U. L. Gooch: Difference between revisions
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'''Ulysses Lee "Rip" Gooch''' (born September 13, 1923) is a former pilot and Kansas state senator from |
'''Ulysses Lee "Rip" Gooch''' (born September 13, 1923) is a former pilot, aviation entrepreneur, and Kansas politician. Gooch was a member of the [[Kansas Commission on Civil Rights]], 1971-74; member of the [[Wichita, KS | Wichita]] City Council, 1989-93; and a [[Kansas State Senate | Kansas state senator]] (D-Wichita, 29th District - Central-Northeast Wichita) from 1993 until retiring in January 2004 as the state's oldest serving senator. Gooch was one of the first inductees to the [[Black Aviation Hall of Fame]].<ref name="oldest_senator_leaving_2003_12_20_ap">Associated Press, [http://cjonline.com/stories/122003/leg_gooch.shtml Oldest state senator leaving post], December 20, 2003, Topeka ''Capital-Journal'', </ref><ref name="senate_res_1770_2013">[http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/sr1770_enrolled.pdf Senate Resolution No.1770: A Resolution congratulating and commending Senator Ulysses Lee "Rip" Gooch], Kansas State Senate, 2013</ref><ref name="gooch_johnson_honored_2001_09_06_wbj">"[http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2001/09/03/daily18.html Gooch and Johnson honored as aviators]," Sept. 6, 2001, ''Wichita Business Journal''</ref> |
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<ref name="black_horizons_2006_autobiography">Gooch, U.L. "Rip" with Glen Sharp, ''[http://books.google.com/books/about/Black_Horizons.html?id=9XmyAAAACAAJ Black Horizons: One Aviator's Experience in the Post-Tuskeegee Era,]'' 2006, Aviation Business Consultants, Wichita, KS. (Self-published autobiography, partially published at Google Books, and distributed by Amazon.com</ref> |
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==Early Life== |
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Gooch was born in Ripley, Tennessee, the son of rural [[Tennessee]] [[sharecropper]]s and the grandson of emancipated slaves, Gooch was orphaned at age four and fended for himself growing up in the 1920s and 1930s under the shadow of [[Jim Crow laws|Jim Crow]]. Working in fields while watching airplanes fly overhead, he dreamed of escaping to a better life. While in high school, in 1943, during [[World War II]], Gooch joined the Army, and was eventually shipped to the [[Philippines]] as a sergeant supervising a construction operation; he was discharged after the war in 1946. He graduated from his hometown's Lauderdale High School while in the military.<ref name="black_horizons_2006_autobiography" /> |
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==Aviation Career== |
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Despite earning his wings on the [[GI Bill]] after [[World War II]], Rip couldn’t find full-time aviation work because he was black. Rip moved to [[Wichita, Kansas]] in 1951, where he began to work for [[Boeing]] Airplane Company. After battling racism as an inspector with Boeing in the 1950s, he decided to start his own flight business, which provided a stepping stone for a number of other black pilots. |
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Gooch subsequently began taking flight lessons on the [[GI Bill]], earning his private pilot's license in 1947, and continued flight training at a private flying service. About this time, he met and married Augusta Fields. While also attending [[Tennessee State University]] (then Tennessee A & I University), studying veterinary medicine, he continued his flight training, eventually becoming a commercial pilot and flight instructor. He became a part-time stunt flyer with the legendary airshow empresario [[Billl Sweet]].<ref name="black_horizons_2006_autobiography" /> |
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However, despite earning his wings, Gooch couldn’t find full-time aviation work because he was black. Gooch moved to [[Wichita, Kansas]] -- the "Air Capital City", a major aviation industrial center -- in 1951, where he began to work for [[Boeing]] Airplane Company. After battling racism as an inspector with Boeing in the 1950s, he decided to start his own flight business -- one of the first black-owned modern FBOs (general aviation [[fixed base operation]]s) in the U.S. <ref name="who_is _rip_2003_09_15_aero_news_network">Campbell, Jim, ed., "[http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=88fa231a-e884-4a29-a580-212e5df0643f Who Is Rip Gooch And Why Do We Owe Him? 80-Year Old Aviation Pioneer Feted In Wichita]," ''Aero-News Network'' online, Sep 15, 2003</ref>, which provided a stepping stone for a number of other black pilots.<ref name="black_horizons_2006_autobiography" /><ref name="senate_res_1770_2013" /> |
