CHAPTER SIX
Siblings are in sync for a long and magnificent run
“But we had fun doing it.” Lester allows that in his early years on construction, it was all work, work. Period. “I’m a very serious person. Things are black and white. I had to work and that was it. However, after I had been here for a while, I learned that I could have fun while I was working. I could enjoy it.
FUN, continued from page 91
Ken’s interests turn skyward
at the local airport where he shared his
had always been interested in aeronautics
interest with some flying buddies, includ-
— even as a kid when building model air-
ing his brother Chuck. However, about
of construction was found in flying. He
planes was one of his pastimes. There was the small airstrip that had been built with WPA funds less than a mile from his home. Watching
what piqued his interest. Or maybe
“I learned that from Chuck.” Another thing about the Brunswick hydro job that Tom Stone remembers was the stepped-up emphasis on safety. Lester helped blaze the trail for what today has become the company’s first concern. This job was the first time that safety hours were tracked.
company and went on his own, he bought
F
take off and land might have been
Ken has a deep interest in antique aircraft. About 1975, he unveiled a triplane built by Hap Mathews and then took to the skies on weekends performing at festivals and fairs as The Red Baron.
corporation. However, after he left the a second 1946 T-Craft.
or Ken, a diversion from the hard work
some of the small craft of that era
PHOTO COURTESY OF OWLS HEAD TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM
Craft) in 1947 which he later sold to the
the stories he heard from his father about the uncle he never knew, the World War I flyer, whetted his appetite for flight. Whatever it was — airplanes in general and old airplanes in particular captured his undying interest. Ken had earned his private pilot’s license, along with Bud, that winter back
Ken enjoyed his time in the air or just
1975, he started sharing his love of flying with more than just his buddies It has become a common occurrence in Maine at fairs, festivals, and fly-ins to look up into the sky and be startled to see a bright red triplane soaring overhead. The pilot always dips the plane and waves from the open cockpit as his scarf whips in the wind. And once he has the crowd’s attention, he manages a series of loops and “Oh my gosh!” maneuvers much to their delight. The return of the Red Baron? No. Wait. It’s Ken Cianchette! He was able to buy plans to build a
in 1947 when they were in Florida working
replica of the World War I Fokker triplane
as bus boys.
designed in 1917, used by the German Air
Bud flew for a few years and then stopped. But Ken became permanently hooked. He bought a 1946 Taylor Craft (T-
Force, and flown by the famous Manfred Von Richthofen. Yes, the Red Baron.
Please see FUN, page 95
93