Fans of Rockne, History Make Pilgrimage
To Kansas Field 80 Years After Crash

 

“We thought it would take a President or a great public man’s death to make a whole nation, regardless of age, race or creed, shake their heads in real, sincere sorrow. Well, that’s what this country did today, Knute, for you.  You died one of our national heroes.  Notre Dame was your address but every gridiron in America was your home.”

--Will Rogers

 

Photo gallery of the 80th Anniversary Rockne Memorial Tribute

Coverage of the Tribute in the Wichita Eagle

By Jim Lefebvre, Editor, Forever Irish

How often can you travel to the site where an historic event that took place 80 years earlier -- and have the surroundings look virtually identical to how they appeared that day?

On Saturday, April 2, 2011, a group of some 200 Notre Dame fans, historians and local residents did just that in the Flint Hills of eastern Kansas.

At the Bazaar Schoolhouse, they patiently awaited their turn to board school buses for the short ride down a country road and across a couple of miles of pasture land, to the spot where legendary Irish football coach Knute Rockne and seven others perished in an airplane crash on March 31, 1931.

It was the 80^th anniversary commemoration tribute to the lives of pilots Robert Fry and Herman M. Mathias, Coach Rockne, and five other passengers on that fateful flight.

Every five years, a group of volunteers organizes an event to remember the great coach at the site of his passing. The other crash victims were remembered as well, and several of their families were represented.

This portion of the last expanse of intact tallgrass prairie in the nation looks today as it would have on the morning of March 31, 1931. A vast, 360-degree panorama unbroken by human habitation. Endless acres of big bluestem, shaking the bonds of winter, ready to don its spring coat of green. And a few black dots on one horizon – cattle grazing on this quiet paradise.

On this day, more than 200 folks from far and near gathered to commemorate the eight victims of a plane crash, and the man who spent 77 of his 90 years protecting the spot where they died. This was the first major commemoration without Easter Heathman, but his spirit of quiet dignity permeates the place.

It was Easter, who died in 2008, who tended the monument, guided the curious and the respectful to this spot, and filled in bits of history from that fateful morning, when as a 13-year-old kid of the ranch lands, he was among the first to reach the crash site.

Those duties now fall to his children, Sue Ann Brown and Tom Heathman. They accepted the mantle humbly, noting that nobody but their dad could have done the job the way he did it. Those in attendance offered their quiet support to keep the memorial alive.

Local resident and 1967 ND alum Pat Smith (“I have to be the only Notre Dame alum anywhere who works….as a bull hauler. That’s the family business, transporting bulls.”) noted the importance of the weathered timber fence surrounding the monument.

“Without the fence, the cattle would, first eat this flower arrangement and chomp on the wooden crosses, but also lick the rock of the monument for salt, and rub against it to rid themselves of bugs. It wouldn’t last long. Easter made sure the memorial was protected.”

Pat Reis, the 1985 ND alum from Minneapolis who does a superb job of organizing these events, noted that even the colors on Saturday were ND perfect – a bright blue endless sky, joining the panorama of the gold-hued tallgrass.

Nils Rockne, grandson of the great coach, gave an emotional thank you to all in attendance, with special attention to the memory of Easter Heathman. “You were so kind to our family in all you did to keep alive the memory of Coach Rockne at this spot. We are forever indebted to you.”

Bernie Kish, now a Kansas university professor and formerly of the College Football Hall of Fame, spoke of the great bonds between Rockne and the state of Kansas, and concluded with remarks about the site’s late caretaker. “Notre Dame….Knute Rockne…Easter Heathman….Together forever.”

While fans at Notre Dame home games have become accustomed to the roar of the pre-game flyover of the latest from the the Air Force fleet, Saturday’s historic-themed flyover brought the crowd near tears.

Amidst a long moment of silence, local pilot Doug Wilson flew his 1920s-era red-white-and-blue biplane in a low path directly over the monument precisely at 10:48 a.m., the time of the fatal crash 80 years earlier. It was a powerful moment.

Earlier, Pat Reis spoke to the lure of the event.

“To those on the outside, it might appear like we have an ‘Elvis’-type affinity for Coach Rockne, like this is Graceland or something,” said Reis, who travels from his home in Minneapolis to the site.  “But when you get out there in the Flint Hills, you realize this is more than the site of a great tragedy.  It is, as many have said, truly ‘sacred ground.’  Just the setting itself, with the broad horizon, blue skies and green fields, is a special slice of America. It is like the campus of Notre Dame in that way.  You feel blessed to be walking on that ground.”

On the legacy of Easter Heathman, Pat noted:  “What a very special guy he was.  For more than 75 years, he served as witness, caretaker and historian.  Over several owners of the property, Easter made sure whoever owned the plot didn’t plow it under.  He understood how important it has been for those who follow and appreciate Coach Rockne to be able to come and pay their respects, over these many years. He created an atmosphere of respect and dignity.

“He was a man of such humility, of such selflessness,” said Reis.  “It was never about him, having witnessed an historic event.  I think we could not have asked for a better individual than Easter to be handed the task of overseeing the memory of another great man, Coach Rockne.”

Reis noted the irony of the crash location, “about as far removed as possible” from the intense following of Notre Dame football that Coach Rockne had build across a wide swath of the United States. 

“Here it was, in the fields of Kansas, in an overwhelmingly Protestant area, with virtually no connection to a place like Notre Dame, that a plane carrying an icon of Catholic America crashed.  Someone like Easter Heathman would have barely heard of Rockne. It’s as if one last corner of the nation needed to be touched by this man.”

Nils Rockne reflected on the turnout of some 200 people attending the commemoration.

“I’m overwhelmed, that 80 years after the crash, for that many people – and certainly none of them would have been alive at the time of  Coach Rockne – to take time out and honor his memory.  It’s just amazing,” Nils noted.

“It just shows the magnitude of what Coach accomplished in a very short time, and how people still admire the ideals he stood for.” 

Following a benediction prayer from Bishop George Fitzsimons, the gathered sang the Notre Dame Victory March and the ND family members finished with “Notre Dame Our Mother.” Bagpiper Dana Morris provided the perfect tone before and after the tribute.

The lunch back at the Bazaar Schoolhouse brought another round of Rockne memories, a discussion of the events of 80 years prior, and fellowship among the attendees.

For some, the day also included a visit to the Matfield Green service stop on the Kansas Turnpike, where a well-done display chronicles Coach Rockne’s time as a Notre Dame player and coach, and his impact on the nation, both in life and in death.

“The Man Who Won the Nation” reads one headline on the display.

On this special Saturday, a nation gave thanks for this remarkable life.

 

 

 

 

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