Many of us have heard stories about Tyre working as a mechanic for Delta Airlines in his early years and because of that he was always interested in anything that had an engine. He also had a love for airplanes....but I don't recall him having much interest in gliders or hot air balloons. If it didn't have an engine, my Dad would only give it a passing glance. While we lived in Dayton, Ohio, Mom and Dad made several trips to visit and most of the time these trips would include a visit to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB. I also spent a few hours with Dad in the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, in late 1994. I know that Tyre loved airplanes but he was fascinated with their engines. He could tell what kind of rotary engine an old airplane had in it by the sound of it running. The most memorable airplane story I have of my Dad was when we went to an airshow in Dayton the summer of 1994. But, that story will have to wait until another time. Tyre wrote an article once about his early days at Delta:
"...in July of 1947, about five weeks past high school graduation, I went to work in the mail room of Delta Air Lines and fell in love with the flagships of their fleet, the Douglas DC-3. My salary was $100 per month. Since Mr. C.E. Woolman, the president, wanted his mail delivered on Saturday, Pete Parker and I took turns being off Friday afternoon and working on Saturday morning. Mr. Woolman was a southern gentleman of the old school; polite and courteous to everyone, including the lowly mail room boys. A trip to his office was always an experience. I remember being there the morning in the fall of 1948 when Donald Douglas, president of Douglas Aircraft Company, called him about the contract for the five DC-6s we had ordered. Mr. Woolman was showing me his shotguns when his secretary came in to tell him Mr. Douglas was on the line. The great man apologized to me for the interruption, saying, "Don't leave yet, I want to show you another gun I have." After a pause he said, "Well, Donnie, I guess we'll have to keep the bankers happy. Tyre is here in the office with me. He'll mail the contracts today." There is no reason to believe that Mr. Douglas ever knew who Tyre was. But, even as the lowest man on his employee totem-pole, I was a person who was important to Mr. Woolman. After I went to work in the engine shop, he always knew me, and always inquired about Betty and Jennifer and Jim."
My Dad always thought of himself as part of the Delta family, even years after he had moved on in his life. I'm sure the influence of C.E. Woolman had a great deal to do with his sense of the Delta family and I'm sure it also influenced Tyre's great love and respect for others during his years as a minister and true man of God.