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| ⚫ | In the years since moving to the Air Capital, his aviation career included being a flight instructor and examiner, and charter pilot, and -- at Wichita's Rawdon Airport -- owner/operator of its FBO, Aero Services, Inc. -- the [[Mooney Aircraft]] distributorship for Kansas and parts of Missouri, which also provided flight training, charter flying, aircraft rental and storage, operated an air taxi operation moving classified information between U.S. military bases in 17 states, overhauled military helicopter parts.<ref name="black_horizons_2006_autobiography" /><ref name="senate_res_1770_2013" /> |
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U. L. 'Rip' Gooch is a [[Aviator|pilot]] with 20,000 flight hours, a retired [[Federal Aviation Authority]] pilot examiner and retired Kansas state [[Kansas Senate|senator]], and one of the few African Americans to serve on the Wichita City Council, among other careers. He is a member of the [[Black Aviation Hall of Fame]], and currently resides in Wichita, Kansas. |
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In 2001, Gooch was inducted into the [[Black Aviation Hall of Fame]].<ref name="gooch_johnson_honored_2001_09_06_wbj" /> |
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A Kansas Senate Resolution honoring him in 2013, notes that "Senator Gooch was instrumental in the formation of the [[International Black Aerospace Council]], an umbrella organization of five major black aviation organizations. He has served on the Aviation Advisory Committee of the [[Kansas Department of Transportation]], the Air Museum Task Force and the [[Wichita Airport Authority]], and he is a member of the [[Kansas Aviation Museum]] Board;..."<ref name="senate_res_1770_2013" /> |
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U. L. 'Rip' Gooch is currently (2014) a [[Aviator|pilot]] with 20,000 flight hours (over 18,000 as pilot-in-command), and is a retired [[Federal Aviation Administration]] pilot examiner.<ref name="who_is _rip_2003_09_15_aero_news_network" /><ref name="senate_res_1770_2013" /><ref name="black_horizons_2006_autobiography" /> |
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==Political Career== |
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Gooch served on the '''[[Kansas Commission on Civil Rights]]''' from 1971 to 1974<ref name="senate_res_1770_2013" /> |
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One of the few African Americans elected to the '''[[Wichita, Kansas | Wichita]] City Council''', he served from 1989 to 1992, including two one-year terms as Vice Mayor.<ref name="senate_res_1770_2013" /> |
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Gooch was elected to the '''[[Kansas Senate]]''' in 1992 as a Democrat, serving from 1993 until 2004, representing the 29th Kansas Senate District -- an inner-city area in central-northeast Wichita.<ref name="senate_res_1770_2013" /><ref name="oldest_senator_leaving_2003_12_20_ap"> |
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The 2013 Kansas Senate Resolution honoring him reported that "His committee assignments have included service as ranking minority member of the Federal and State Affairs and Transportation Committees plus membership on the Elections and Local Government, Administrative Rules and Regulations, Local Government, Commerce, Economic Development and Governmental Organization Committees. He also served on the Joint Committee on Rules and Regulations and the Joint Committee on Economic Development;..."<ref name="senate_res_1770_2013" /> |
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In 2004 -- citing frustrations with the lack of progress in the shortest Kansas legislative session in decades -- Gooch retired from the [[Kansas Senate]] as the oldest serving Kansas senator.<ref name="oldest_senator_leaving_2003_12_20_ap" /><ref name="short_session_2003_05_30_cjonline">Moon, Chris, "[http://cjonline.com/stories/053003/leg_sinedie.shtml Lawmakers wrap up short session: Senators honor oldest member of Legislature with resolution]," May 30, 2003, Topeka ''Capital-Journal'' / CJOnline.com</ref> |
