Skip to content

The  Airport

Roscoe and Jason Sawyer built the Silver Ranch Airpark in 1946 by  by grading a hilltop of trees felled by the 1938 hurricane. The original runway, about 1200 feet was expanded to 2000 feet in the 1950s and then paved and lengthened to 3000 feet.

Silver Ranch Airpark
Silver Ranch Airpark

Jaffrey Airport-Silver Ranch

The airport is a family corporation and is  managed by Roscoe’s grandson Harvey Sawyer and his wife Lee.  During the warmer months Harvey and Lee host a social get together for seniors, passengers and visitors from the nearby Ice Cream takeout.

Three Women
Senior Socialites
Lee Sawyer
Lee Sawyer provides refreshments for the visitors/ This week it was a delicious apple crisp and ice cream
Harvey (on right) chats with a friend
Harvey (on right) chats with a friend
Harvey and Lee's plane
Harvey and Lee’s plane

The Music Jam

In 2009 Dave and Ellen Hedman formed Monadnock Mountain Music Jaffey. The group’s charter is to  preserve, play, teach, share and sing traditional old-time bluegrass, early country and Americana music. In those early years music jams were held in the main hall of Silver Ranch livery located across the street from the airport.

Sliver Ranch Hall
Photo from June 2011

Over time the hall proved too costly to heat in the winter months. In cooler weather the music jams were held at the Temple Town Hall. In the warmer months Dave and Ellen held the jams at their home which had limited space. In 2018 they came up with the idea of holding the jams at the airport and playing for the senior group.

Ellen & Dave Hedman
Ellen and Dave Hedman picking some tunes. Ellen is the granddaughter of Roscoe Sawyer who built the airport and brother to Harvey Sawyer who manages it.
Jaffrey Airport Music Jam
Richard Horojeff and Callie Cornell
Jaffrey Airport Music Jam
We have all types of musicians
Jaffrey Airport Music Jam
Lee does a great job with refreshments
Enjoying an ice cream from nearby Kimball Farms
Enjoying an ice cream from nearby Kimball Farms
Airplanes
A number of people fly in for an ice cream at Kimball Farms and a chance to socialize. One guy picked up the guitar and played a tune.
One of the regulars
One of the regulars

Unexpected Arrival

Harvey received a radio call from a glider pilot stating that he needed to land. We had the opportunity to see this unique aircraft.

Glider
Glider pilot Roy Bourgeois has been flying for over 40 years.
Harvey
Hooking up the tow line for the glider
Glider pilot Roy A, Bourgeois gets a tow at the Jaffrey Airport
Glider pilot Roy A, Bourgeois gets a tow and heads back to Worcester

Final Jam for the Year

This is a great location for a jam. Thanks to Harvey and Lee for hosting this. We may get one more chance before the weather changes. After that the jam will relocate to the Temple Town Hall.  Details about MMMJ can be found on their Facebook Page.

Mount Monadnock as seen from the runway
Mount Monadnock as seen from the runway
Tags:

1 thought on “Jaffrey Airport Music Jam”

  1. Beautifully done, John!!!! Photos capture perfectly the joy of being outdoors with friends, family, and musicians as well as the story of the airport!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from My Strange Life

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading