Editor’s note: This article has been edited to clarify the organization that produced the Emily Howell Warner documentary.

Fraser resident and retired Delta Airline Captain Bob Conover greeted visitors at the Grand County Historical Association’s Emily Warner Field Aviation Museum Friday, July 14, to a single-day record number of visitors. Visitors arrived at the museum from early opening to late closing because of the steady stream of eager tourists.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation defines “Heritage Tourism” as experiencing local places that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present. The aviation museum is packed with local history.

A large group from Delta, Utah, enjoyed the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame’s Emily Howell Warner documentary, which aired on Rocky Mountain PBS, in the new theater and experienced the Fantasy of Flight simulators.

The visitors also enjoyed Conover recount stories of famous American aviator Charles Lindbergh (he made the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris) and the Knight Ranch airfield, which is now under the deep water of Lake Granby. He spoke of the former Rocky Mountain Airways terminal at the Granby Airport and President Eisenhower’s Fraser Valley fishing trips to his “Western White House.”

The presidential airplane flew into Granby/Grand County Airport often with the Secretary of Agriculture on board and many important documents for Eisenhower to sign at the Fraser Byers Peak Ranch.

The Emily Warner Field Aviation Museum is open Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is located at the Grand County Airport Terminal Building. For more information call 970-531-1100, 970-725-3939 or visit GrandCountyHistory.org.