MINNEHAHA COUNTY NEIGHBOR
MEET EARLE GEIDE:
100 YEARS OF AGRICULTURE AND AVIATION A few miles southwest of Hartford there is a windsock that is perched on a pole off the side of a gravel road. This marks the airstrip that has been used by the Geide family and three pilots that learned to fly here. The patriarch of the family, Earle Geide, celebrates his 100th birthday on November 12th. Earle began taking flying lessons in 1942 while in the Army, and this began his 77 years of experience in the pilot’s seat. Earle last flew solo at the age of 98, and if the weather permits, the family hopes to celebrate his 100th birthday with a flight together.
Earle and sign 22
The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | November 2019
Over the years, Earle has seen many changes in Sioux Falls and the surrounding area. He was born at Moe Hospital on the corner of 14th and Main Street in Sioux Falls. This building is now Davenport Evans Law Firm. While growing up in the midst of the Great Depression, his family lived on six different farms in western Minnehaha County and near Monroe, S.D. Earle graduated from Monroe High School in 1939.
