Chapter Seven: College and the World Beyond

College brought new horizons. Ervin studied Business and foreign languages, and made two friends who would remain close for life: Presley and Harper, two sisters he affectionately nicknamed “Princess Presley” and “Happy Harper.” They studied together, traveled together, and he brought them home to meet his family and took them flying over the Reed Estate in his Piper. “These gals will be lifetime friends,” he said — and he was right.

He still played sports, but his focus was on his studies and on watching the world beyond Kentucky’s borders with increasing concern. Aviation magazines and maps of Europe covered the library table at the Reed Mansion. The reports coming out of Germany were unmistakable.

In June 1939, Ervin graduated from college at age 22. His parents gifted him a 1939 Stearman Bi-Wing — a beautiful aircraft built for the kind of adventurous, open-sky flying Ervin had been dreaming of since his first hour in Jamie’s cockpit. He flew locally at first, taking friends along and reacquainting himself with the Kentucky countryside from the air. Then he traveled abroad, witnessing firsthand the gathering storm that would soon engulf the entire world.

He came home knowing exactly what was coming. He intended to be ready.