Walter Mount of Stewartville has been fixing airplanes and airplane engines for many decades and is a legend among local aviators and mechanics. He also fixed airplanes during World War II.
John Weiss/Post-Bulletin
PRESTON -- Leaning on his cane, the legend shuffled to a chair in the shade of a Fillmore County Airport hangar and sat down.
He wore boots with weathered leather and has weathered hands and face to match.
Lines on his face are understandable. Walt Mount of Stewartville is 96, he's been outside on a farm and in the air for untold thousands of hours; he has a right to a face with character.
But when he talks about airplanes, he's young again. He loves airplanes, and he remembers so much about them. He still fixes them and helps young mechanics learn to fix or inspect the aircraft.
That's part of what makes him such a legend, said Freeman Welch of Stewartville, a fellow aviation lover. "I learned everything I know from him," he said. Mount is also the adviser to the local Experimental Aircraft Association. "If you need advice, you go to Walt," he said.
Isaac Deters of Deters Aviation at the airport, who has Mount for a mentor, said "Walt has more patience than anybody else I know." While the 27-year-old would get frustrated after not being able to reach a part tucked deep in the wing, Mount would just keep plugging away.
The legend, however, didn't get excited about his status as he sat in the shade.
He talked quietly about a life that has been punctuated with soaring through the skies and the shattering of his life at the death of a young son.
His heart was in the sky
He was born in Illinois on a farm and worked for Caterpillar for years. But his heart was in the sky. "I've always had an interest in airplanes since I was that high," he said, holding his hand about 3 feet off the ground. He got his pilot's license in 1941 and fixed airplanes for the Army Air Force in World War II.
He came back to the U.S., married and farmed for five years. He then bought a shop for fixing airplanes in Redwood Falls, Minn. That is where tragedy changed his life and brought him to the southeast.
Oil was once sold in paper containers, and one cold day, he put a frozen case on a stove. It leaked. The house caught fire. "I ran in the house, and I got two of my girls, one under each arm, and got out," he said. "I couldn't get back in."
His 3 1/2-year-old son died.
Mount spent 27 days in the hospital, and a daughter was burned even worse. She was taken to Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester, and her family followed. That was about 1961.
Mount began working for local aviation companies that delivered mail or were for corporations. He slowly became known for his expertise. The legend slowly grew.
A few years ago, Mount gave up his flying license because he didn't have the physical approval. But he's eager to get it back and get back into the air. "I hope to fly again," he said. "It's a different world up there."
Even an old man needing a cane to walk and with weathered face and hands can still dream of flying.
Staff writer John Weiss travels the region's back roads looking for people, places and things of interest for this column. E-mail him at weiss@postbulletin.com
Copyright 2009 Post-Bulletin Company, LLC
May 28, 2009
USA: Back Roads - You're never too old to rather be flying
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ROCHESTER, Minnesota / Post-Bulletin / May 28, 2009
By John Weiss
Walter Mount of Stewartville has been fixing airplanes and airplane engines for many decades and is a legend among local aviators and mechanics. He also fixed airplanes during World War II.
John Weiss/Post-Bulletin
PRESTON -- Leaning on his cane, the legend shuffled to a chair in the shade of a Fillmore County Airport hangar and sat down.
He wore boots with weathered leather and has weathered hands and face to match.
Lines on his face are understandable. Walt Mount of Stewartville is 96, he's been outside on a farm and in the air for untold thousands of hours; he has a right to a face with character.
But when he talks about airplanes, he's young again. He loves airplanes, and he remembers so much about them. He still fixes them and helps young mechanics learn to fix or inspect the aircraft.
That's part of what makes him such a legend, said Freeman Welch of Stewartville, a fellow aviation lover. "I learned everything I know from him," he said. Mount is also the adviser to the local Experimental Aircraft Association. "If you need advice, you go to Walt," he said.
Isaac Deters of Deters Aviation at the airport, who has Mount for a mentor, said "Walt has more patience than anybody else I know." While the 27-year-old would get frustrated after not being able to reach a part tucked deep in the wing, Mount would just keep plugging away.
The legend, however, didn't get excited about his status as he sat in the shade.
