POLK PROUD HISTORY VOL. 45 AUGUST 2020 NO. 3 PETE SONES FLORIDA'S ACE AVIATOR Polk County Historical Association UNDER THE DIRECTORS David Brewer, President Richard A. Fifer, Vice President DOME Roderick Hudnell, Treasurer WHERE LOCAL HISTORY MEETS Lois Sherrouse-Murphy, Secretary SUPPORT LOCAL HISTORY Melvin Sellers, Past President As we continue to redefine normal during this unprecedented time of the COVID- Jennifer Bush 19 pandemic, history and art museums are facing permanent closures with staff S,L. Frisbie, IV hours either diminished or furloughed. Initial numbers suggest approximately 30% C. Wayne Guest of private and public facilities are impacted. Here in Polk County, rich in local John Keating history, there are cut-backs. We are lucky to have a county government-supported Lyonal B. Lindsey, Jr. museum with the Polk County History Center with a staff that strives to bring Harriet Rust history to life for residents and visitors alike. But not everyone has this backing. Sheila Tindle Museums make the most of w^hat they have, often rehant on admission fees, memberships, or guest donations. With facilities minimized and no pubhc onsite Donald Wilson programming, it follows the adage of "out of sight-out of mind." So please take a Myrtice Young moment to access your favorite facility, participate in virtual programming, and LuAnn Mims, Editor check in on them to find out what other support they need. Make your donations count - locally! When we all finally emerge from this pandemic, we want to have DIRECTORS EMERITUS the museums, societies and venues intact. William Lloyd Harris The Polk County Historical Association supports all efforts of history in the county, Sue Sellers so be sure your membership is up to date. Those funds help to offset the cost of this publication - a voice for local history. LuAnn Mims, Editor MEET THE AUTHORS POLK PROUD HISTORY rom the Florida Air Museum, B.J. Whitley is a freelance w-riter and has been is a quarterly publication Fa Florida Air Museum, SUN 'n FUN Aerospace Expo Early Bird volunteer for produced by the Polk County six years. Her work has appeared in newspapers, healthcare publications and the Historical Association. Since Florida Air Museum blog. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Language, Writing 1974, the mission of the and Editing from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. publication has been to create Jayme Jamison is the Museum Manager and has been with the organization for three a legacy of Polk County's his• years. She previously served as the Curator of Education and Programming at the tory and heritage through Polk County History Center and served as a classroom teacher for 7 years prior. scholarly, informative articles She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science Education from the University written by local historians, of Central Florida and a Master of Arts degree in Museum Studies from the educators and researchers. University of Oklahoma. While not a pilot herself, Jayme grew up around a great variety of military aircraft and enjoys when the U.S. Navy Blue Angels make it out To submit an article for publi• for the Annual SUN 'n FUN Aerospace Expo, the primary fundraiser for the Florida cation consideration, please Air Museum. email a word document direct• More information about the museum can be found online at ly to editor at: \^•ww.floridaairmuseum.org. The 2021 SUN 'n FUN Aerospace Expo will be held LAMimsy@gmail. com April 13- 18, 2021. Tickets and more information can be found at www.flvsnf.org Feature article: 2000 words Special article: 500-750 words Short article: 300 words AEROSPACE SUNff FUN Please include bibliography and Center For Excellence RerosRace GHPO resources. Cover photo^rapih: Pete Sones inirchased a Stinson Reliant in 1935, which became his all time favorite . -2- FLORIDA'S ACE AVIATOR Written by B.J. Whitley - Edited by Jayme Jamison y all accounts, legendary air racer Pete Sones of Haines BCity, Florida, never dreamed as a young boy that he would grow up and be remembered as ^Florida's Ace Avia• tor.' Nor could he have ever imagined that he would help lay the ground\Aork for the state to become the aviation leader it is recognized to be today. HIS YOUNG LIFE Born in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1896, Sones spent the majority of his early life working in his father's sawmill where he developed quite an aptitude for working on machinery. According to the book, Pete Sones, Racing the Wind written by Lynn M. Homan and Thomas Reilly, his exceptional mechan• ical talents were noted by C. W. Nash of Nash Motor Com• pany in Kenosha, Wisconsin who hired Sones to work as a mechanic at his car dealership. According to