Bert R. Coad - Submitted for the USGenWeb by James Hoogerwerf 11/8/2011

USGenWeb NOTICE: All documents placed in the USGenWeb remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations.

In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by non-commercial entities, when written permission is obtained from the contributor, so long as all notices and submitter information are included.

These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit.

Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites.

********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Bert R. Coad - Madison Parish, Louisiana

From The Delta Airlines Delta Digest April 1966

The death in February of Dr. Bert Coad was a difficult loss to the world of agriculture, and in particular, to the world of agricultural aviation. Dr. Coad was a Delta pioneer who never ceased to be an explorer throughout his life. He was one of those very remarkable people who scoffed at insurmountable problems and was satisfied only with their solution. He had little patience with ceremony. When airplanes were the unusual, Dr. Goad had formulated ideas for their practical use toward the betterment of men. The airplane he thought, in many instances could be the end of crop-destroying insects. This he proved by his pioneer work at the cotton insect experiment station at Tallulah, La.

Dr. Coad was a native of southern Illinois. He graduated from the University of that state with a degree in entomology. He joined the U. S. Department of Entomology and was soon sent to its station at Tallulah, Louisiana. Tallulah is located in the flatlands near the Mississippi River, in the heart of the delta country. The doctor walked into a life and death struggle which was being waged by farmers and planters against the dread boll weevil. The weevil, a quarter inch long, grey cotton destroyer, had come across the Rio Grande from Mexico and was in the process of ruining the southern cotton industry. Dr. Goad was instrumental in halting the weevil's onslaught.

The doctor was an enthusiastic supporter of the infant Huff-Daland dusting company, 18 bi-wing airplanes based at Monroe, 52 miles across the cotton fields to the west. Later, his enthusiasm and kinship with the growing agricultural aviation industry culminated in his association with the company which by then was called "Delta Air Service." Through the years, he headed Delta's thriving agricultural division.

Of Dr. Coad, Mr. Woolman says, "He was a giant of a man whose visions went beyond horizons. He believed nothing was impossible. He was a devoted friend."

NOTE: C. E. Woolman was Chairman of the Board of Delta Airlines when the photo above was taken. RPS