Kathy Pinna
Ardath L Evitt
Caption on top photo: "Four years ago, when I was driving home . . . I looked up in the sky and saw three parachutists. They were floating down, so easily, so beautifully. 'That's for me, ' I thought. - Great Grandmother Ardath Evitt at 74 years of age
Article body published in The Chicago Tribune on August 30 1978:
Ardath Evitt has been walking on air, and the experience has left her, well . . . walking on air. Mrs. Evitt, who is 74 years old and lives in Paris, Illinois, had been interested in parachute jumping for several years, but it was her grandson, Clyde Taylor of Terre haute, Ind. who helped her dreams take flight. Mrs. Evitt said her grandson, who has made several jumps, "told me how wonderful it was and that I'd just love it. That clinched it."
Her next hurdle was to find a parachute jumping school willing to take on a 74-year-old great-grandmother. She approached two schools, but was turned down. "They said at my age my bones were too brittle and I might break a leg." But Mrs. Evitt, determined to jump "even if I broke a leg," found a school at Kelly Field near Mooresville, Ind., and began her preparations under the tutelage of Karen Hymbaugh.
After two false starts due to poor weather, Mrs. Evitt got an "all systems go." The day dawned clear and calm over Kelly Field and Mrs. Evitt, with grandson Clyde, instructor Karen, and a crowd of family and other well-wishers, arrived at the jump site bright and early. The day remained clear, and zero hour arrived in early afternoon. There was some last-minute coaching from Clyde and Karen, who were to make the jump with her, then they boarded the single-engine plane and took off leaving behind some worried relatives.
The plane leveled off at 3,000 feet. Her grandson jumped first, then it was her turn. Without hesitation, she jumped. "It was just wonderful," she said of those three minutes in the heavens. "It was just like floating. You could see the countryside like a bird can." What's next? Well, between phone calls from friends and neighbors and personal appearances (she recently appeared on Johnny Carson's "Tonight" show), she's thinking about making another jump when the weather turns cooler.
Article body published in The Chicago Tribune on August 30 1978:
Ardath Evitt has been walking on air, and the experience has left her, well . . . walking on air. Mrs. Evitt, who is 74 years old and lives in Paris, Illinois, had been interested in parachute jumping for several years, but it was her grandson, Clyde Taylor of Terre haute, Ind. who helped her dreams take flight. Mrs. Evitt said her grandson, who has made several jumps, "told me how wonderful it was and that I'd just love it. That clinched it."
Her next hurdle was to find a parachute jumping school willing to take on a 74-year-old great-grandmother. She approached two schools, but was turned down. "They said at my age my bones were too brittle and I might break a leg." But Mrs. Evitt, determined to jump "even if I broke a leg," found a school at Kelly Field near Mooresville, Ind., and began her preparations under the tutelage of Karen Hymbaugh.
After two false starts due to poor weather, Mrs. Evitt got an "all systems go." The day dawned clear and calm over Kelly Field and Mrs. Evitt, with grandson Clyde, instructor Karen, and a crowd of family and other well-wishers, arrived at the jump site bright and early. The day remained clear, and zero hour arrived in early afternoon. There was some last-minute coaching from Clyde and Karen, who were to make the jump with her, then they boarded the single-engine plane and took off leaving behind some worried relatives.
The plane leveled off at 3,000 feet. Her grandson jumped first, then it was her turn. Without hesitation, she jumped. "It was just wonderful," she said of those three minutes in the heavens. "It was just like floating. You could see the countryside like a bird can." What's next? Well, between phone calls from friends and neighbors and personal appearances (she recently appeared on Johnny Carson's "Tonight" show), she's thinking about making another jump when the weather turns cooler.
Date & Place:
in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois United States
