An error in my biography of Belle Klipsch led to a connection with her nephew, John Zanca! John cleared me up on the spelling of her maiden name, and that is very much appreciated. As I stated in the Historical Vault disclaimer, I need your help keeping the story accurate. The connection with John also resulted in a great story about PWK, and a new one on me:

“One dark and stormy night (probably around 1960), my father, the late Col. Peter Zanca who was a U.S. Army doctor stationed at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, received a late night phone call from the military police at Randolph Air Force Base just north of town.

"The MPs told my dad that they had a gentleman in custody who claimed to be his brother-in-law. My dad drove out to Randolph and they released Paul W. Klipsch into his custody. Turns out that Paul and his plane had gotten disoriented in a thunderstorm and mistakenly landed on a runway at the Air Force base, thinking it was the municipal airport that he normally used when he would visit.

"After spending the night at our quarters at Ft. Sam, my dad took Paul back to Randolph AFB the next morning to inquire about charges and/or fines. The MPs just told him to 'Get that plane out of here, and don't ever come back.'"

One can only wonder if Paul was accompanied by fighter jets on his approach! New to Good Poop? You can learn more here.