If anyone had remarked when my two sons were young, “One of your boys will attend college at the University of North Dakota”, I would have laughed and commented, “That’s too funny, no way. How do you even get to North Dakota?”
When Phil’s interest in flight turned into a passion in his teen years, the college search expanded into uncharted territories; incredibly including North Dakota. Why and how?
Phil checking out the plane before his flight at Brandywine Airport, West Chester, PA
Son Phil earned his private pilot’s certificate in January of 2007 at the age of 16. When he expressed an interest in attending a flight program within a university setting, we took his junior year spring break week to check out college flight programs in New Hampshire, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Indiana. He came home nonplussed by them all.
And then, a casual comment from a retired Boeing aeronautical engineer changed everything.
“Phil ought to look at the University of North Dakota”, remarked Dave Bevins, a fellow member of the Propstoppers RC (remote control) club where Phil served as Treasurer. Dave explained that the school was (and still is) recognized as having one of the best all around flight programs in the country. Intrigued, Pete accompanied Phil for a school visit in the fall of 2007.
The University of North Dakota (UND), is located in Grand Forks, about an hour north of Fargo. Initially, the school’s location seemed like it might as well be on the moon. After looking at flight schedules however; travel time remains roughly five hours from Philadelphia International airport (PHL). Not bad, considering it can sometimes take that long to get to Boston by car, just 300 miles up the road.
Grand Forks, North Dakota is a nice, all-American, Mid-western kind of town. It almost washed away completely in the great flood of 1997. Ten years later, little damage could be detected except for the high water marks left indelibly on many neighborhood trees. Since the ‘97 catastrophe, a flood wall has been constructed. The solid concrete panels designed to open and close as needed have successfully saved the town from future Red River flooding.
The college tour was a success! Phil came home from his visit, exclaiming without any hesitation, “This is it!”.
And the rest, as my father would say, “is history”.
We frequently visited Grand Forks, Fargo, and several nearby towns over the next seven years Phil lived in North Dakota. Phil enjoyed his experience at UND so much, he stayed on post graduation to teach in the air traffic control department.
Instead of focusing on Grand Forks, I wish to use this magnet blog post to promote the University of North Dakota’s Aerospace program, first established by John D. Odegard. In his book Flight of the Odegard, Patrick A.McGuire chronicles how Odegard turned his fledgling flight program into what is now the largest civilian flight training school in the US.
Phil had an incredible experience during his years at UND. The campus is lovely. We found the students and citizens of greater Grand Forks friendly and welcoming. Yes, the winters are a bit brisk but Phil says in retrospect, “I barely wore my North Face winter coat”. UND is loaded with heated tunnels and “hamster tube” type overhead bridges connecting many of the campus buildings.
Remarkably, in all the flights Phil took to travel between Grand Forks, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia, between 2008 and 2015, only one flight was canceled due to weather. Ironically, the weather issue was here in Philadelphia.
I’m not going to promote Grand Forks, North Dakota to be a great travel destination. If you do find yourself in this part of our country, it’s definitely a great spot to spend a night or two.
During those years, we stayed in at least six different brands of hotels. All were clean, comfortable, and managed by friendly staff. Each brand has its own distinctive personality. Among my personal favorites are:
Hilton Garden Inn - UND - nestled at the edge of campus, the hotel is super clean and has a Hilton sleek feel. Breakfast is delicious. You can easily walk to campus activities.
Country Inn and Suites - By far, has the best indoor pool (and polar bear slide).
Yes Henrik, there ARE polar bears in Grand Forks, ND
C’mon Inn and Suites - hot tubs in the lobby - fun gathering spot. Rooms are nice.
Canad Inns - Destination Centre Grand Forks - spent one night there to host a fun water park day for Phil’s friends. The slides are awesome!!!
Best Western Harvest Inn and Suites - fantastic indoor pool. Very clean and comfortable.
If you are by chance ever in Grand Forks and like Mexican food - Paradiso wins our overall US “travelers best” for Mexican food.
Paradiso lunch before saying goodbye to college freshman Phil in 2008
If you know of someone who wishes to attend a high caliber flight program, I can’t recommend more highly the program at the John D. Odegard School of Aerosciences at the University of North Dakota.
In 2016, Phil continued to surprise us by setting off for another, even more distant new land. Within months, trip planning and my magnet collection took on a whole new dimension.
In Memory ---
Jay Zook, Asst. Manager at Brandywine Airport, co-worker of Phil's and our friend. He passed in April 2020 of Covid. I didn't get to say "good-bye". Jay, I sure hope there are Warbirds in heaven!! Rest in peace my friend, rest in peace.
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