Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Mark Frost, Chronicle Editor
Russ Barber, our friend and the Kinderhook balloonist we sponsored for more than three decades at the Adirondack Balloon Festival, passed away on Monday at the age of 93. (Russ always seemed to me many years younger than his actual age.)
So many balloonists learned how to fly from him — the technique and the spirit he infused it with.
Mark Donahue, who heads the Adirondack Festival now, was one of them. Pilots also counted on Russ’s shop for service and repairs. And just by his personality, he brought balloonists together, people together, kids, adults, all of us who knew him, made us family.
When The Chronicle was starting to take flight a little bit in the 1980s, sponsoring a hot air balloon at the Adirondack Balloon Festival seemed like something we should certainly do. Walt Grishkot hand-picked Russ Barber to be our balloonist.
By the way, neighbors joining to sponsor a balloonist is a great idea, especially if you’ve got kids (like ours in the photo at the left, taken decades ago). You get to know the balloonist. The balloonist will probably invite you to help at the field — and you may be on the chase crew vehicle that will eventually locate and retrieve pilot, passengers and the balloon & basket.
And as a sponsor, someone is your entourage will almost certainly get to take a balloon ride.
There are balloonists who are in it for money. Russ was in it for real.
Always calm, safe and in great spirits. he provided one high after another to us and countless others. He’ll live on wonderfully in memory.
