Christopher Lynch has spent most of his life around Midway Airport, where his family ran Monarch Air Service, a fixed based operator that serviced aircraft for over six decades. Founded by his grandfather, pioneering pilot Pierce "Scotty" O'Carroll, in the earliest years of Midway, it had been one of the oldest, continuously operating mom-and-pop aviation businesses in the country when it was sold in 1997.
Lynch has always had a fascination with the airport's history, and his research and collection of Midway photos and memorabilia were the basis of the documentary "Midway Airport: Crossroads of the World," part of WTTW-Channel 11's highly-acclaimed Chicago Stories series.
A graduate of Lawrence University with a B.A. in History and Religious Studies, Chris also has a private pilot's license. He works in the Public Affairs Bureau for the City of Chicago, Department of Buildings. His interests include history, travel, writing, and playing the piano. Since the birth of their triplets a few years ago, parenting with his wife Cindy has become his most rewarding challenge.
Lynch has created a companion Web site to his book, www.midwayhistory.com, with dozens of photos, additional history, and historic aviation links.
Christopher Lynch is available for lectures
and slide shows on Midway Airport! Please write to him at Chris@midwayhistory.com for more information.
Christopher Lynch has entertained, informed, and basically wowed dozens of Chicagoland bookstore audiences, libraries, clubs, civic organizations, church groups, and more with his fascinating, in-depth slide show on the evolution of Midway Airport and aviation in Chicago. Drawing on rare photographs from his family's and his own extensive collections, Lynch narrates the exciting story of Midway's ascendancy—from farmer's field to world's busiest airport to its distinctive present-day status—with anecdotes, historical detail, and plenty of passion for the subject. Guaranteed to surprise you with all you didn't know on the topic, spark some trips down memory lane, shock you with tales of the airline industry that are all too familiar, and remind you of the thrill and accomplishment of human flight.
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