Last month I Treo-blogged from Wichita about my unsuccessful attempt to visit the site near Bazaar, Kansas, where the airplane carrying legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne crashed in 1931.
A resident of nearby Cottonwood Falls e-mailed me some information this morning, and with her information, I put all the pieces together for this post.
From KAKE-TV in 2006:
Easter Heathman of Rural Matfield Green was 13 when the plane carrying Legendary Notre Dame Football Coach Knute Rocke crashed in the Kansas Flint Hills. He is now one of the only living memories of that crash.
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"This is about where Knute Rockne’s body laid as near as I can recall. It’s kind of sacred ground here."
On that fateful day in 1931, Knute Rockne's life became intertwined forever with Kansan Easter Heathman. Since the crash Heathman has been the unofficial caretaker of the site in the Flint Hills where 8 men lost their lives. "It's amazing, but I remember it just like it was yesterday."
The monument can't be seen from any road; only Easter Heathman and a few old timers know the way. Next month, folks around Matfield Green will hold an observance of the 75th anniversary of the eight men killed on a foggy day in the Flint Hills way back in 1931.
According to the woman from Cottonwood Falls, Heathman is still escorting interested individuals to the site--depending on his health. He turns 90 next year.
Technorati tags:
Kansas 
travel 
byways 
Flint Hills 
history 
Notre Dame 
college football 
sports 
Knute Rockne
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