Posted here with permission of Press Publications.
Many thanks to Classmates Judy Penrod for providing 'clipping' and Mike McLane for providing computer scans from our '54 yearbook.

Soaring through

York student finds path to flying

This is the tenth of a 12 part series focusing on York High School graduates of 1954 who are preparing to celebrate their 45th reunion. Some have gone on to fame and fortune while others have stayed in Elmhurst trying to make a difference in their hometown. Today's installment features Bob Stemple, a retired United Air Lines pilot who resides in Larkspur, Colorado. Beginning at the age of five, Stemple dreamed of soaring into the air. He accomplished that feat thanks to military training and his career at United Airlines. At the airline, he flew DC-10s and every kind of Boeing aircraft imaginable. A a student, Stemple was attracted to math and science, subjects that provided him with a different way of thinking and interpreting information. Stemple said he followed the beat of a differnet drummer and is grateful for the materials that York gave him to find his career. United airlines pilot Bob Stemple flies westbound over the Rockies in his Boeing 727 plane in the late 1980's. Stemple, a member of York High School Class of 1954, wanted to be a pilot since the age of 5. Today, Stemple is enjoying retiremnt in Colorado.

By Marie Lazzara
Press Publications

The Elmhurst that Bob Stemple paints is an idyllic picture of the town's past.

Before World War II, Stemple said, harmless hobos would jump off the freight trains in Elmhurst before heading to the Proviso train yards. His mother, Lucille, who still lives in Elmhurst, would feed the hobos if they came to the door.

Stemple remembers the city's library, its semi-professional basketball team, the Rockets, and its football club, the Travelers.

'Through the 1940s and 1950s, there was not a better place in the world to raise kids than Elmhurst,' Stemple said. 'The steam engines, the California Zephyr and other streamliners raced through town. As kids, we could ride our bikes anywhere and leave them unlocked.'

Stemple credits his childhood in Elmhurst and York High School with giving him the preparation he needed to get on a career path to flying. Stemple indulged his love of flying early. When he was in elementary school during World War II, he built model airplanes and visited the York Theatre to watch movies about flying and Movietone News, which delivered the war news.

'I guess it goes back to watching the birds flying, wanting to be in that third dimension,' Stemple said. 'I need to move. Going into that third dimension with that freedom of movement was just something that I had ever since I was a little kid. My older brother, Russ Jr., ended up going to the Air Force and flying fighters.'

Coming into his own
The Stemple family had many ties to the city. Bob Stemple's father, Russ, managed Jewel's original York Street location and later opened his own bicycle shop on Spring Road. Russ also served as a Scoutmaster for many local boys.

'Elmhurst was a community where many parents participated in activities with their kids,' he said. York High School was not a foreign place for Stemple while he attended Hawthorne School. He was familiar with the campus by attending the school's football games with friends. Still, the transition from elementary school to York did impact Stemple.

'Entering York was big time,' he said. 'Of course, as a freshman, you're still just a little kid, but you were also thrust into a lot of responsibility, such as getting to your classes on time.'

He described himself as a 'smart-aleck' who made wisecracks to teachers. He was not interested in all of his classes. The subjects that drew his attention were classes that had to do with the abstract, mechanical and architectual aspects of learning. Those classes included geometry, science, shop and gym.

'I think that our education at York was equivalent to what's coming out in college now in many, many ways,' he said.

'My own participation in the field of education was certainly not what it should have been. It seems to me that diagramming sentences for one year would have been enough.' Some of his favorite teachers were geometry teacher Del Meitz, who flew B-47's over Korea, and history teacher Duke Larson. He said they treated him like a person, unlike other instructors.

'Some teachers teach their class and they could care less whether you're listening or not,' he said. 'A lot of teachers teach the way they think, not what students think. I learned not to assume those in charge know what they're doing.' Since York did not have a swimming pool or a team, Stemple practiced his swimming and diving skills at the Oak Park YMCA and used his hobby to earn an extra income.

Willie, Bert and I had a comedy clown diving act,' he said. 'We did it at pools for park districts all over the western suburbs and at hotels in Chicago and country clubs up on the North Side. We did that a lot until we were almost 40. We just really enjoyed doing it.'

