Library to host pioneer aviator program

Crook County Library is hosting the program "Pioneer Aviator of the Black Hills: Neva Esmay Pluimer" by Tim Velder on Fri., Apr. 22 at the library meeting room in Sundance. The program will begin at 7 p.m. and is free to the public.

Who was the unsung hero during the 1941 parachutist rescue at Devils Tower? Who was the first civilian pilot to fly after the bombing at Pearl Harbor?

Who was the only woman to train pilots and rig parachutes for servicemen at the Black Hills Airport? Who was the 'Diana of Dakota'?

Local amateur historian Tim Velder will – for the first time – tell the story of Neva Esmay Pluimer and her famous exploits during the WWII years in the northern Black Hills.

Velder is a communications specialist with Powder River Energy and a native of the northern Black Hills area. He has been collecting information on our local history since his college days at Black Hills State University in the early 1990s.

He hauled a pile of history research materials with him in his 2012 move to Sundance from Butte County, South Dakota. Velder's former career in the newspaper business allowed him access to interviews and archival materials, which bring breathe life into stories about our local history.

For more information, please contact Jill Mackey at Crook County Library, 283-1006 or [email protected]