The Victoria College, 1925-2000: A Tradition of Excellence

eaks at the college, Schneider, Ley, and friends
crossed North Street to a Mrs. Evans’ house for
a quick home prepared meal. The front rooms of
her residence served as a dining area for the students
who sat around small round tables and
engaged in small talk, occasionally being interrupted
by the rumble of a noon passenger train
as it steamed by the school complex. 41
The civilian pilots training course that began
in the fall of 1939 was expanded during the
summer of 1940 as the Franklin Roosevelt
administration accelerated the nation’s involvement
in world affairs. Victoria Junior College
was authorized by the Civilian Aeronautics
Authority to enroll fifteen students who had
attained their eighteenth birthdays. This number
was increased to nineteen by the time of fall
enrollment, and the maximum age grew to twenty-six.
Preference was given to applicants who
possessed a degree or graduation certificate from
a university, a technological institute, a four-year
teacher college, or junior college. The minimum
education requirement was one year of college
during the 1939-1940 academic year. 42
William S. Fly, grandson of G. W. L. Fly of
Civil War fame, and a state senator after World
War II, was among the 1940 summer flight students.
His interest in becoming a pilot was longstanding.
He was fascinated with the planes that
landed in the valley between Main and Vine
streets, north of Red River Street. For years he
kept a propeller from a damaged plane at his
house as a memento of his burning desire to fly.
After flying five to six hours in the air in a
Taylorcraft with an instructor, he was told to
“take it around three times” alone. The first solo
flight was the highlight of the course for Fly.
When he landed the plane, the tail of his shirt
was cut off, thus becoming a new pilot, “a shirttail.”
An important element in the course was
navigation. Since there was no sophisticated
equipment in the training plane, the pilot in
cross-country flight learned to navigate by following
railroad tracks and highways. After completing
the Victoria Junior College course, Fly did
advanced flight training in Austin while attending
the University of Texas Law School. In World
War II, he received his wings as a naval pilot. 43
✯
Victoria Junior College began to offer
pilot training in the fall 1939 under a
program sponsored by the Civil
Aeronautics Authority.
Depression and War ✦ 35