Several of us have mentioned the airplane that crashed near the Jr. High School during eight grade classes in February 1960.  We had a near miss that day and so did St. Gertrude's which was even closer to the crash site than we were.  

The twin engine Beechcraft was owned by the Champion Paper Co. Two of their pilots and a flight instructor were practicing instrument flying that day.  We could hear the engines or engine as the aircraft passed over the school and, to me, they sounded like they were running at full throttle. 

I don't believe the site of the crash was just luck.  The pilot kept that aircraft in flight until it passed over Madeira and two schools.  It impacted in the first unoccupied area on their flight path.

Three professional and experienced pilots were aboard that aircraft.  A heartfelt thank you, goes to: 

Charles Hayes, 38.

Robert Kern, 35.

Joseph Lockwood, 30.

All were from the Cincinnati area.

I certainly do remember this plane crash.  It appears that Rudy has done some research on it and to find the names of the victims.  As I remember, this was on a Friday morning in February of 1960.  I was a sophomore at the high school.  Many were looking forward to the regular-season ending basketball game that night against New Richmond.

I was in a class - it might have been ancient Europian history with Mrs. McKee - on the south side of the classroom building and heard a sound much like you might hear if you were standing along an interstate highway and a semi tractor-trailer would pass.  As classes changed, it seemed others were talking about a plane crashing near Saint Gertrude. With-in a short time, it was found that was true.  

After school, despite cautions to stay away, two classmates, John Schmalfuss, Bill McNamara and I went to the site of the crash near Miami and Shawnee Run.  On the way, I remember seeing a copy of the Post & Times-Star newspaper in a rack that headlined what had happened.  Surprisingly, no one prevented people from walking down to the scene.  It all began to sink in how close the crash had taken place to the schools in the area and what could have become an even bigger tragedy.

I went to the basketball game that night, but kept thinking back to what had happened that day and the impact the deaths of those three men was having on their families.