Oliver Franklin Meffordy

Oliver Franklin Mefford and Mefford Field - By Ellen Gorelick, Executive Director-Chief Curator Tulare Historical Museum

OLIVER FRANKLIN MEFFORD AND MEFFORD FIELD Who was Oliver Franklin Mefford, and why does the City of Tulare’s Airport and the rare wooden pre-WWII hangar, south of town and east of Highway 99, bear his name? He was a flight instructor at Rankin Aeronautical Academy in Tulare in the 1940’s. He was a successful businessman, and owned O. F. Mefford and Son Jeep, one of the first jeep dealers in the nation after World War II. He was a pillar of the community. He served as chairman of the Aviation Commission and as a member of the Tulare City Council. In 1991, he was honored by the Tulare Chamber of Commerce as Tulare’s Man of the Year. By the way, did I mention that he also liked to jump out of airplanes?

Oliver F. Mefford was born in Stephenville, Texas, on January 25, 1901. He was the eldest of eleven children, and his family farmed in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and New Mexico. He joined the Navy during World War I, and after the war, he worked at the Navy Air Base on Coronado Island. While visiting his family in Colorado, he met his future wife, Grace, and they were married in the Baptist Church in Durango, Colorado on September 12, 1923. They would raise a son, Charles, and remain happily married for sixty-five years until her death in 1989. In 1937, he purchased a Piper Cub aircraft, and his love of flying began. His brother, Dwight, and he spearheaded an effort to develop an airport south of town, and in 1981, the Tulare Municipal Airport was renamed in his honor.

During the depression, he started a trucking business and a used car business. During World War II, he became a flight instructor at Rankin Academy east of Tulare, and his flight instructor’s uniform and other Rankin Aeronautical Academy memorabilia is prominently displayed in the museum’s Manuel Toledo Military History Wing in the Robert and Geraldine Soults Hall. In 1950, he became a developer, built houses, farmed and ran his car dealership. He continued to serve his community by serving on the Tulare Safety Council, the Tulare Airport Commission, and the Tulare District Cemetery Board.

In 1979, at the age of 78, he ran a successful campaign to serve as a member of the Tulare City Council. Although he never sought recognition, his love and financial support for the City of Tulare and its charitable organizations is well known. His love for flying and adventure continued throughout his adult life. At 92 years of age, he was the oldest man in the world to skydive and was featured on CNN News. Oliver F. Mefford’s many contributions to the City of Tulare will long be remembered, and the story of his life is preserved for future generations in the Tom Hennion Archives Center of the Tulare Historical Museum.

For additional information, visit the Tulare Historical Museum, 444 West Tulare Avenue, Tulare California 93274 or call (559) 686-2074.