He talked quietly about a life that has been punctuated with soaring through the skies and the shattering of his life at the death of a young son.
His heart was in the sky
He was born in Illinois on a farm and worked for Caterpillar for years. But his heart was in the sky. "I've always had an interest in airplanes since I was that high," he said, holding his hand about 3 feet off the ground. He got his pilot's license in 1941 and fixed airplanes for the Army Air Force in World War II.
He came back to the U.S., married and farmed for five years. He then bought a shop for fixing airplanes in Redwood Falls, Minn. That is where tragedy changed his life and brought him to the southeast.
Oil was once sold in paper containers, and one cold day, he put a frozen case on a stove. It leaked. The house caught fire. "I ran in the house, and I got two of my girls, one under each arm, and got out," he said. "I couldn't get back in."
His 3 1/2-year-old son died.
Mount spent 27 days in the hospital, and a daughter was burned even worse. She was taken to Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester, and her family followed. That was about 1961.
Mount began working for local aviation companies that delivered mail or were for corporations. He slowly became known for his expertise. The legend slowly grew.
A few years ago, Mount gave up his flying license because he didn't have the physical approval. But he's eager to get it back and get back into the air. "I hope to fly again," he said. "It's a different world up there."
Even an old man needing a cane to walk and with weathered face and hands can still dream of flying.
Staff writer John Weiss travels the region's back roads looking for people, places and things of interest for this column. E-mail him at weiss@postbulletin.com
Copyright 2009 Post-Bulletin Company, LLC
Walter Mount of Stewartville has been fixing airplanes and airplane engines for many decades and is a legend among local aviators and mechanics. He also fixed airplanes during World War II.
John Weiss/Post-Bulletin
PRESTON -- Leaning on his cane, the legend shuffled to a chair in the shade of a Fillmore County Airport hangar and sat down.
He wore boots with weathered leather and has weathered hands and face to match.
Lines on his face are understandable. Walt Mount of Stewartville is 96, he's been outside on a farm and in the air for untold thousands of hours; he has a right to a face with character.
But when he talks about airplanes, he's young again. He loves airplanes, and he remembers so much about them. He still fixes them and helps young mechanics learn to fix or inspect the aircraft.
That's part of what makes him such a legend, said Freeman Welch of Stewartville, a fellow aviation lover. "I learned everything I know from him," he said. Mount is also the adviser to the local Experimental Aircraft Association. "If you need advice, you go to Walt," he said.
Isaac Deters of Deters Aviation at the airport, who has Mount for a mentor, said "Walt has more patience than anybody else I know." While the 27-year-old would get frustrated after not being able to reach a part tucked deep in the wing, Mount would just keep plugging away.
The legend, however, didn't get excited about his status as he sat in the shade.
He talked quietly about a life that has been punctuated with soaring through the skies and the shattering of his life at the death of a young son.
His heart was in the sky
He was born in Illinois on a farm and worked for Caterpillar for years. But his heart was in the sky. "I've always had an interest in airplanes since I was that high," he said, holding his hand about 3 feet off the ground. He got his pilot's license in 1941 and fixed airplanes for the Army Air Force in World War II.
He came back to the U.S., married and farmed for five years. He then bought a shop for fixing airplanes in Redwood Falls, Minn. That is where tragedy changed his life and brought him to the southeast.
Oil was once sold in paper containers, and one cold day, he put a frozen case on a stove. It leaked. The house caught fire. "I ran in the house, and I got two of my girls, one under each arm, and got out," he said. "I couldn't get back in."
His 3 1/2-year-old son died.
Mount spent 27 days in the hospital, and a daughter was burned even worse. She was taken to Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester, and her family followed. That was about 1961.
Mount began working for local aviation companies that delivered mail or were for corporations. He slowly became known for his expertise. The legend slowly grew.
A few years ago, Mount gave up his flying license because he didn't have the physical approval. But he's eager to get it back and get back into the air. "I hope to fly again," he said. "It's a different world up there."
Even an old man needing a cane to walk and with weathered face and hands can still dream of flying.
Staff writer John Weiss travels the region's back roads looking for people, places and things of interest for this column. E-mail him at weiss@postbulletin.com
Copyright 2009 Post-Bulletin Company, LLC
