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Some W.Va. seniors going skydiving on holiday
CHARLESTON -- Jim Hultin doesn't consider himself an everyday daredevil.
When the 67-year-old Milton, W.Va., resident was asked to go skydiving on the Fourth of July, he hesitated at first, then jumped at the opportunity.
Hultin is a member of a West Virginia seniors group that will take off from an airport in South Point, Ohio. He'll make his first-ever leap from a plane Friday during an outing organized by the Barboursville, W.Va.-based senior citizens group.
"I enjoy trying different things," Hultin said. Skydiving on the nation's birthday adds "more sparkle to it," he said.
It will mark the second straight year the club is sponsoring a skydiving venture on Independence Day from the South Point airport.
Harvest Club director Sherrie Porter said 16 people went skydiving last year, and four of the nine who have signed up so far this year will be repeat jumpers.
Hultin is one of three rookies. The retired television producer knew another member of the group who jumped last year and was prodded into going this time.
"I'm kind of looking forward to the free-fall part, where we're just sailing through the air," Hultin said.
An avid swimmer and cyclist, Hultin said the jump could lead to other adventures such as surfing.
He'll be joined from the senior set Friday by 69-year-old Waymon Griffith of Barboursville, and 72-year-old Jack Brun and 77-year-old Harry Messinger, both of Milton.
For Brun, it's the highlight of the social group's dozens of activities each year.
His advice for anyone trying it for the first time? Wear ear plugs and a jacket. It gets pretty cold and noisy falling from 14,000 feet.
Last year's jump was his first since he was in the military during the Korean War.
"I wish I could do it more often," he said.
But not solo. He lets the guide he's tethered to handle the things that matter.
"I want to enjoy the fall and the ride and not have to worry about the winds and where we're going to land," Brun said.
The 850-member Harvest Club conducts two dozen trips every year and the interest in skydiving shows "the newer generation of seniors are more active in every way," Porter said.
That goes for everywhere. The group Skydivers Over Sixty has 1,272 members ages 60 and up from 26 countries, said founder Pat Moorehead of Long Beach, Calif. The group was formed 16 years ago and Moorehead signs up about 100 new members each year.
He said an emphasis on health over the last three decades enables today's seniors to stay active. Moorehead, 77, has been skydiving nearly 6,000 times.
His group doesn't account for the many seniors who skydive once and quickly retire from the sport.
"Even if they don't continue, it adds a little spice" to their lives, Moorehead said.
Not all of Friday's jumpers are seniors. Lisa Willis and her 18-year-old daughter will be skydiving together. They watched the Harvest Club jump last year and Willis promised the teen they could try it this year.
"She didn't forget," Willis said.
