Shoup Airlines

Explanations

I’m guessing most of you are wondering what the story is with the banner above.  Welcome to Enterprise, Alabama!

I had been planning to run this banner forever and a day while I was still in flight school but the chance never really showed itself.  Then of course as I was frantically trying to leave this little burgh, I remembered I wanted to get the shots while the sun was setting.  Unfortunately, the packing took longer than planned and it was dark before I could get over.  But enough about my excuses, let’s talk boll weevils!

Back in the early 1900s when the stereotypical crop to grow in the south was cotton, Enterprise was no exception.  The boll weevil, a nasty looking little bugger, moved right in and decimated the crops forcing the town to branch out in farming in order to sustain itself.  Still being a typical southern town, they decided to switch over to peanuts and flourished in an expanding economy that even cotton couldn’t bring in.  In 1919, the statue was erected and still graces the main street intersection today.  It is said to be the only monument dedicated to an insect.

It’s also said to be the source of some of the world’s worst puns. Unbollweevilable, right?

As for me, I am back in Enterprise and remembering with every drop of sweat that falls from my brow at 8am why I love this place SO much!  I’m actually back for the better part of 6 weeks attending the ALSE (Aircraft Life Saving Equipment) course.  Army pilots have several additional duties along with flying, running the ALSE shop tends to be one of the first ones for newer pilots.  For the most part, the course basically covers all the inspections, servicing and maintaining of the first aid and survival kits on the aircraft along with the vests and helmets we wear while flying.  The course also includes a week of learning how to use a sewing machine.  Yes, that’s right folks, your tax dollars hard at work teaching me how to create this: