June 11, 2024 |
Photo – Display about Shively Field cannon – By Matt Copeland Bigfoot99
A cannon with a murky history will continue to be displayed at the airport in Saratoga.
A small cannon, with a shady past, used to sit outside the fence at Shively Field. A plaque on its crumbling pedestal claimed the weapon was used at Fort Halleck in 1880. Fort Halleck was built in 1862 a few miles west of Elk Mountain to protect travelers passing through the region.
On August 24th, 1952, after being donated to the Town, the gun was installed on a brick and concrete pedestal in a parking area on the east side of Shively Field.
Fast forward 70 years, in 2022, the airport began a federally-funded runway improvement project. The planned upgrades included the installation of a new parking lot at the facility. The cannon was placed in storage and its crumbling pedestal was demolished.
Saratoga Airport Adversary Board President Lance Grubb said the government refused to pay for grass, trees, or a new cannon pedestal for the freshly paved parking lot.
In 2022, the sitting Saratoga town council voted not to pay for a new pedestal. Since then, the cannon has occupied a temporary place on the airport grounds. Grubb said the Airport Advisory Board needs to find funding to build a new pedestal for the cannon with a murky past.
The Saratoga Airport Advisory Board receives funding through hangar leases, fuel sales, and landing fees. Grubb said the most likely scenario involves the Airport Advisory Board paying for a new pedestal out of its own budget. However, the board must first ensure enough money is available for more important projects.
Grubb said the Airport Advisory Board does intend to reinstall the cannon at some point in the future.
Turns out that the history—indeed the authenticity–of the cannon has been a source of debate for decades.
The Hanna Basin Museum has on display a Saratoga Sun article from 1981 entitled “Origins of cannon at airport are debated.” The article claims that the miniature cannon may have never seen action at Fort Halleck. Instead, Hanna resident Muriel Kitching states that the gun was built in the Hanna Mine Number Two Machine Shop as a toy.
According to the article, the barrel was lathed from an old axle and the wheels are made from mine cart brake handles. A picture included with the story shows two boys, Don Ainsworth and Robert Reese playing with an item that looks suspiciously like the cannon at Shively Field. The article claims that the boys found the gun abandoned in a ditch in Hanna.
The article continues, saying that sometime in the early 1900’s, the gun was left at a party in Elk Mountain. After that, the whereabouts of the cannon were unknown until Mr. E.L. Gould donated the weapon to the town of Saratoga, presumably sometime in the 1950’s.
Bigfoot99 asked Grubb if he heard about the article. The airport board president said he was unaware that the cannon’s history was ever in doubt.
A small undated label attached to the museum display states that Hanna resident Peggy Kitching interviewed Charles Ainsworth about the cannon. Ainsworth is quoted as saying, “In 1902 several men built a small cannon which they used on days of celebration. It was mounted on brake wheels. It was taken to Elk Mountain and now it is in Saratoga. Some claim it is an old cannon from Ft. Halleck”
Whether the cannon in question is an important artifact used to defend settlers at Fort Halleck or a toy created by bored coal miners is unknown. Grubb said the Saratoga Airport Advisory Board intends to continue proudly displaying the gun once funding for a new pedestal can be found.
The former editor and publisher of the Saratoga Sun, Dick Perue, told Bigfoot 99 that he stands by the article printed in 1981. Perue told the radio station, “I stand by the article that was published back in 1981.”
