New exhibit tracks Southlake’s aviation history
Southlake has long been a mecca for aviation buffs and pilots, even before Dallas/Fort Worth Airport existed.
A new exhibit looks at the history of aviation in Southlake, including the 12 small airstrips that existed in the city and the pilots who flew on them. It’s on display now in the lobby at Southlake Town Hall through Aug. 20.
Zena Rucker, an honorary co-chair for the exhibit, has the last grass runway on her land near Southlake Boulevard and Carroll Avenue. But she remembers a time when she and her friends all had their own airstrips.
“It was such a good era. It lasted from the 1950s to the 1980s,” said Rucker, who was a flight attendant for American Airlines and a flight instructor. “It was a period where you knew everybody who flew. We were pretty much taking over the old farms. It was so fun and so different.”
She was the one who prompted the Southlake Historical Society to do an exhibit on Southlake’s aviation history fearing that it it’s not written down and documented, it will be forgotten.
She and her late husband, who was a pilot, first became aware of the phenomenon more than 50 years ago when they were invited to a home in Colleyville that had an airstrip. They met several people, including Chauncey and Mary Prade, who had their own aircraft and runways.
In 1960, the Ruckers exchanged the city life for the newly founded town of Southlake so they could have the freedom of their own airstrip. The property they bought was right next door to the Prade land.
She recalls one time she and some friends buzzed the Prade house while they were out working on a stone chimney. Rucker dropped some beer cans filled with sand on the roof.
Today, the Prade property is Winding Creek subdivision and the Park Village retail center.
A number of events are scheduled throughout the summer.
July 14: Opening reception in the lobby at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 1400 Main St.
July 18: Paper airplane making event for children at 2 p.m. in the lobby at Town Hall.
Aug. 1: Panel discussion focusing on airstrips and pilots in Southlake 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall.
Aug. 15: Panel discussion on D/FW Airport and the effect it’s had on Southlake.
This story was originally published July 13, 2016 at 2:38 PM with the headline "New exhibit tracks Southlake’s aviation history."