A few weeks ago, in my post about the cruise we took earlier this month, I mentioned that I picked up a book at a shop on Catalina Island and I'd share more about it at a later date. This is the post I was eluding to.
As my wife Renee and I walked around the "downtown" area of Catalina, we ventured into the Catalina Island Conservancy Trailhead shop. I'm always looking for unique things that catch my eye and pique my interest. I always find the coolest apparel or other fun items in shops like this. Today I would find a book that I HAD to buy for my library. The book I found was titled "Catalina By Air" by Jeannine L. Pedersen (who is the curator of the Catalina Island Museum).
If you knew me while I was in junior high, you know that I was really into airplanes. I had a pretty extensive library of aviation books. It was not an uncommon sight to see me carrying one of those books with me to family functions or when we went somewhere as a family for my downtime. During those formative years I taught myself quite about airplanes. I was particularly well versed in identifying current military aircraft from that time period.
The other fact you need to know is that I grew up in southern California. In fact my home had a great view of the final approach of the former Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino. I could sit on the floor inside of our sliding glass doors to the backyard and just watch the airplanes (mostly Lockheed C-141B Starlifters) make their final run to land at the base. It was particularly exciting in the week before the base's open house and air show (usually featuring the USAF Thunderbirds).
Back to the topic at hand, the book I found in the shop at Catalina Island. As I was glancing in the book section of the shop, I spotted the cover for this book. Its not often you see a book cover featuring a vintage photo of seaplanes. The title had me; I had to buy the book and learn about the history of seaplanes and Catalina Island.
It is an entertaining read! For decades, the seaplane was the quick transportation between the island and mainland California. It really wasn't until the advent of commercial helicopter service that the seaplane taxi business became less profitable.
The author covers the many companies (and their respective owners) that provided the service throughout the seaplane time period. A lot of historical photographs provide a visual interpretation of the timeline.
If you have a keen eye (and a good memory), last April I wrote about one of my childhood favorite TV series that prominently featured a seaplane. The Tales of the Gold Monkey was a favorite TV series of mine growing up, with a lot having to do with the fact that the main character's seaplane, a Grumman G-21 Goose was a major focus point of the stories. The Grumman Goose was one of the models that was operating to Catalina.
The mystique of the seaplane is just something I love to learn more about. This book just let me know that seaplanes were in use closer to home!
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