ATLANTA, Texas - Atlanta's fly-in Saturday at the Hall-Miller Airport was really about youth - that is, young children and young-at-heart adults.
They played games and stared at airplanes while the adults as pilots made impressive fly-bys and gave sky-rides all morning and afternoon long.
Pilots dropped balloons out of airplanes, and at least one skydiver tossed himself out at 5,000 feet. Some might say it would be sky-dying.
But skydiver Glynn Thrash of Texarkana was not at all scared. He landed smoothly by parachute on the grass in front of the crowd and close to the hangars. Children ran to congratulate him.
Youngsters from Texarkana with the Civil Air Patrol were present to park cars and airplanes and keep the crowd safe and orderly.
Hamburgers and snow cones were the refreshment menu. Curiosity about flying machines was the topic of most conversations.
That's what Fly-In Day was meant to do, airport board member Mike Lee said. "Get people talking about the airport and airplanes. Let it be seen as a resource for the town," he said.
About 20 airplanes flew in on this day, with a crowd of several hundred enjoying the good weather, Lee estimated.
"People from all over came by this day to enjoy our festivities. The pilots came on their own money to benefit us. Some came just to fly over and support us. They made the effort, and all the area benefited. We'll do this again next year."