Indiantown

Submitted by Pat Moore D-1814

(For additional history of Indiantown, check out the entries for Davie and Clewiston submitted by Gary Corderman D-2510)

In the late sixties to the mid seventies the high point of my skydiving year was my trip to Indiantown for the annual winter accuracy meet. Nestled among orange groves, the DZ was located east of Lake Okeechobee and just north of the St. Lucie Canal. Run by one of the legends of the sport, Paul Poppenhager, D-47, it was a hugely popular destination over New Years. Pop and John Coppe logged countless hours in the 182 and Howard hauling jumpers aloft. Pelicans Bob Holler, Tommy Bryant, and Bill Ottley invited me to join their team one year and we finished in first place.

Pop had more jumps than pretty much anyone in the country. I watched from the ground as a large contingent of skydivers joined him for his 5000th jump. He was the first in the country to achive that milestone.

History was made at Indiantown. In 1969 Connie Moore became the first woman in the world to jump a square parachute.