Bellanca doesn't cut a wide swath in corporate America, but it ...

orty years ago, a groupof business and civicleaders from the smallMinnesota lake region townof Alexandria (where some believe theVikings roamed long before ChristopherColumbus arrived in the newworld) sought to boost the local economyby bringing some manufacturingactivity to town. That activity turnedout to be building Bellanca Cruisemasters.Tooling and parts were shippedfrom New Castle, Delaware, whereGuiseppe Bellanca had originallyestablished his factory. A shop was setup in a former creamery in town.Essentially, it was a woodworkingshop where the wings, flaps, andailerons were built. A portion of thecreamery was used to weld the steeltubing used to construct the fuselageand tail. Final assembly of the Cruisemasterstook place in a hangar at thePHOTOGRAPHYBY MIKE FIZERAOPA PILOT' 51