TURNERS FALLS — A 30-year-old certificate sat tucked away among stacks of belongings left behind in Teri Salkaus’ estate. Her older sister, Patty, was looking through the papers when she found it.
It read: “This certificate entitles the bearer to one hour worth of flying that they wish to do any time. There is no time limit regarding when this certificate expires. Have a nice day! Sincerely, Gary M. Bohonowicz.”
Patty Salkaus called up the Pioneer Aviation Corporation, which awarded the certificate, to find out if the 1987 gift could still be redeemed.
“I said ‘no expiration date, well it’s worth a try,’ dialed the phone number, spoke to him in person and he said ‘yes, I would honor it’ and I said ‘oh gee,’” Salkaus said.
Salkaus went into Pioneer Aviation and spoke with Bruce Bohonowicz. He decided to not only accept the certificate, but to double it. Now two people will be able to take a scenic ride for one hour aboard a plane from Turners Falls Airport.
But it won’t be Salkaus who will be using the certificate. She instead donated it to the annual auction for The United Arc in memory of her sister who died at the age of 59, living her final 10 years at the Farren Care Center in Turners Falls.
“She was in a situation where she was never really able to use this gift certificate,” Salkaus said. “There were a lot of years that she probably held onto it and thought she would use it.”
Salkaus’ connection to the Arc are various: her brother Michael has received services from the Arc since 2010, while she has served on the auction’s committee for the past three years. United Arc provides a variety of services to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities that promote personal well-being and self-fulfillment.
The auction began May 19 and will continue through Labor Day.
“It warms my heart to be able to offer it,” Salkaus said. “It’s the most appropriate donation I could give in my sister’s memory and also in grateful appreciation of all the support services that my brother receives from The United Arc. It’s a perfect idea.”
The story of this certificate goes deeper into the Salkaus family history.
In 1941, Anthony Salkaus was working in New York City and training to become a pilot.
With about six hours of training left to gain his license, Pearl Harbor happened. He decided to enlist in the war with the Navy.
When Salkaus returned he met the woman who would become his wife and then had three children. His pursuit of becoming a pilot was put permanently on hold.
“There were no funds, no time to fulfill this dream,” Patty Salkaus said about her father. “The closest he could get was driving us to the Orange Airport and have us watch the planes take off.”
The family grew up in Athol, and Salkaus fondly remembered heading over to the airport to watch the planes.
When her sister received the certificate for a free scenic ride, it was a chance to finally take that ride.
Finding the certificate decades later and finding out it’ll still be honored had left Salkaus with a big smile on her face.
“It’s kind of like a memory of our father and his unfulfilled dream,” Salkaus said. “What’s nice is to pass this onto a couple who wins this in the auction and then they get to go up. It’s just wonderful after the 30 years that have gone by that someone can carry forward this opportunity.”
The United Arc’s annual auction is underway and open until Labor Day. You can bid on the certificate for two people to go up on a one-hour scenic flight with Pioneer Aviation, among other items like Yankees vs. Red Sox tickets. Items can be bid on through its website, www.theunitedarc.org/auction.
You can reach Joshua Solomon at:
jsolomon@recorder.com
413-772-0261, ext. 264