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<br />This article was made possible through the Sherburne History Center archives, resources from the Chicago <br />History Museum, and detailed research conducted by Jennifer Green at the City of Elk River. <br /> <br />Elk River and the Golden Age of Aviation <br />Reports of Charles Lindbergh’s safe arrival on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean on May 21, 1927, travelled <br />around the world in a matter of minutes. For a new generation of aviators, the world must have instantly <br />seemed a little smaller, the possibilities a little clearer. Excitement around this achievement, along with <br />advancements in plane technology and surpluses of aircrafts and pilots coming out of World War I, propelled <br />the aviation industry to new heights. Decades before the country would see the formation of the Interstate <br />Highway System, there was a growing interest in air travel. During a recreational flight over Elk River in June of <br />1927, a journalist for the Sherburne County Star News noted the juxtaposition this created when he reported, <br />“[We] saw in mid-river the ancient ferryboat transporting a team and wagon, and this emphasized to me more <br />than ever the wonders of aviation and the rapid progress which has been made…” The increasing number of <br />flights over the United States, ranging in purpose from flying circuses to the innovation of commercial airmail, <br />meant that it was plane engines that put some of that “roar” into the 1920s. Six months after the last piece of <br />tickertape fluttered to the ground from the parade celebrating Lindbergh’s flight, four men from Elk River were <br />preparing for takeoff into what would come to be known as the Golden Age of Aviation. <br /> <br />Advertisement from the Sherburne County Star News - June 7, 1928 <br /> <br />Recognizing a growing market in aviation services, the Elk River Aircraft Company was created by local <br />businessmen who planned to provide commercial transportation as well as sell planes. Initially they purchased <br />a used Curtiss airplane and spent three months rebuilding it. Finally, on a May afternoon in 1928, the