[JYO] Tribute to Ezra Howland

This week’s  CountrySide/Cascades column in the Loudoun Times-Mirror contains 
a tribute to  Ezra Howland, an aviator and long-time resident of the area 
that came to be  known as Potomac Falls. The column appears below. 

It was my great good  fortune to meet the Howland family soon after I moved 
to Loudoun County. When I  began to write for the Times-Mirror, Ezra was a 
strong supporter. He was always  the first to ask, “Where’s your column?” if 
the 
neighbors’ columns didn’t make  it into the newspaper. 

(These days, the Towns & Villages columns  appear online only. They can be 
found at _www.loudountimes.com._ (http://www.loudountimes.com./)  Click on the  
Community link on the left side of the Home page, then click on the Towns &  
Villages heading.) 

-Kathie 

COUNTRYSIDE/CASCADES 

Ezra  Howland, a tribute 

By Kathie Felix 

This is a sad week in and  around the Potomac Falls area. Many of us are 
mourning the passing of Ezra  Howland, one of the first homeowners on the 
street 
that grew up to be today’s  busy Potomac View Road. 

Ezra and his family built a contemporary  ranch-style rambler on a large lot 
in mid-20th-century Sterling, back when  Potomac View was a small dirt road 
with countless unexpected hazards in good  weather and bad. I’ve heard the 
Howlands tell many great stories about their  house-building adventures and the 
drama of negotiating that dirt road in  suburban Sterling’s early days. 

Over the years, in fact, I’ve heard  quite a few great stories at the Howland 
home. Ezra was a fabulous storyteller.  

He talked about his adventures in World War II. He talked about meeting  his 
bride in France. He talked about his hometown in Massachusetts. He talked  
about aviation, his career until his retirement and his passion his entire 
life.  

One of my favorite stories focused on the Falls Church Airport and  “Little 
Butch,” the red Monocoupe 110 Special stunt plane now in residence at  the 
National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles  
Airport. 

Ezra had a pretty extensive career in aviation. He worked as a  flight 
instructor, a charter pilot, and an air traffic controller at Dulles. At  one 
point 
in his career, he worked at the Falls Church Airport. 

One day,  the Little Butch landed in Falls Church. Ezra and the pilot began 
talking and,  during the conversation, the pilot asked Ezra if he’d like to 
pilot the stunt  plane. Ezra had a great time flying that plane that day. And, 
in 
recent years,  he had great fun telling us that the stunt plane he’d once 
flown is the bright  red plane hanging in the Udvar-Hazy Center. 

I thought I’d heard just  about all of Ezra’s stories, but I stumbled upon a 
brand new one at his memorial  service. 

Ezra had served in the Air Force during World War II. One day,  while he was 
hard at work directing air traffic over France, he heard someone  come into 
the tower and stand quietly. Ezra didn’t look up, thinking that the  air 
traffic 
flow was more important. After about 20 minutes, he heard someone  say, “Good 
job.” When Ezra looked toward the voice, he saw that the speaker was  Gen. 
George Patton. 

This may be the best story of all. Now I’m always  going to remember Ezra 
Howland as a man so focused on aviation safety that he  accidentally ignored 
Gen. 
George Patton in wartime.  




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