Jim Baker

Jim Baker was lucky enough to be born into a family where “anything was possible except quitting.” Fascinated by aviation from a young age, he began cutting grass at the airport at 14, and, with the help of several WWII pilots, began flying. In high school he apprenticed an A&P mechanic’s license, then enlisted in the Navy at 17 to serve as a machinist. He later attended Texas A&M and Spartan School of Aeronautics, where he became a flight instructor.

He started crop dusting in central Oklahoma, moving around to Arkansas, California and Missouri. He flew freight at night during the off season in “ratty” airplanes, then spent a few years in Alaska flying and repairing seaplanes. He returned to crop dusting in Missouri, where he met his mentor, John Cournoyer. He got hired by an airline to fly a 737 straight out of an open-cockpit biplane crop duster. Then he met Lisa, had kids, and life changed.

Together, he and Lisa started the museum because, when they were at a kid’s soccer game, a plane flew over and no one looked up.

Paul Britton

Paul Britton was born on Sheppard AFB, where the sounds of jet engines were among the first he heard. He grew up in Burkburnett, Texas, and earned money for flying lessons with a paper route, mowing yards, sacking groceries, and painting houses.

Paul earned his private pilot license in January of 1985. After he graduated from Texas A&M in 1988,he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the USAF, where he went through pilot training from April 1989–April 1990 at Williams AFB in Arizona.

He was a Lockheed C-130H pilot during the early 90s, flew the C-130 in Desert Storm, and participated in multiple operations for 5 1/2 years, visiting 36 different countries around the globe. Paul transitioned to the U-2 Dragonlady in January 1996, and worked with the best people in the USAF.

He began his career with Southwest Airlines in April 2001, and is an active commercial pilot today.

Mike Jansky

Michael J. Jansky was born and raised in Hallettsville, Texas. At a young age, you could find him working on heavy machinery, cars, or dump trucks with his father at Jansky Brothers Dump Truck Service. This passion grew into a successful business and for the past 35 years, he has owned and operated Jansky’s Sand and Gravel in Hallettsville. During that time he has supported his community as a volunteer firefighter, by sponsoring youth sports teams, and donating time and materials for sports complexes and school projects. He also serves as President of the Lavaca County Flood Control Board, and non-profit Lavaca Swimming Pool. He and his wife Peggy have been married for more than 40 years and have 3 children and 11 grandchildren. In his free time, he enjoys camping with his family, taking his grandchildren on the pontoon boat, gambling trips to Coushatta, and flying his cessna any chance he can.

Mike’s love for aviation didn’t come until later in his life when his friends talked him into buying a plane. Says Jim Baker, “I’ve been flying professionally for 40+ years now, and I’ve never seen someone who likes to fly as much as Mike—he’s like a kid. He’s also probably the best mechanic I’ve ever seen—on anything from a bicycle to a bulldozer, Mike and his sons will take it apart completely, fix the ailment, and reassemble it to work perfectly. He also answers the phone whenever I’m in trouble, and has been with me to get airplanes in New York, helped with the flood at Creve Coeur, and more. I’m grateful to have his involvement in what we do, but more importantly, to be able to call him my friend.”

Lisa Baker

Co-founder of the Texas Barnstorming Museum, Lisa is originally from Buffalo, NY. She served as an Air Evac Flight Nurse in the USAF serving on board C-130s to evacuate wounded soldiers. She met Jim Baker at the Denver airport, and he “just knew.” She is a Registered Nurse, a Family Nurse Practitioner, and avid gardener and beekeeper. Affectionately known as “Momma B,” she seems to adopt each of the scholarship kids. She also has an affinity for rescue animals, and pilots stranded at the airport.

Steven Greenwell

Steven Greenwell, retired from Department of Homeland Security, is a lifelong aspiring pilot.

He spent 25 years in federal law enforcement, and seven years in the USMC Active/Active Reserve. Married for more than 34 years, he has two children—a daughter in nursing and a son training to be a commercial pilot—and three grandchildren.

He is currently a substitute teacher who is very community- and public-service oriented. He enjoys fishing, hunting and horses.

Kelly Jernigan

Kelly Jernigan is a lift specialist and account manager for TNT Crane and Rigging, getting his start in the crane industry when he was 18 years old working around the US with his dad—also a crane operator. Currently, Kelly handles some of the largest refining plants in the US.

Kelly resides in Hallettsville, Texas, with his lovely wife Farrah and their three beautiful daughters. One of Kelly’s favorite traditions is taking his family on grand road trips by car, which he considers the optimal way to experience America, from the resting spot of Billy the Kid to the tunnels of Fort Pickens, to the jaw-dropping scenery on back roads most would not even dare to take.

Flying is Kelly’s passion. Always fascinated by aircraft, he found the opportunity to make his dream a reality in 2005 when he started to work on his private pilot’s license. During his training, Kelly had the rare opportunity to complete many cross-country flights as pilot-in-command.

A few years later, Kelly met Jim Baker and realized he clearly was not the most obsessed pilot out there. Jim introduced Kelly to a world full of historical aircraft and he found himself with a new love of aviation.

Today, Kelly helps Jim Baker and others to get young future pilot’s dreams up and off the ground and sees the same passion and fascination in these children’s eyes that he has. Kelly sees a reflection of himself in these young aviators and relishes making their dream of flight a reality.

Farrah Jernigan

Farrah Jernigan is the Chief Financial Officer and Emergency Management Coordinator for Hallettsville Independent School District. She has served in numerous capacities in the education field including as a math and computer science teacher, campus instructional technologist, network administrator and Chief Technology Officer.

Farrah is also professional speaker and trainer and has been invited to speak on both instructional and technological topics. She holds licenses as a DPS School Safety Officer and DPS Commissioned Armed Security Officer, is a recognized NRA Certified Pistol and Refuse to be the Victim Instructor, TEEX Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) Instructor, Certified SRP/SRM Trainer, Certified Range Safety Officer and is a member of the FBI InfraGard and Homeland Security Information Network.

Her work with Hallettsville Airport sprang from her husband’s passion of flight and his unyielding drive to share his spark for aviation with the local youth. Farrah loves to learn about the pilots that land at the airport and especially enjoys photographing the beautiful aircraft that grace the runway on the local fly-in days. She can be seen running numerous errands during the fly-ins and helps behind the scenes with some of the technological needs of the airport. Her desire is to see the youth of the community that have a passion for flight succeed in their future endeavors.