Kade Carson Crocker September 3, 2005 - May 31, 2018

Kade Carson Crocker

LEXINGTON – Kade Carson Crocker, beloved son of Leah Murphree-Crocker and Kirt Crocker joined God on Thursday, May 31, 2018, following a fatal automobile accident.

Born September 3, 2008, Kade will be remembered for his infectious laugh, his ability to make friends with everyone he met, his sense of humor, and the wonderful smile that never left his face. A former student of Mt. Hebron Day School, Kade was a third grader at Rocky Creek Elementary School, where he was adored by many teachers, staff members, classmates and their families. Kade excelled in academics and sports, but his greatest attribute was his determination to make all his peers feel special, and for no one to feel left out.

Kade played soccer for Lexington GPS as a center forward. The only time he appeared unhappy was if he were taken out the game. Kade also played basketball for Lexington Recreation Commission, where he was always the smallest kid on the team, but the one with the biggest heart.

Always outside, Kade loved big trucks, ATVs, BMX bikes, swimming, everything camouflage, and anything with wheels or water. Summer fun was jumping off the back of the boat together, swimming and kayaking at grandma and papa’s; Winter fun included learning to snow ski, ride a dog sled, zooming down a hill on a dish and snowmobiling together; endless tea parties at grandma’s, family gatherings of birthdays, Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving and all things beautiful in between. Indelible memories of giggles, jumping, climbing and always, always Kade helping Ian and Evan climb higher or accomplish any intended goal.

He will be sorely missed by his 2 “Boy’s Best Friends”, Puck and Tracker. His love for animals was surpassed only by his love for people. Kade will be remembered fondly by many as, “my best friend”, and by his family as “Pooter” and “Bubba”.

In lieu of flowers; Kade would have been very grateful for memorial donations, to honor the memory of his grandparents, being made to StandUp2Cancer OR to Rocky Creek Elementary PTA for the Kade Crocker Memorial Fund 430 Calks Ferry Rd. 

Slide Show - Kade Carson Crocker

Kade Crocker

Thank you for all of the love and support that has poured out in honor of Kade. It has been felt by everyone involved. Plans have been confirmed for Kade's visitation and funeral. Visitation will be Friday from 6-8 at Caughman-Harmon Funeral Home located at 503 N Lake Dr. Lexington, SC 29072. They may be reached at (803) 359-6118. His funeral will be held at 11 am at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, located at 2350 Augusta Hwy, Lexington, SC 29072. Please feel free to share with all who loved Kade and the Crocker family. Continued prayer for the family is appreciated.

Posted 6-5-2018

Prayer Request Leah Crocker

Shelly Knox just called to inform us that Leah Crocker and her son, Kade were in a very bad car accident today.  Leah is in the hospital and unfortunately, Kade was killed instantly.  Please keep Leah in your prayers and Shelly will let us know more information when she gets it as they are very good friends with Leah.

Posted 5-31-2018

Tree Burning by Runway 27

Despite all the on and off rain that we got today, the tree burning is moving right alone. 

Photo's by Don Cook

Posted 5-16-2018

Whiteplains Announcements List - Seabee recovery

 Hello all,

As Jack Fastnaught said, "It was a day in the life of the movie 
Flight of the Phoenix". Dust flying, digging dirt, lifting, prodding 

anything to get this monster out of the ditch. The Seabee recovery went extremely well. We started at 10:00 AM at Whiteplains. We were at Pellion at 10:45 and, even with a lunch break, were on our way out the Pellion gate at 2:45. Remarkable! The 15 mile ride home was uneventful thanks to Greg's mastery of the huge trailer and Ed's eagle eye watching for trees and wires (we left the tail surfaces on the Seabee). with a 12-foot horizontal stabilizer and a  13+ foot vertical fin, driving down the road was intense, at least for me. You should have seen the look on the faces of the people as they passed 
the Seabee, funny.

Thanks to all that helped me (again) and I surely couldn't do it without you all. I don't know who took all the photos but I thank you. I have attached a couple of them.

We had the wings off in about an hour and parts on the trailer in another hour. A very special thanks to Greg Wicker for his indispensable flat bed trailer and truck that worked perfectly for a Seabee. Thank you Greg. As usual, Dennis was the "muscle man". Ed 
Fisher guided us through the wing removal and was a big help in keeping a watchful eye on low flying wires on the way home. Thanks to Don for his use of the trailer that brought one of the wing panels back and Jason that did the same. Jack, as tall as he is, was in the baggage compartment removing the floor and aileron cables. Not an easy task even for an average guy. It is very tight back there. Jim 
Franklin was our safety guy, thanks Jim. Rob, Doug and Ken were always in the right spot at the right time, thank you!

Whiteplains is an amazing place and I thank you all. A special thanks to the "significant others" that allowed their spouses to help me out. You don't often get the recognition you deserve and I thank you.

I have assisted in Seabee recoveries before a couple of times and I know we broke the record!

Fraternally,
Steve Mestler

P.S. The "Marty B" will fly again.  

Historic Hangar Gets New Life

Great to see that this Hangar was saved. Part of our history as a nation.

Now you know the rest of the story...

On October 30, 1935, at Wright Air Field in Dayton , Ohio , the U.S. Army Air Corps held a flight competition for airplane manufacturers vying to build its next-generation long-range bomber.  It wasn't supposed to be much of a competition.  In early evaluations, the Boeing Corporation's gleaming aluminum-alloy Model 299 had trounced the designs of Martin and Douglas.  Boeing's plane could carry five times as many bombs as the Army had requested; it could fly faster than previous bombers, and almost twice as far. A Seattle newspaperman who had glimpsed the plane called it the "flying fortress," and the name stuck.  The flight "competition," according to the military historian Phillip Meilinger, was regarded as a mere formality.  The Army planned to order at least sixty-five of the aircraft.   A small crowd of Army brass and manufacturing executives watched as the Model 299 test plane taxied onto the runway.  It was sleek and impressive, with a hundred-and-three-foot wingspan and four engines jutting out from the wings, rather than the usual two.  The plane roared down the tarmac, lifted off smoothly and climbed sharply to three hundred feet.  Then it stalled, turned on one wing and crashed in a fiery explosion.  Two of the five crew members died, including the pilot, Major Ployer P. Hill (thus Hill AFB , Ogden , UT ).