the authors, Pete the Pirate and his crew of buccaneers abducted Margaret Ware, Miss Nash remembered him as "very quiet and unassuming, pos• National Aeronautic Association, during Florida's Aviation weeli, 1937 sessing unusual executive ability and also unusual mechanical an automobile repair business naming it Sones Service Ga• ability." rage. Over the next few^ years, his business became very When World War I broke out, Sones left his job and joined successful and he eventually acquired dealerships for thousands of other young men who were enlisting in the U.S. Chrysler, General Motors and Austin automobiles as well as Army. Little is known about his military career other than Stinson Airplanes. Nash, who w as serving as assistant director of aircraft produc• The end of the war in 1918 marked the beginning of the tion for the War Department, recommended his former Golden Age of Aviation and, for the next 20 years, the mechanic for Officers Training School. At the end of the war industry experienced incredible growth in both commercial in 1918, Sones was discharged in Jacksonville, Florida where and civil sectors. Aircraft were being transitioned from slow he boarded a bus headed home to Wisconsin. wood and fabric construction to fast streamlined metal Following a roundabout monoplanes turning the skv into a playground for pilots like route from Jacksonville to Charles Lindbergh who completed his famous nonstop flight Tampa, the bus had a from New York to France in 1 927. scheduled stop in Haines Sones was obviously as fascinated with flying as the rest of the City. When Sones spotted country and perhaps that is why an advertisement offering a disabled automobile, he flying lessons caught his eye in 1929 as he read the morning offered to help with repairs newspaper. Making the decision on the spot that he was going and subsequently spent the to learn to fly, he answered the advertisement and eagerly night in town. When he drove 55 miles to Brooksvillc for a weekend of instruction. awoke the next morning, he realized he liked the ar• The large surplus of airplanes left over from the w-ar were ea so much that he decided being scooped up by veteran pilots who were creating jobs to stay and make it his new^ for themselves by opening flying schools all over the country. home. Making a living was When Sones arrived for his first lesson, he found himself next on his agenda so he strapped into a post-war Jenny with a 90-horscpower engine found a small garage for that was pretty battle scarred. Pete Sones served his country with distinction during Worid War 1, 1918 sale, bought it and opened -3- The aircraft was challenging to fly because its landing wheels Some estimated as many as 3,000 people attended and Sones were so close together that it made setting the aircraft on the was among the winners, capturing a silver cup for the most ground correctly a bit tricky, and the instruments, to say the "trim appearing airplane." He was flying his new Stinson least, were nothing short of basic. Despite the aircraft's Junior cabin monoplane painted black and white and this shortcomings, Sones quickly grasped the fundamentals of would be the start of his long-term relationship with the flying and when he completed his lessons, he purchased the aircraft company. airplane and flew it back to Haines City. Sones became aviation's best friend as he enthusiastically Around the same time, Florida was beginning to be eyed as a championed the industry at every turn, especially where possible aviation mecca for an industry that seemed to be aerial exhibitions were concerned. To name just a few, Sones exploding all over the country. For instance, only fifty miles participated in Miami's Fifth All American Air Maneuvers in west of Haines City, Tampa was predicted to be "The Future 1933, the First Sportsman Pilot Cruising Race from Orlando Aviation Center of America." As a matter of fact, the entire to Miami in 1934, the Second Annual Air Party held in state was ideally positioned to be a leader in the industry due Orlando in 1935 and the First Annual Miami-Havana Interna• to its climate, proximity to water and its flat land. tional Air Race in 1936. SONES BECOMES A PILOT However, his most memorable competition occurred in 1933 when he won Liberty Magazine's Treasure Hunt, an eight- Central Florida was becoming a hotbed for flving schools and citv race held to put amateur pilots in the limelight in hopes when Sones returned to Haines City, he began taking lessons of encouraging more people to become involved in aviation. from Wesley N. Raymond who helped organize the Polk Sones was one of 73 pilots entering the race. The route County Aviation Association and was the owner of Raymond started in St.