Tamara Aretz-Baum (M’86) has heard a family story passed down through the years that Amelia Earhart babysat her father. Whether or not that happened, Tamara’s grandfather, L.I. “Cap” Aretz, worked with Earhart while he was the manager of the Purdue University Airport from 1935 to 1945.
To honor her grandfather’s dedication to aviation training, Tamara and her husband, Kevin Baum (ECE’87, MS ECE’88), established the Aretz Instructor of Excellence Endowment in 2024 at Purdue.
“Cap loved teaching,” Tamara says. “He taught Purdue students to fly and expanded the aviation teaching program. That’s when Purdue started growing into a pilot school.” The Purdue Airport was founded in 1930, and Cap began managing the airport just
a few years later.
“Safety was one of his top concerns when teaching someone or flying,” Kevin says. “Back in the early days of aviation, there were a lot of daredevils. Cap wanted to focus on safety and had high standards for his partners.”
Tamara and Kevin wanted to ensure a long-lasting impact in Purdue’s School of Aviation and Transportation Technology. Ultimately, they leaned into Cap’s passion for teaching and his knack for safety by funding an instructorship.
“It really honors Cap for who he was,” Tamara says. “We decided to give back to the young professionals who will teach so many students to fly.”
During World War I, Cap served in the Army Air Corps at an airfield base, which sparked his love for aviation. He had to become a pilot one day. Later, he moved to Kokomo, Indiana, where he received his pilot’s license. There, he helped start a flight school, and he managed Shambaugh Field, Lafayette’s first airport, before his time at Purdue.
He eventually left the university to start his own airport, Aretz Airport, in Lafayette, where he continued to do what he loved most—teach people to fly. He still stayed close with Purdue, and in 1956, Purdue Pilots Inc.—the university’s student-run flying club—began at Aretz Airport.
Cap’s passion trickled down and impacted his whole family.
“I grew up living on the airport property,” Tamara says. “I watched planes take off
over my house all day, and my first job was mowing the grass at the airport.”
Tamara’s father was an airplane mechanic in the Air Force. Later, he worked at the family airport as an instructor and mechanic. Eventually, Tamara’s parents took on managing Aretz Airport until her mother sold it in 1998.
“My family played a big role in bringing aviation to Lafayette,” Tamara says. “I wanted to carry on that legacy. Cap flew planes that looked like they were made out of just sticks and fabric. I want to honor the sacrifices people took to get aviation to where it is today.”
—Calandra Weaver
