod, flying on the Sentimental Journey, a restored B-17 heavy Bomber plane, which came to Skagit County this week.

Ninety year-old George McLeod was 24 when he first flew a B-17 bomber from a base in England to military and industrial targets in Germany in 1944.  He and a co-pilot would lift the plane, sometimes in the dark of night, laden with 2,800 gallons of fuel and 4-6,000 pounds of bombs, flying upwards of 25,000 feet in weather that was fifty below zero.

“The worst of flying a loaded bomber were night takeoffs, because you had to get the load off the ground,” said McLeod as he waited for the Sentimental Journey, a restored 1944 era B-17 heavy bomber, developed by Boeing in the thirties, which was to be arriving at the Skagit Regional Airport any minute.

“It took two people to bring the plane to fly.  You had to watch your instrument panel.”

The four engine aircraft touched down on the runway, interrupting McLeod’s reminiscing.

"There she is," he said under the heavy rumble of the plane, visibly moved.  "How would you like to hear a thousand of those over head?"

 
Check out our Facebook page for lots of pictures of the vintage aircraft.

In the August 10, 2011 issue...

In our continuing experiment to post the whole paper.... most of the good stuff is here, but Blogger doesn't like pages 2 and 8 so we couldn't upload them.

Today's paper...

An early Monday fire claimed two homes

 Photo by Joanne Ossewarde

 Photo by Beth Clothier

 Photo by Nicole Jennings

     A fire destroyed two Chilberg Avenue homes, burning one to the ground in the wee hours of Monday. The absentee owners were not staying there when the fire broke out. There were no injuries and firefighters from Fire District 13 and nine other agencies saved the rest of the 1920s neighborhood of wood frame houses. The little cottages are on a cliff overlooking Hope Island and Skagit Bay, which made the fire fight very challenging. The details are in today's paper.

Burglars again

    Someone smashed in door windows on two more Morris Street businesses in La Conner. The door to the Station House Bar and Grill was smashed, but the really strong lock apparently thwarted an attempt to get inside. Around the corner of the same building, the door glass was smashed on a veterinary office and the burglar did get inside. But the business owner didn't have any cash or valuables inside and nothing was taken.

Doing something about debt

    Ed Baker of La Conner got sick of hearing people gripe about the $14.5 trillion national debt, so he took action. Baker set up a non-profit outfit to accept donations from people who would like to help him get the country out of hock. Alexander Kramer has the story in today's paper.
    Alex did some math and figured just how far $14,590,000,000,000 stacked up in $100 bills would reach:
There would be 145,900,000,000 hundred-dollar bills, each are 0.004 in. thick, which equates to 9,211 miles. Check the math.

 From the police blotter: 

9:28 a.m.: Alcohol problem – Someone reported a couple of guys standing and laying down to close to the road on Maple Ave. in La Conner and was worried they’d be hit by a car. It’s no crime to do that, except they were also drinking alcohol in public – which turned their courtesy police ride home into an expensive taxi because the deputy had caught one of them drinking and issued a citation.

The paper is on store shelves and in news stands around town today. If you can't get down to pick one up, subscribe and have it delivered to your home of office. Call 360-466-3315