Up, up and away: Balloon riders' hearts soar to 'memory of a lifetime'
TALLMADGE: The sunshine was bright and warm in Portage County on Friday evening as three pairs of area residents began floating toward the sky together.
The six — from Stark County’s Lake Township, Medina County, Ravenna and Louisville — barely had time to get acquainted before their realizing their dream of going riding in a hot air balloon. The balloon, tagged “Heaven Bound,” lifted off above Tallmadge just after 7 p.m. The group soared for 50 minutes and 12 miles before landing in a residential back yard just south of the Randolph Fairgrounds.
On the flight, piloted by Heaven Bound Ascensions owner Denny Welser of Tallmadge, were an aunt and niece celebrating a combined 100 years of birthdays; a newlywed Louisville couple on a honeymoon voyage and two longtime friends from Ravenna who reconnected following the loss of a mate of one of the women.
Just days before the flight, Lake Township resident Belinda Holderfield, who marked her 60th birthday Sunday, said with a chuckle: “We’ve talked about this for two years and now, with just days to go, I’m so excited — I want to go right now!” Her balloon partner who arranged the flight was niece Rachel Workinger-Perry of Medina County, who will mark her 40th year Oct. 8.
Flight marks 'memory of a lifetime for participants
The launch occurred just after 7 p.m. from a field at Vic’s Sport Center near Kent. Pilot Welser had the multi-colored 150,000 cubic-foot balloon and basket full of passengers in the air for 50 minutes before making a soft landing and completing the trip with a champagne toast for the crew, passengers and the home’s residents. Welser said the balloon is so big it could hold 150,000 basketballs tied together in the fabric.
Holderfield, who graduated from Green High School and the University of Akron with a business degree, is a certified public accountant with 37 years in the business, including the last 32 years at the CPA office of Harris, Miller & Finkelstein in Canton where she is a partner.
She called the flight “a memory of a lifetime."
"We saw a lot of trees and ponds in which you could see yourself as we passed over them," Holderfield said. "It was amazing. Once we got going it was wonderful.”
The aunt had wanted to take a balloon ride since she was a kid. She and her late husband of 24 years, Chuck (who died in 2014), weighed the possibility several times. He had arranged for a flight for them for her birthday, but he died before their date for liftoff.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit and families couldn’t get together, niece Rachel and Belinda started writing weekly letters to each other just to keep in touch about anything and everything. In one letter, Holderfield mentioned her longtime wish —and Rachel’s response was “let’s do it!”
Holderfield is the youngest of five sisters and their deceased brother. The oldest sister is the mother of Workinger-Perry, who will celebrate 14 years of marriage with husband Dave Perry on Oct. 16. They are the fifth generation of his family to farm their 53-acre beef and dairy heifer farm. They also lease another 120 acres and produce corn, hay and soy beans to feed their animals.
The Perrys, who grew up on farms, met during a tractor pull competition when he used his tractor to pull hers off the track, she said with a smile.
With psychology and sociology degrees from then Muskingum College, Workinger-Perry is an independent living case worker for Wayne County Children Services and also is a services coordinator for the nonprofit Patios for Patriots project, which provides those structures for veterans' residences.
Workinger-Perry concurred with her aunt that the balloon journey was the "memory of a lifetime."
“It was absolutely awesome. I couldn’t be more appreciative of the view and am thankful for the opportunity to literally float through the sky while celebrating my aunt’s birthday," she said. “Life is short and birthdays are beautiful. I was impressed by how much work goes into getting the flight up and back down.
Height of tranquility
New bride Jennifer Katich said she and husband Jason found the ride to be awesome, too.
"It was very peaceful once we got up there [1,200 to 1,500 feet]," she said. "We had never been in a hot air balloon, and he was somewhat [apprehensive] before going up, but afterward said he’d do it again. The scenery was beautiful. And you could see for miles.”
The Ravenna pair — Kathy Canan and Cyndi Porter – agreed “the ride was fabulous.
"It was one of the best experiences I have ever had,” Canan said. “It was so serene and beautiful. And it was very calming. I was nervous about going up, but I am so glad I did it. And it was even more special because I could do it with a special friend.”
Porter, whose husband died a year ago of COVID, was overjoyed to rekindle her friendship with Canan, after losing her spouse, who, she said, had purchased the flight before the pandemic for the couple to go together.
"When Kathy and I restarted our friendship, I asked her to join me on the flight as a gift from my late husband," Porter said. "And I am so glad I did,” she said tearfully after the flight, her voice breaking.
Passion for piloting balloons
While there are several part-time commercial and private balloon pilots in Northeast Ohio, Welser said he is not aware of any others with certification who operate as full-time commercial pilots like he does. A graduate of Kent State University with degrees in education and business, the 73-year-old said he had worked in construction and operated 50 inflatables he rented across Ohio and Pennsylvania before settling on his current career.
He has been married for 51 years to his wife, Patreece, whom he met in sociology class at the Wadsworth campus of KSU. The business is based at their home, and now they have two six-passenger balloons. The other is named “For Heaven Sakes.”
Welser said it was on his first ride in 1983 when he got the hot air balloon bug. “Although [I was] nervous about flying, Patreece said, ‘I knew you were going to buy a balloon because you were asking so many questions.’” He earned both his private and commercial licenses in one year.
“For me, this has been a full-time occupation since I earned my commercial license [in 1985].” When he soloed, he recalled, “I was scared to death. I piloted it all by myself and it was scary [since] I was alone [in the balloon and my instructor was on the ground keeping an eye on me.”
Welser estimates he has recorded 3,400 flights with about 17,000 passengers. “A lot are repeaters,” He said, noting one client is a doctor who for eight years in a row has brought his father, now 92, for their annual flight.
He said he tries to average 50 flights a year, going up weekday evenings and in mornings after dawn and evenings on Saturdays and Sundays, weather permitting. He said it is an expensive sport because of the short Ohio window for flights compared to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where a balloonist usually has 300 days of weather suitable for ballooning.
Asked why he is so enamored with ballooning, Welser smiled and said, “I just love it. I love getting together with people and sharing with them.”
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Flight paths of part-time pilots
Among commercially licensed balloon pilots in this part of Ohio are Paul Dale of Canton; Pete Hawkins of Sebring and Steve Mitchell of Chagrin Falls. All three were lined up to participate in last weekend’s Pro Football Hall of Fame Balloon Fest in Jackson Township.
Dale, a pilot for nine years, said he may sell 10 rides a year as a commercial pilot due to weather, which plays a major role in booking and completing flights. He is the manufacturing manager at Foltz Machine in Canton and also is contracted to fly for the Mears Nissan dealership in Perry Township. “For most, the sport is too expensive to cover the costs,” he said.
Hawkins has been associated with ballooning for almost a half century. His brother started 50 years ago with Pete often in his crew. He got his private pilot license in 1980. He attends about 10 balloon rallies annually in Ohio and Pennsylvania, adding the Stark County balloon festival is ranked in the top five in the country.
Mitchell got his pilot license in 2008 after chasing balloons and helping crews since 2000 with balloon setup, chasing and repacking after a flight. His brother James is a United Airlines pilot. Steve is a commercial licensed pilot and instructor.
George W. Davis can be reached at: mediaman@sssnet.com
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Balloon riders soar to 'memory of a lifetime' in Northeast Ohio sky