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Gooch was succeeded by State Representative [[Donald Betts]] (D-Wichita).<ref name="betts_replace_gooch_2004_01_13_ap">Associated Press, "[http://www.cjonline.com/stories/011304/leg_betts.shtml Betts to replace Gooch in Senate]," January 13, 2004, Topeka ''Capital-Journal'' / CJonline.com</ref> |
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Gooch successfully urged daughter [[Bonita Gooch]] to assume leadership of Wichita's leading black newspaper, the ''[[Community Voice]],'' which she subsequently has operated for decades.<ref name="bonita_gooch_historymakers">[http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/bonita-gooch-40 Bonita Gooch], HistoryMakers.com</ref> |
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==Retirement and Publicity== |
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In 2001, Gooch was inducted into the National [[Black Aviation Hall of Fame]]. <ref name="gooch_johnson_honored_2001_09_06_wbj" /> |
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In 2006, with journalist Glen Sharp ([[New York Times]], [[Newsweek]]), self-published his '''autobiography: ''Black Horizons: One Aviator's Experience in the Post-Tuskeegee Era,'''''<ref name="black_horizons_2006_autobiography" />, (also online at Google Books, and distributed by Amazon.com, and as a Kindle e-Book) |
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In 2008, Gooch was the subject of a '''documentary film''', [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1326776/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_1 '''''From the Bottom''''']. |
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In 2013, the Kansas Senate issued [http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/sr1770_enrolled.pdf '''Senate Resolution No.1770''': ''A Resolution congratulating and commending Senator Ulysses Lee "Rip" Gooch''], Kansas State Senate, 2013<ref name="senate_res_1770_2013" />, and Gooch, with friends and supporters, organized a 90th birthday party for him that drew hundreds to a local theater.<ref name="90th_party_2013_09_06_eagle">Plumlee, Rick, "[http://www.kansas.com/news/article1122192.html 90th birthday party planned for Rip Gooch]," Sept. 6, 2013 The Wichita ''Eagle''</ref> |
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Gooch currently (2014) resides in Wichita, Kansas. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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Revision as of 21:13, 24 October 2014
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U. L. "Rip" Gooch | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Kansas Senate from the 29th district | |
| In office 1992–2004 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ulysses Lee Gooch September 13, 1923 Ripley, Tennessee |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Wichita, Kansas |
| Occupation | pilot, businessman |
Ulysses Lee "Rip" Gooch (born September 13, 1923) is a former pilot, aviation entrepreneur, and Kansas politician. Gooch was a member of the Kansas Commission on Civil Rights, 1971-74; member of the Wichita City Council, 1989-93; and a Kansas state senator (D-Wichita, 29th District - Central-Northeast Wichita) from 1993 until retiring in January 2004 as the state's oldest serving senator. Gooch was one of the first inductees to the Black Aviation Hall of Fame.[1][2][3] [4]
Early Life
Gooch was born in Ripley, Tennessee, the son of rural Tennessee sharecroppers and the grandson of emancipated slaves, Gooch was orphaned at age four and fended for himself growing up in the 1920s and 1930s under the shadow of Jim Crow. Working in fields while watching airplanes fly overhead, he dreamed of escaping to a better life. While in high school, in 1943, during World War II, Gooch joined the Army, and was eventually shipped to the Philippines as a sergeant supervising a construction operation; he was discharged after the war in 1946. He graduated from his hometown's Lauderdale High School while in the military.[4]
Aviation Career
Gooch subsequently began taking flight lessons on the GI Bill, earning his private pilot's license in 1947, and continued flight training at a private flying service. About this time, he met and married Augusta Fields. While also attending Tennessee State University (then Tennessee A & I University), studying veterinary medicine, he continued his flight training, eventually becoming a commercial pilot and flight instructor. He became a part-time stunt flyer with the legendary airshow empresario Billl Sweet.[4]
