Max Conrad and Early Winona Aviation Oral History Project: Interview with Edward L. Hittner

Titles: Max Conrad and Early Winona Aviation Oral History Project: Interview with Edward L. Hittner (Supplied title)

Description: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Edward Hittner was born on February 1, 1917. He graduated from eighth grade when he was thirteen and worked on the family farm until 1938 when he married and moved to Winona. His first exposure to flying took place in 1926 watching Eddie Mittock land on Lake Winona. His first airplane ride was in the winter of 1936 when he began working at the airport for flying time and soloed on the fourth of July of 1933. After Gerald Kohner was killed in 1933 Hittner quit flying until many years later. In 1939 he worked for Winona Flour and Feed driving truck and in 1941 he worked for Firestone Tire and Rubber Company and stayed there until he joined the Winona Police Department. He then began work for the Murphy Freight Line in 1964 and retired in 1970. He received his private pilot's license, soloed and became an instructor and test pilot for the airport in 1946 while working full-time for the Winona Police Department. Hittner also flew for Watkins part-time in 1949 and began taking his commercial and instrument ratings. Hittner and his wife, Emily, had three children. At the time of the interview he was retired from law enforcement and worked part-time for his son-in-law. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: This tape consists of Hittner's biographical background, early Winona aviation, Hittner's experiences as a police pilot and his early connections with Conrad.

Dates

• 10/25/1975 - 11/21/1975 (Interviews conducted 10/25/1975 and 11/21/1975.) (Creation)

Creation

• interviewee: Hittner, Edward L.
• interviewer: Nelsestuen, Barbara

Identifiers

• Library Call Number: OH 39
• Accession Number: AV1992.66.3

Credit: Digitized with support from the Ken and Nina Rothchild Endowed Fund for Business History and Women's History.

Holding Type: Oral History - Interview

Project

• Oral History - Project, MHS Collection, project: 'Max Conrad and Early Winona Aviation Oral History Project' <OH 39>

Quantity: 3 hours sound cassette 57 pages transcript

Format

• Content Category: sound recordings
• Content Category: text

Measurements

• 01:54:11 running time

Subjects

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