Hesselein Landing Strip

At one time, Washington had two restricted landing strips (RLAs) where small planes could take off and land. One of the RLAs was located off the south side of Peoria Street behind the area that now houses Pizza Hut. For years, the popular fast-food restaurant at this location was the Washington A&W, where pilots could “refuel” themselves with a hot dog and root beer before taking off again. 

The land was owned by Leonard Hesselein and Dick Miller.  Farmers and friends with small planes used the strip until it was decommissioned.  Dick is not really sure that it was “officially” decommissioned because it still has an airplane symbol on some ground surveys.  The Hesselein property has been sold, and the land is now farmed. 

Planes that could use the strip were small high-wing Cessnas.  Low-wing Pipers landed a few times, but some had trouble, and there were minor accidents.  No serious injuries resulted. No fueling stations were available, so the strip was just used for an occasional local need.