Denver’s 94th Aero Squadron

When Guy was an air traffic controller at the old Stapleton National Airport in Denver, we lived in an Aurora apartment across Peoria Street west of Fitzsimmons Army Hospital.

One restaurant we enjoyed when we had visitors from Iowa was on Colfax Avenue, the Apple Tree Shanty, where the food was great and the waitresses wore quaint costumes with aprons.

Another fun place to take out-of-towners was Denver’s Casa Bonita. The “cliff divers” and strolling musicians were entertaining, with some of the dining areas set among cave-like nooks. The food wasn’t that great but it was the first place we ever tasted sopapillas. With honey.

An outstanding restaurant was the 94th Aero Squadron, at 25th Avenue and Fulton Street in Aurora, sitting right along the south side of Stapleton’s east-west runway. An old wooden World War I propeller hung in the entryway, and the dining areas were furnished as rooms in an old French farmhouse.

Dad, who’d been a pilot during World War II, enjoyed listening–with headphones provided at the table–to the pilot/controller radio lingo from Stapleton’s nearby control tower.

One time when we dined there, Dad’s seat at the table faced the runway. He pointed out a private plane come in for a landing. “Look at that! His gear is still up!”

Sure enough, the plane bellied in, causing emergency equipment to quickly arrive.

That was a highlight for Dad to talk about when he got back home to Iowa. Another was the time he got to watch the Baltimore Colts’ football great at practice–Johnny Unitas.