http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.com BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS Thursday, September 12, 2024 9
CELEBRATION
Continued from Page 8
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FRIDAY,
SEPTEMBER 13
EN VOGUE
SATURDAY,
OCTOBER 19BACHMAN-
TURNER
OVERDRIVE
SATURDAY,
NOVEMBER 9See AVIATION on 10all came back and in fact, American
Airlines had a plane stationed here
called ‘Flagship Battle Creek’ that
flew regional routes and was home
based here in Battle Creek.”
Without the commercial terminals,
the community is saved all of the
expense and management of the
amount of security systems that go
along such an operation, said Shaw.
The growth of the airport is not
over, however.
The closing of Skyline Drive
between Dickman Road and
Columbia Avenue paved the way
for the Air National Guard to break
ground last June on a new installa-
tion entrance and main gate with the
help of U.S. Sen. Gary Peters who
secured the $10 million for the proj-
ect.
The idea is to improve traffic safe-
ty and security concerns, according
to a press release from the Michigan
Department of Military and Veterans
Affairs.
The base in 2022 marked its 75th
anniversary in Battle Creek.
It supports “a diverse portfolio of
mission sets including a robust cyber
defense squadron, M-9 Reaper flying
operations, Agile Combat Support
capabilities and a robust Command
and Control and planning function
for the U.S. Air Forces Europe -
Air Forces Africa,” the June press
release revealed.
The facility is home station for
nearly 1,000 Airmen who are rou-
tinely commended for providing
high-tech defense skill sets for deci-
sion makers at the state and federal
level, according to the Veterans
Affairs dept.
“Battle Creek Air National Guard
is critical to ur national defense,”
said Peters, “and Michigan’s military
footprint.”
The project also includes a new
370-square foot guard house and a
2,400-square foot covered vehicle
inspection area.
A total of 105,300 square feet
of new pavement at the corner of
Skyline and Dickman was also in the
plans.
That all was up in the air back in
the early 1990s when former U.S.
Rep. Dr. Joe Schwarz, a Vietnam
veteran from a military family, was
still serving in the Michigan State
Senate.
That’s when he led a successful
crusade to keep the base in Battle
Creek.
“There were people including the
Adjutant General at the time who
wanted to shut that base down and
move everything to Selfridge,” said
Schwarz.
A native of Battle Creek, Schwarz
had lived across Dickman Road from
the airport as a child.
“My history of that airport goes
back a long way,” said Schwarz who
serves as Centennial Committee
Honorary Chairman. “I was very
aggressive and pushy and worked to
make sure they didn’t leave Battle
Creek by putting language and fund-
ing in the National Guard budget
that kept that unit alive only if they
stayed in Battle Creek. And it all
worked out. And they’re still here.”
It all began on July 4, 1911 when
pilot Leonard Bonney flew a Wright
Flyer over Battle Creek, sparking the
community’s fascination with flight,
wrote Shaw for his March/April
“Michigan History Magazine” article
entitled, “A Calhoun County Lansing
Place: Battle Creek Executive