Lockheed's link to city broken
As printed in the Burbank Leader, April 7-8, 2001. J. Ron Dickson
Your Editorial correctly points out the importance of our long connection with the Lockheed Company here in Burbank. To have such a major aviation design and manufacturing entity located here for such a long time has been a major factor in our growth. So many acres once devoted to aviation development are now leveled, leaving no trace of our great aviation history. It is a terrible loss and a disgrace that the corporate and city powers went ravenously to the redevelopment trough and allowed a major piece of our historical equity to be completely erased. This loss hurts us all by diminishing the memory of our citizens who made it all happen here. It says that what they did here didn't matter in the long run; that the amount of land worthy of being set aside to honor and remember their work is none.
But Lockheed wasn't the only story in town. True, there is only one birthplace of the Skunk Works and it was here. The U-2, the SR-71, the F-117 Stealth Fighter were all born here in Burbank. But what about Menasco, Weber, Hydro Air, Bandy, Pacific Air Motive, and the hundreds, maybe thousands of other design and manufacturing firms located in our end of the Valley? Remember the Bendix races that started from Union Airport in Burbank and Flying Tigers, Slate and the other non-scheduled airlines that started here? How about Paul Mantz and the movie flyers, and Lindbergh, Earhart, Turner, Hughes and the rest? They all worked here in Burbank. Even into rocketry and the space age, there was plenty to preserve and to celebrate here.
On the eve of the Centennial of Manned flight, coming up in Dec 2003, we have wiped our area clean of history and we have said that our history, our chapter in the big story and the accomplishments of the hundreds of thousands of people who made it all happen here in Burbank and the surrounding area, amount to nothing but leveled dirt…and another doughnut place.
There should be several acres of former Lockheed land dedicated to our aviation history. Several historic buildings should have been saved. There should be a wonderful aviation museum open daily for our children and other visitors and for the receiving and preservation of donated historical items. We should have arranged to keep a link to our amazing and unique past. We should 'own' this great history; we should cherish it. Lockheed/Martin has certainly dropped the Burbank name from its program; it's up to us now. That's how we know who we are and where we came from so we can better know where we are going. It is more important than ever for every one to donate your aviation memorabilia and submit your memories in writing or on videotape to be preserved for our future citizens. They will not know what took place here unless you leave them the information, especially those from the 'black world'. Please call the Burbank Aviation Museum at 954~0540 or see the Aviation History web site: http://www.GoDickson.com/ahsfv1.htm
J. Ron Dickson Burbank, CA
Photograph captions- Burbank's Lockheed Plant B-1 was a bevy of activity during the time of World War II, when it manufactured planes to help our country in time of need. Now, one reader worries all that history will be wiped out with the closing of Plant B-1.