Working on cars was an important project for Stemple and his friends. They rummaged through junkyards to find starters or a fuel pump.

'It was better than chicks,' he said. 'It was freedom, absolute freedom. York had several dances a year; however, many of us would rather work on our cars than waste money on a dumb dance.'

Other activities included reading books on flying and underwater exploration or checking out Midway Airport and air shows with his father.

Stemple played an important role in the class of'54's infamous Lincoln statue snatch. He was elected 'transportation officer' for the caper, in which students took a bust of Abraham Lincoln from the school's auditorium.

'I don't remember who planned it, but all I know is that somebody got a hold of me and said,'Can you get your dad's trailer so we could haul Lincoln?' It was a neat thing.

'I vaguely think we took it someplace before we took it to my house. I'm the one who got caught with it by Assistant Principal Roy DeShane. He had my dad as a student and they were good friends. [He said to him] 'Well, I understand that Lincoln's here.'

'My dad thought it was pretty funny. There was no harm done, and it was one of those pranks that wasn't malicious.'

Bob Stemple takes his place among York High School Class of 1954.

After graduation, Stemple pursued his studies at Elmhurst College.

Earning his wings
During college, Stemple worked as a butcher and a construction worker. Flying school was out of his financial reach at the time.

He left college and entered the Marine Corps. From 1956 to 1958, he was stationed in Japan and the Philippines. He received a second chance to fly by gaining acceptance into the aviation program in the Marines.

Unfortunately, the program was cutting back on training, and Stemple's dream of flying faded again.

In 1960, he returned to Elmhurst College and married fellow student Gretchen Faxton. He worked as a marine mechanic for a Chris Craft boat dealer in Chicago. Later, he worked as a retail salesman for the Sears in Berwyn.

In 1961, the couple's first daughter, Julie, was born. Next came the couple's son, Andy, in 1967 and another daughter, Suzy, in 1974.

Stemple entered the U.S. Army after receiving encouragement from a friend who was a pilot in the Army. From 1961 to 1964, he went to its flight school in Texas and became a helicopter pilot stationed in Alabama.

'I got down to school and there was no way that I was not going to make it,' he solid. 'I graduated second in my class. It was a dream and my wife supported me. It worked out very well. I loved theflying. [It was like] heaven. 'Especially with helecopters, when you come down on the deck and you're moving close to 100 miles an hour three feet down from the trees, it's just like a bird. You have to experience it.

The friendly skies
United Airlines in Ciiicag@u hired Stemple in 1964. With United, he started as flight engineer second officer flying the DC-6 aircraft and the French Caravelle jet. He retired as a captain with United. During his career, Stemple flew the English-made Viscount, along with the Boeing 727, 737, 747-400 and the DC-10.

He also flew for the Illinois National Guard until 1970. The airline company transferred Stemple from Chicago to Denver in late 1969.

Being an airline pilot meant an opportunity for Stemple to greet celebrities such as Cher, Jack. Benny and Woody Allen, sports teams such as the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears, and politicians such as Gary Hart.

Stemple also spent time talking to new pilots, some of whom were former enlisted officers and prisoners of war.

'When you talk to people like this, it humiliates you to such a level,' he said. 'Here are people wbo have done things that you're not sure you could ever do. With the price they paid, you have to give them all the respect in the world.'

In addition to piloting, Stemple became involved in United's Command Resource Management program, which taught modern crews how to make vital decisions on flights.

'For the old World War II pilots, the captain was God,' hee said. 'No matter what he said, that was it. We had to break that down. It was the captain's job to make the decision, but he needed to draw on his resources, which were the other crew members.'

In his spare time, Stemple served as a helicopter pilot for Denver's Sheriff's Department's from 1970-1977.

After his last flight over the Pacific Rim in 1996, Stemple retired from United Airlines.

Today, Stemple enjoys spending time with his family. He works in financial and real estate management and comes back to Elmhurst to visit his mother. He is keeping his options open, watching out for the next career move that can take his heart flying.