However, despite earning his wings, Gooch couldn’t find full-time aviation work because he was black. Gooch moved to Wichita, Kansas -- the "Air Capital City", a major aviation industrial center -- in 1951, where he began to work for Boeing Airplane Company. After battling racism as an inspector with Boeing in the 1950s, he decided to start his own flight business -- one of the first black-owned modern FBOs (general aviation fixed base operations) in the U.S. [5], which provided a stepping stone for a number of other black pilots.[4][2]
In the years since moving to the Air Capital, his aviation career included being a flight instructor and examiner, and charter pilot, and -- at Wichita's Rawdon Airport -- owner/operator of its FBO, Aero Services, Inc. -- the Mooney Aircraft distributorship for Kansas and parts of Missouri, which also provided flight training, charter flying, aircraft rental and storage, operated an air taxi operation moving classified information between U.S. military bases in 17 states, overhauled military helicopter parts.[4][2]
In 2001, Gooch was inducted into the Black Aviation Hall of Fame.[3]
A Kansas Senate Resolution honoring him in 2013, notes that "Senator Gooch was instrumental in the formation of the International Black Aerospace Council, an umbrella organization of five major black aviation organizations. He has served on the Aviation Advisory Committee of the Kansas Department of Transportation, the Air Museum Task Force and the Wichita Airport Authority, and he is a member of the Kansas Aviation Museum Board;..."[2]
U. L. 'Rip' Gooch is currently (2014) a pilot with 20,000 flight hours (over 18,000 as pilot-in-command), and is a retired Federal Aviation Administration pilot examiner.[5][2][4]
Political Career
Gooch served on the Kansas Commission on Civil Rights from 1971 to 1974[2]
One of the few African Americans elected to the Wichita City Council, he served from 1989 to 1992, including two one-year terms as Vice Mayor.[2]
Gooch was elected to the Kansas Senate in 1992 as a Democrat, serving from 1993 until 2004, representing the 29th Kansas Senate District -- an inner-city area in central-northeast Wichita.[2]Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
Gooch was succeeded by State Representative Donald Betts (D-Wichita).[6]
Gooch successfully urged daughter Bonita Gooch to assume leadership of Wichita's leading black newspaper, the Community Voice, which she subsequently has operated for decades.[7]
Retirement and Publicity
In 2001, Gooch was inducted into the National Black Aviation Hall of Fame. [3]
In 2006, with journalist Glen Sharp (New York Times, Newsweek), self-published his autobiography: Black Horizons: One Aviator's Experience in the Post-Tuskeegee Era,[4], (also online at Google Books, and distributed by Amazon.com, and as a Kindle e-Book)
In 2008, Gooch was the subject of a documentary film, From the Bottom.
In 2013, the Kansas Senate issued Senate Resolution No.1770: A Resolution congratulating and commending Senator Ulysses Lee "Rip" Gooch, Kansas State Senate, 2013[2], and Gooch, with friends and supporters, organized a 90th birthday party for him that drew hundreds to a local theater.[8]
Gooch currently (2014) resides in Wichita, Kansas.
References
- ^ Associated Press, Oldest state senator leaving post, December 20, 2003, Topeka Capital-Journal,
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Senate Resolution No.1770: A Resolution congratulating and commending Senator Ulysses Lee "Rip" Gooch, Kansas State Senate, 2013
- ^ a b c "Gooch and Johnson honored as aviators," Sept. 6, 2001, Wichita Business Journal
- ^ a b c d e f g Gooch, U.L. "Rip" with Glen Sharp, Black Horizons: One Aviator's Experience in the Post-Tuskeegee Era, 2006, Aviation Business Consultants, Wichita, KS. (Self-published autobiography, partially published at Google Books, and distributed by Amazon.com
- ^ a b Campbell, Jim, ed., "Who Is Rip Gooch And Why Do We Owe Him? 80-Year Old Aviation Pioneer Feted In Wichita," Aero-News Network online, Sep 15, 2003
- ^ Associated Press, "Betts to replace Gooch in Senate," January 13, 2004, Topeka Capital-Journal / CJonline.com
- ^ Bonita Gooch, HistoryMakers.com
- ^ Plumlee, Rick, "90th birthday party planned for Rip Gooch," Sept. 6, 2013 The Wichita Eagle