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Renner Field and the Lindbergh Landing
Lindbergh and the “Spirit of St. Louis” at Renner Field!
BY WAYNE FANEBUST
The town of Renner, South Dakota, was created in 1898, named after a local farmer, on whose land the depot for the Milwaukee railroad was built in 1907. The Mapleton Township farming community in Minnehaha County served people who were only too happy to have merchants closer to them than those in Sioux Falls. Renner has a church that is the oldest house of worship in South Dakota, along with the dubious distinction of being the site of a bank robbery by two women.
A sensational murder riled up all of Mapleton Township and the surrounding area in 1907 but Renner was generally speaking, a quiet town until men and flying machines changed everything. Flying was something that dreamers aspired to do, and not long after the Wright brothers put their primitive plane in the air at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903, men with similar ambitions went to work. In barns and garages in various parts of South Dakota, men were happily engaged in designing and constructing their own flying machines. It just seemed so unfair that birds could fly while people had to stay grounded.
The first airplane seen above Minnehaha County skies was on June 20, 1912. The South Dakota Elks Association convinced a company known as Curtiss Pusher to launch a biplane near Sioux Falls, as part of an annual program for a large gathering of the curious. The first attempt by pilot Claude Berlin to get the plane airborne, on June 19, ended in disaster when a strong gust of wind sent the machine crashing into a fence. Berlin was embarrassed but uninjured and on the next day, after some repairs, the second attempt at take off was successful and according to the Daily ArgusLeader, “the machine was soon gliding skyward at 1000 feet in the air.” To the amazement of the spectators, it made a smooth landing at the Clark Coats athletic field, about three miles southeast of downtown Sioux Falls, after a twelve minute flight.
Interest in manned flight only seemed to increase because the dreamers had their heads and hearts on the controls. World War I saw pilots and planes change the technology and method of warfare. The term “dogfights” was used to describe the air battles between allied and German forces. After the war ended, airplanes assumed their place in the commercial field. In April of 1919, a total of seven planes landed at the W. H. Lyons Fairgrounds on the western edge of Sioux Falls. Spectators were treated to an aerial circus that caused people cheer and talk for weeks. Unfortunately, the excitement over airplanes was compromised due to a large number of fatal crashes in other parts of the country. Still the pace of the grand experiment with flight continued unabated.
A pilot who had served in World War I,
Sioux Falls First Aviator
Lt. Harold W. Tennant was a pilot who served with the US Army Air Service during World War I. He moved to Sioux Falls after the war and in 1921 bought a government surplus JN-4D airplane, commonly called a “Jenny.” He spent the summer and fall barnstorming in this region. The next year, Harold and his brother Ed formed an aerial team named “The Tennant Brothers.” Harold piloted the plane while Ed performed aerial acrobatics. Other pilots and stuntmen joined the group which was then billed as an “aerial circus.” They performed in the Sioux Falls area for several summers. In 1925, Harold Tennant was granted a Commercial (Transport) pilot’s license, the 33rd to be issued in the US and the first to a South Dakotan.
Lt. Harold W. Tennant, moved to Sioux Falls after the war ended and in 1921, he bought a government surplus plane known as an IN-4D, that soon became known as a “Jenny.” Sioux Falls’ first aviator, Herald W. Tennant, and his brother Ed, treated excited spectators to a show called an “aerial circus.” The death-defying, barnstorming stunts made the Tennant brothers local heroes as they performed over the skies of Sioux Falls and the surrounding communities during the course of four summers.
The daring brothers needed a place to park their airplanes and as it turned out, the flatlands at and around Renner filled the bill. When Tennant retired from aerial stunts, he started the Tennant Air Service and School at Renner Field in 1925. Renner Field proudly featured three hangars for plane storage along with space for maintenance and repair. Two years later, the federal government established the first air mail routes, having issued 19 contracts to private airlines.
Interest in flying seemed to peak in the summer of 1927, with the arrival of Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh, who at that time was the biggest, most well-known name in the early years of flight. A true pioneer of manned flight, Lindbergh wowed the global public when on May 20-21, 1927, he piloted his plane, the “Spirit of St. Louis,” across the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Paris. The 33 and ½ hour trip in a single monoplane with no radio, and only simple navigational equipment was the first of its kind, making “Lucky” Lindbergh a national treasure, adored by millions.
Following the historic, trans-Atlantic flight, Lindbergh embarked on a nation-wide air tour of America that included South Dakota on its schedule. On August 27, 1927, Lindbergh took off in Fargo, North Dakota, and after flying over and circling a number of towns including Aberdeen, Redfield, Huron and Mitchell, he landed safely at Renner Field precisely at 12:00 noon right on schedule.
A massive, cheering crowd was on hand to see the historic, once in a lifetime, landing but certain restrictions were put in place. Other than the township dignitaries, no one was allowed to greet and shake hands with Lindbergh. Hero worshiping had to be done at a distance. Another strict rule was that no one would be permitted on the air field. Should anyone violate this rule, Lindbergh would abort the landing, fly away and circle Renner until the field was cleared. While on the ground, Lindbergh was photographed, took questions from reporters and gave a short address to the crowd. Then he got back into the “Spirit of St. Louis” and flew off to Sioux City. Strict rules and short visit notwithstanding, a spirit of joy and celebration prevailed that magical summer day in 1927.
In December of 1927, Dakota Airlines became the first full-scale flight facility to serve the Sioux Falls area. Harold Tennant sought to keep pace with the new and thrilling airline business that seemed to have adopted a “sky is the limit” attitude. But tragedy struck on September 28, 1928 when Tennant’s plane, a Kari-keen Sioux Coupe, crashed in a Renner pasture. Both Tennant, and his passenger Frank Kuehn, were killed.
It was a terrible loss for the budding industry for the popular and gusty Tennant seemed to be on the cusp of national fame. Nevertheless, interest in flying continued apace. South Dakota girl, Nellie Willhite, a flight student at Renner School, became first licensed female in the state and the first deaf pilot in the United States.
The flying fever would know no cure; the deniers and nay sayers — the sane people who insisted that the automobile would never replace the horse and buggy — could only squeak with their faint, negative voices. The wave of optimism by the oncoming rush of eager pilots and new planes dominated the field and the public mind. In the final analysis, the uniquely American response to unbelievers is always the same. Innovation wins every time.
Charles A. Lindbergh
