By Laura Smith, EAA 1074866
Five EAA members were among the 25 honorees inducted into the International Forest of Friendship in 2019. Located on 20 acres of rolling woodlands in Atchison, Kansas, the International Forest of Friendship is a living memorial to aviation and aerospace history. Trees representing all 50 states and many foreign countries have been planted, forming a framework for the pathways that wind through the forest.
Ellen Herr, EAA 284523, Terry Carbonell, EAA 881552, Karen Kalishek, EAA 800372, Donna Miller, EAA 881630, and Sarah Byrn Rickman, EAA 765276, are now among the more than 1,500 honorees who have been inducted into the Forest since its creation in 1976. Each one of these honorees has a granite plaque embedded in the walkways of the forest.
“I felt honored to stroll along the pathways and see the plaques with such famous names as Jeana Yeager, Jimmy Doolittle, and Sally Ride,” said Ellen. “The Forest includes a life-sized bronze statue of Atchison native Amelia Earhart, who continues to provide inspiration for the pilots of today. The Astronaut Memorial honors pioneers of space exploration, with the Moon Tree in the center that was grown from a seed taken to the moon by Command Module Pilot Stuart Roosa. Each September the Forest holds its annual ceremony on these beautiful grounds, and visitors are welcome to appreciate this unique combination of history and natural beauty. Please consider spending some time in Atchison and joining the celebration next fall.”