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In Memoriam - Charles “Dewey” Reinhard
by Rae Todd

Charles “Dewey” Reinhard passed away the evening of June 29, 2023.

The memorial service for Dewey Reinhard is scheduled for Thursday, July 27, 2023, at 11:00 a.m MST.
It will be held at the National Museum of World War II Aviation located at the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, 755 Aviation Way, Colorado Springs, CO 80916.

I first met Dewey and Jeanie Reinhard in the late 1970s after my first ride in a hot air balloon with Tim Cole and then joining the Colorado Balloon Club. I was fortunate to get to know them better when I produced the CBC’s newsletter 1981-1983.

Since, once again, I have produced the CBC newsletter since 2017 and maintaining my BFA membership along with today’s technology of cell phones, text messages and email, I catch up with Dewey time and again, I am adding a reprint of old, and I think perfect background article and additional hyperlinks to other Reinhard resources you, as readers and friends of Dewey, might like.

There was no one like Dewey with Jeanie by his side. Oh, his adventures and the stories we all heard. Giants leave big footprints.

Labor Day Lift Off: The Man Who Started It All

https://www.kktv.com/2021/09/01/labor-day-lift-off-man-who-started-it-all/?fbclid=IwAR0nafClboqP7YmXSF_BDtKtq0PZ78SW_Fz6fotrlC6KA3DsDmmIs--dutQ
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Dewey Reinhard, a Pueblo native, made a career as a glider pilot -- but that’s just the start of his adventure in the sky.

Given his passion for aviation, Reinhard and wife Jeanie attended an air show in Palm Springs, California around the early 1970s. They expected to see various planes and flying demonstrations, but one thing that was new caught their attention.
“There happened to be a couple of balloons there,” Dewey Reinhard said. “The weather was too bad for them to free-fly, but they inflated them there, and I just said to Jeanie ... ‘That looks like something we ought to look into, it looks like it may be fun.’”
When returning from the trip, Reinhard jokingly said to his fellow aviators at work, “If anybody knows a good deal on a hot air balloon, I’d be interested ... Well, two days later, my controller said, ‘We just bought a hot air balloon.’ I said, ‘Where in the world did you find it?’ ... He said, ‘Right here in Colorado Springs.’”
Reinhard said he then was taught to fly by an Air Force Academy cadet and, with lots of practice, earned his balloon pilot license. However, the ride did not come without turbulence.
“I got hurt pretty bad on one of my flights when I was a student ... and Jeanie said, ‘You said this was sup- posed to be fun, but you’re having to wear a removable cast on your leg to go to work ... that is kind of taking the fun out of this.’ I had my doubts at that time, because I was getting hurt and we never had any good landings, so it was getting to be kind of painful.”
When asked why he kept going, Reinhard said, “It was so beautiful when it was going good ... It was fun, and I’ve always enjoyed things that have a challenge.”
Dewey and Jeanie attended a hot air balloon festival in Iowa during the early stages of Dewey’s balloon fly- ing career. Jeanie said, “We were both shocked at the antics of the balloonists and their costumes. I say ‘costumes’ because they made flight suits out of the same colors as their balloons, and they looked like clowns. I said ... ‘You know, Dewey, are we sure we want to do this? I’m not sure we’ll be good at this.’ ... But turns out, we are.” Reinhard has participated in balloon flying competitions and festivals around the world. He keeps a plethora of medals and other mementos on display in his “man cave” in the couple’s east Colorado Springs home.
The Colorado Springs Balloon classic started in 1974, when Reinhard and his co-workers put a few hot
air balloons into the sky in the Black Forest area. The next year, the event grew and moved to Colorado Springs’ Memorial Park. Reinhard flew the first several years but then stopped. He says, the event got to the point where there were almost too many balloons. He said he needed to pay attention to management, leading to him staying on the ground in later years. He has since handed over the event to city organizations and leadership. After sever- al years, the event name changed to what it’s known as today: Labor Day Lift Off.
“I thought Dewey would hate not flying. I thought he would not like to go anymore,” Jeanie said. To her husband, she added, “but I think you still enjoy it.” Dewey replied, “I do. I still have the same feeling when I first saw hot air balloon ever takeoff. It was almost like magical. I still get that feeling just watching them take off. It is kind of an emotional thing for me.”
“Balloons make people happy. Really, you look at everyone and they’re smiling, so it's a terrific thing," Jeanie said.

Dewey Reinhard Reflects on His 1977 Balloon Flight Across the Atlantic Ocean - http://www.ltaflightmagazine.com/reinhard-reflects-on-his-1977-balloon-flight-across-the-atlantic-ocean/?fbclid=IwAR1-NX4dBBopLeCJ70hq1wtnvK8q_Df1HhdFUdc-cy-4imDiUXcSM7Sjadc

Colorado Springs Has a Father in Ballooning, Reflects on Audacious Career- https://gazette.com/life/colorado-springs-has-a-father-in-ballooning-reflects-on-audacious-career/article_b20d261a-655e-11ea-858f-17aefc471b72.html?fbclid=IwAR21oV1l6WZbrpA3_XBJfK0JK_Vzot35kHvvR3raOUPQnRhyqWcg07scO_4

2009 Colorado Balloon Club Meeting

BFA Youth Program Mission

https://www.bfa.net/divisions/junior-balloonists

The Mission of the BFA Youth Program is to encourage the natural curiosity of youth to pursue involvement in the lifelong sport of ballooning. The BFA Youth Program encourages and supports members to develop programs and activities to expand the knowledge of youth who want to learn more. BFA Youth Program activities are designed to nurture the skills and develop interpersonal connections that will connect youth to the balloon community and help them become pilots or crew thus ensuring the future of ballooning.

Questions – Contact Katie here:
Katie Griggs
BFA Youth Program Chairman
youthprograms@bfa.net
775-771-4175