Wlaf1450In 1966, a young man, in his early 20s, agreed to temporarily run the new Campbell County Airport until an operator could be found. Fifty-three years later a now much older Elbert “Bert” Hill Loupe (TOP PHOTO) is still running the airport. In fact, Loupe’s management, nurturing and growing of the airport earned him the Tennessee Aeronautics Commission Airport Manager of the Year in 2017.
In the early 1970s, the county condemned to old cross-tie bridge that allowed travelers from the then Dossett Road to cross over the railroad to the airport. The bridge was later razed and weeds have covered the area where it once stood.
Fast forward 50 years, and plans are underway to build a new bridge near where the old one stood. The bridge will take a now Dossett Lane from being a dead end to being a more efficient way to get to the Col. Tommy C. Stiner Airfield.
Loupe said the new bridge will greatly benefit the airport and especially the ambulance service when it’s taking a patient to Lifestar, which is based at the airport.
Tuesday afternoon, the La Follette City Council voted to name the new bridge in honor of Loupe, who was named after his grandfather “Double E” Hill. “It’s a great honor. But we still have some time before the bridge is completed,” Loupe said with his famed hearty chuckle. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 04/03/2019-6AM-PHOTO COURTESY OF WLAF’S CHARLIE HUTSON)
Much earned, and well-deserved! Bert is a true Southern Gentleman, part of the last of a dying breed!