Howard “Hap” Harper was a native of New Orleans who moved with his family as a child to Flint, MI. That’s where he fell in love with airplanes on a kiddie ride at a local amusement park.
As a teenager, he enrolled in a flight school, got his pilot’s license and supported his studies at Oberlin College by giving flying lessons.
Harper served as a lieutenant in the US Marine Corps during World War II.
After the war, he moved to San Francisco, where his neighbor Don Sherwood became a flying student of Harper’s. Sherwood’s idea was to have Harper go up in his airplane and provide weather reports for KSFO. One morning, Harper spotted a traffic crash and detailed it for the KSFO audience.
Thus was born “The World’s First Airborne Traffic Reporter”.
Harper had a quick sense of humor and a memorable laugh, making him an ideal airborne sidekick for morning hosts on KSFO, KYA, and KNBR.
Hap Harper died in 2006 at age 81.
ADDITIONAL EXHIBITS:
Hap Harper, Don Sherwood, and the Raid on Stockton