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Dean Memorial Airport
Researched and Written by Janine Weins
(Posted 6/28/06)

Many who take business trips to California or vacations in Italy think airports are big and noisy, made with tons of steel and concrete, and that every hour of every day they are filled with stressed and anxious people. Between takeoffs and landings most of New Hampshire's twenty-five airports are peaceful and quiet. At some, the only concrete is in the blocks used to tie down the aircraft. In the evening there are often more deer, wild turkeys and fox enjoying a meal next to the runway than there are people at the airport.

Dean Memorial Airport is a general aviation airport located in Haverhill, New Hampshire, just a few miles up Route 10 from my farm in Lyme. In 1945, Frank and Lizzie Dean donated part of their farmland for an airfield. For more than twenty years, planes landed on a 1,700 foot grass strip. In 1968, the airport was expanded and a 2,500 foot paved runway was built. During the '70s, an air freight company flew parts and equipment for local manufacturing companies into Haverhill.

Today Dean Memorial is a busy general aviation airport. Although it has no regularly scheduled flights, more than 3,000 takeoffs and landings are made each year.

With roots in the past, Dean Memorial Airport has made a commitment to the future and the young people who will be the pilots and passengers of the next generation. The Dean Memorial Airport Commission has established the Dean Memorial Aviation Scholarship Fund to help local young people with their education. The airport hosts a Civil Air Patrol Squadron, and the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is active. Because of the dedication and efforts of Joel and Annemarie Godston, the airport has made a significant contribution to the EAA Young Eagles program, (http://www.youngeagles.org/). The Young Eagles program, which was launched in 1992, gives youth between the ages of 8 and 17 an opportunity for a free flight in a general aviation airplane. More than 500 Young Eagles have flown out of Dean Memorial Airport, more than 300 with Joel Godston.

One of the special events at Dean Memorial Airport is Airport Awareness Day. This year's event was scheduled for June 3rd. Because of extremely bad weather, the event was postponed and will be rescheduled for a day during fall foliage season. During Airport Awareness Day, young people can sign up to enjoy a free flight and become a Young Eagle; for a per-pound charge, adults can take a scenic flight. Everyone who attends Airport Awareness Day at Dean Memorial Airport can see small aircraft, talk to pilots, and enjoy the views of the mountains that surround the airport that was once prime farm land.

You can learn more about this special airport by visiting http://www.town.haverhill.nh.us/deanmemorialairp.html.

Looking straight down the runway at Dean Memorial Airport.	Dean Memorial Airport has neither fast food nor indoor plumbing, but it does have a blue portable toilet!