By Gisele Dierks
Hi all,
My sincere apologies for the long pause.
As most of you have probably heard, there was an accident at the park this summer, resulting in the death of our longtime friend and pilot, “Wallaby” Paul. In 2021 we also lost Chris Starbuck, Mikey Barber, and now Brooks Ellison as well.
There was a beautiful ceremony for Brooks at Mohawk Trail in North Adams, MA last weekend in the warm sunshine. We are holding all our friends (here and departed) close these days.
On a brighter note, Rob Jacobs made an appearance the first weekend of August, to help Darren and Corrie celebrate their vow renewal (15 years?!) It was a beautiful party. After the ceremony on the 450, activities commenced at Camp Rob.
October Fly-In
Two months later, for our annual end of the year fly-in the Jacobs outdid themselves AGAIN, building and transporting one of the top 5 largest Eiffel Towers in the U.S. to Morningside’s upper parking lot. We had delicious dinner, fireworks (if you can categorize explosions of this size as that), and a Camp Rob Experience. Not so much on the flying. Nate Jacobs also flew in from Hawai’i as a surprise.
El Camino/End of Season
The Wadleighs have finally parted with the old Morningside Camino, but Joel brought it for one last trek up the hill.
The park is closed down for the season now, and we are already planning for next year. There will definitely be some changes to the paragliding and powered paragliding side of things, as Heath is moving on. I will try to keep this up to date through out the winter, but reach us with questions and look for our emails. Moving forward, Mike Holmes will be the new general manager, and I’ll probably be doing a bit more as well.
Looking Ahead
My question for you… is there any specific Morningside paraphernalia you’d like to see on the shelves? I have heard a lot of commentary over the years, and I am looking for feedback in time to make orders for next year.
We are at a pivotal point… any and all support/encouragement mean a lot as we continue to bring back the magic.
Thanks for being here,
Hope to see you in the spring.
What fun we have!