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Barbara Graff and family, of Dayton, visits statue during 2003 activities.Click to view more photos

At Deeds Point, just across the Great Miami River from RiverScape downtown, a bronze statue of Dayton's famous Wilbur and Orville Wright holds a place of honor.

The statue, created by a Trotwood sculptor Mark Henn (now successfully employed in Hollywood as a Disney artist), was dedicated five years ago this summer when proud residents of Dayton were celebrating the centennial of the invention of powered flight.

The 100th "Inventing Flight" birthday gala was centered in Deeds Park, and the statue was at the grand entrance to the large tent city that featured educational displays and special entertainment.

As "Captain Flight," I was invited to write columns about aviation history and the centennial events and emcee a radio show for the celebration. Just this week, a colleague, Doug Page asked me, "How is the Captain doing?"

In recent weeks, as I slowly recover from kidney cancer, I am trying to get old files in some kind of order. In the "Captain Flight" file I found a stack of photographs. Some had letters attached and others just had little memos on the back of the snapshot.

I had written a column asking readers to share photos they snapped at the Wilbur and Orville statue during the 2003 celebration. Well, it may be a bit late, and a lot of changes have undoubtedly come about in the lives of those who posed for the photos five years ago.

But a promise is a promise and even if Captain Flight is running behind schedule, it is with pleasure that I belatedly share the joy in the 2003 images. A gallery is on www.daytondailynews.com.

The Rev. Harvey Smith of Centerville and his wife Carolyn sent a photo they took of sculptor Henn, a Trotwood-Madison graduate, the day the piece was dedicated in May 2003. A second photo shows their grandchildren Kendall, Blair and Shelby Gribble at the statue during the July celebration.

Photographer Marvin Phillips shared an interesting photo of Dayton's riverfront fountain framed by the two bronzed brothers.

And Lewis Worman, who lives in Dayton, sent a series of artistic photos of the statue and the Deeds Point area that easily could be postcard images.

Tom and Carol Killebrew of Centerville sent a delightful photo of their grandson, then 6, posing with the famous brothers.

Faith Campbell Schock of Trotwood shared a photo that featured her and her teenage grandson posing. "I am 83 years old," she wrote at the time. "Todd is 6 feet 3 and I am 5 feet 5. So, you see the sculptures of the Wright brothers are true to size." She said she was told the brothers were 5 feet 51/2 inches and 5 feet 8.

One of the fun poses was sent by Doris Fusco of Huber Heights of Matt Griffin, then 8, sitting in the arms of Wilbur and Orville. A second shot shows Matt sitting on the shoulders of one of the brothers as his aunt Kathy Collins points at him in her best Vanna White impersonation.

All of the photos bring a smile.

It took five years and a fight with cancer to get them published.

But the moral is this: Never give up. After all, the Wright brothers didn't.

Dale Huffman wants your suggestions and story ideas. He'd like to share a story about you. This column is for you. Send e-mail to dhuffman@DaytonDailyNews.com or write to Dale at 1611 S. Main St. Dayton, OH 45409. Fax: (937) 225-2489. Phone: (937) 225-2272.