Cape's aviation history, Part 4: Airport the hub for politicians, a draw for entertainers

Through the years, celebrities, politicians and aviation experts have passed through the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport as if it were the city's front door.

The only sitting U.S. president to fly into Cape Girardeau aboard Air Force One was Ronald Reagan in 1988.

"You give your airport over to the Secret Service while they're here," said Mark Seesing, who worked at the airport at the time and served as airport manager from 1989 to 1993. "They dictate any activities, and you cease all air operations while they are here."

Richard Nixon, although not president at the time, flew out of Cape Girardeau in 1952 after arriving here by train. Sen. Robert Kennedy also landed at the airport when he visited Cape Girardeau in during his presidential campaign in 1968.

George H.W. Bush, Dan Quayle and Dick Cheney passed through the airport during their terms as vice president, and several vice presidential candidates have been through, including Sarah Palin in 2008 and Sen. Bob Dole in 1976.

"Being a regional airport and the only airport of this size in the area, you get that kind of activity. They'd have to fly into Cape to go to Sikeston or Poplar Bluff," said Seesing's father, J.T. Seesing, who operated Cape Central Airways at the airport from 1950 to 1976.

The easy access the airport affords has helped Cape Girardeau's Show Me Center recruit many speakers and musical acts.

"If you had to tell somebody they'll have to fly into St. Louis and then have a two-hour drive, that's a challenge to overcome," said David Ross, director of the Show Me Center. "The airport makes the venue more appealing. For many acts it's key that they are able to get in and out quickly."

Ross recalls picking up Bill Cosby and Red Skelton, who both arrived in Cape Girardeau on private jets at the airport, and driving them to the Show Me Center to perform.

Performers who have arrived at the local airport include Bob Hope, the Smothers Brothers, Tina Turner and rocker Alice Cooper. Actor Richard Gere passed through the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport in 2001 while traveling on personal business.

Along with politicians and celebrities, Cape Girardeau's airport has attracted some of aviation's finest performers over the years.

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels, which will appear at this weekend's Cape Girardeau Regional Air Festival, have flown over Cape Girardeau three times before -- 1968, 1983 and 1992. One of the first air festivals in Cape Girardeau took place in 1947, shortly after the community passed a $115,000 bond issue to convert the former military installation into a civilian airport. U.S. Navy and Marine Corps pilots from the Naval Air Station at Lambert Field performed battle maneuvers for a crowd of about 10,000, at that time determined to be the largest crowd ever congregated in the area, according to Southeast Missourian archives.

The U.S. Army Golden Knights aerial jump team has performed in Cape Girardeau numerous times since the 1980s, including at the past four air shows.

"The air shows are educational and entertainment. It's an opportunity to put people at the airport and show them what's available and what the military can do," said Mark Seesing, who coordinates military appearances at the air festival.

The Cape Girardeau Pilots Club, which formed in 1948, coordinated many of the first air shows and hosted numerous flying competitions over the years. Mrs. George Blaich of Poplar Bluff, Mo., won the first annual pilots club proficiency air race in October 1964. Several women learned to fly at the Cape Girardeau Airport in the 1960s and '70s as part of the local chapter of a women's flying association called The Ninety-Nines. The national organization was established in 1929 by 99 women pilots. Its first national president was Amelia Earhart.

Many Southeast Missouri women took part in the association's Powder Puff Derbies, including Mrs. Rush H. Limbaugh Jr., who participated for 10 years in a row serving as chief tower timer at the 29th annual Powder Puff Derby in Nashville, Tenn., in 1976.

Many of the first air shows included aircraft demonstrations, model airplane exhibits and acrobatic flying.

During the 1990s, air balloon races were part of local air festivals. In 1992, 35 balloons descended on Cape Girardeau for an event called Balloon Fest, which became an annual event during the mid-'90s.

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