Goodyear anniversary connects past with future

SOMEWHERE ABOVE AKRON — It was a blimp ride 125 years in the making.

Goodyear used its iconic blimp to help celebrate the 125th anniversary of Frank Seiberling founding what today is North America's No. 1 brand and the only U.S.-based tire maker to be ranked in the Top 20 in global tire sales.

A group of 10 people — including two pilots, local media members, an Akron-area historian and Goodyear personnel — took a blimp ride on Aug. 29, taking an aerial tour of key landmarks around the Rubber City.

Gliding at around 35 knots per hour, about 1,000 feet above ground, Wingfoot One — christened in 2014 — maneuvered above 11 historic sites, including:

• Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, the home Frank and Gertrude Seiberling, built in 1915. The 64,500 sq.-ft. mansion remains an example of an American country estate built during the Industrial Age at the turn of the 20th century.
• Goodyear Hall, previous site of the global headquarters. The tire maker recently relit the Goodyear sign that marks the site.
• The Akron Airdoc, where two airships, the USS Akron and USS Macon, were among those constructed. During World War II, the Airdoc was used for building airships that provided help for the U.S. Navy.
• Goodyear Heights neighborhood, where Goodyear workers lived in its early years;
• Goodyear's global headquarters, which opened in 2014;
• Wingfoot Lake State Park, a lake near the blimp hangar in Mogadore, Ohio; and
• The University of Akron and downtown Akron, where Goodyear recruited many past and current workers.

David Lieberth, a local historian and president of the Lieberth Consulting Group, was asked whether Akron shaped Goodyear or whether Goodyear shaped Akron.

"Goodyear exists because Akron had land. Akron had water. Akron had men who knew how to use machine tools," Lieberth said, noting competent machinists were essential for a burgeoning rubber company.

"Akron also had capital. Seiberling could not have started in 1898 so Akron did shape the start of Goodyear."

But, he said, Goodyear also shaped Akron over the last 125 years, building housing for workers, donating land for parks and being a good corporate advocate for the city.

"...Clearly Goodyear helped to shape the city of Akron, providing employment," Lieberth said. "At one time, Goodyear employed more than 70,000 people."

Later in the day, the blimp made another tour over the tire makers global headquarters, as Goodyear President and CEO Rich Kramer celebrated the historic day with Goodyear associates and invited guests with a ceremony.

The blimp, meanwhile, will be airborne again on Thursday, weather permitting, to Goodyear's manufacturing facility in Fayetteville, N.C.. The blimp will be stationed there throughout the holiday weekend, providing aerial coverage of the start of the college football season this weekend.

Goodyear has three blimps across the county; the others are in Pompano Beach, Fla., and Carson, Calif.

And it won't be long until the blimp hits a milestone of its own: Goodyear will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the blimp in 2025.