After listening to residents of nearby communities complain about it, we could be convinced that Lunken Airport was built in secret, in hours of darkness, during the last 12 months. It was first put in use in 1925. Not many of those currently objecting to an increased use of this facility were alive then.

I don't go back to 1925 either. I grew up in Mount Lookout. I spent my first 13 summers there. When my family moved, we did not go far - just over the Little Miami River to Anderson Township. Since 1946, I have lived most of my days within earshot of Lunken. It has never occurred to me to complain about the noise.

I like Mount Lookout. I know the people there. I understand them, or I thought I understood them. That was up to the summer of 2000 when a flat-Earth, Amtrak-loving opposition group made themselves known.

Back in the 1930s, Lunken Airport was quite the place. Commercial aircraft from airlines such as American, TWA and Eastern landed and took off. Crowds assembled to see the activity on hot summer evenings. Enterprising youths hawked popcorn. It was cheap fun for those Depression years.

One of the takeoff patterns took the aircraft right over our house. The planes were Douglas DC-3s, the gooney birds. The DC-3 was slow by current standards - slow and loud. We kept our windows open in the summer, so when a pilot put the hammer down for a takeoff, I could easily hear it. I could charge out the back door to see it pass over. I could read the printing on the wings. I loved it.

Today, it is a landing pattern that passes over my house. When I look up I usually see a business jet, much quieter than a DC-3. This is no loud noise, no bother.

The idea that scheduled passenger service might return to Lunken is opposed by some people who presumably never fly anywhere. That, or they enjoy the drive to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. They get to pay a big price to park, and then walk way, way down to their gate. All of that for the highest fares in the United States.

Lunken will hardly develop into another O'Hare. It can easily offer service to nearby cities where competitive prices prevail. Travelers from Mount Lookout stand to benefit most. The communities around Lunken have a chance to gain greatly from increased use of the airport.

This has been in the discussion stage long enough. Enough from the Not In My Back Yard crowd. Just do it.

---

Dick Sayre of Anderson Township is a graduate of Xavier University and is president/chief executive officer of Natural Surfaces Marble Care Inc.

---

Want your voice here?

Send your column or proposed topic, 400 words or fewer, along with a photo of yourself, to assistant editorial editor Ray Cooklis at rcooklis@enquirer.com or call (513) 768-8525.