JEFFERSON TWP — Why go up in the air in a hot air ballon as a senior citizen?

Alice Massart, formerly of Sarver, has the answer.

“Why not? At 87, why not?” Massart said.

Although she is not normally a daredevil, she said she was not scared of the flight. Massart spent two years in the U.S. Navy copying Japanese code during World War II.

An event was held Aug. 23 that allowed residents of Concordia Lutheran Ministries like Massart and others to take balloon rides.

Nearly 80 people rode in the wicker basket, with 50 of them being Concordia residents.

Donna Heintz, an event coordinator for Concordia, said that many residents had expressed an interest in seeing the campus from above.

“I've always said, ‘We need a hot air balloon here,'” Heintz said. “Why not?”

She started asking around and shopping for balloon pilots last year.

“Word got out, and this pilot called me,” Heintz said.

Balloon pilot Roy Wile, of Emerald Shazam in Pittsburgh, has been in the hot air balloon business for 30 years. He said his business does events like this regularly.

“We do one, maybe two a year,” Wile said.

For this event, Wile had to volunteer three staff members to help, because his usual crew had car trouble and could not make it.

The balloon was tied to three cars to keep it from floating away. The balloon could take two people up at a time. The flights lasted around 90 seconds.

Although the balloon had low capacity, most of the people waiting on the ground were looking forward to their flight.

Cloyd “Oz” Osborne, 88, formerly of Butler said he was doing it because he had never been in a hot air balloon before.

“I wanted to see what it was like,” Osborne said.

He said he was interested in getting an aerial view of the campus.

“Concordia is a beautiful place to look at, and I think it would be nice to see it from the air,” Osborne said.

His wife, Alberta, 88, wanted to go on the balloon, but she could not make it due to back problems.

Bill Parker, formerly of Lower Burrell, turned 86 the day of the event.

“This is my birthday present,” Parker said.

Parker was a pilot during World War II, making this child's play to him. Not that that is a problem.

“I'm just a kid,” he said.

Roe Goda, 76, and her husband, John, 82, formerly of Middlesex Township, were doing it because they felt like “young kids at heart.”“There are a few kicks left in us,” John Goda said.Roe Goda agreed.“We just enjoy life and this is part of it,” Roe Goda said. “You can be old at 40 and young at 70.”Roe Goda was a summer camp nurse for 12 years. During that time, she did all of the activities that the campers did, including activities like rock climbing.“You can't make us nervous,” Roe Goda said.Pauline Klukaszewski, 79, formerly of Lower Burrell said bragging rights, among other things, are part of the reason she wanted to take flight.“I wanted to tell my nieces and nephews that I was in a hot air balloon,” she said. “I've been singing ‘Around the World in 80 Days' all day to prepare for it.”Peg Schelien, 89, formerly of Pittsburgh, said she was not treading any new ground.“I've done it before,” Schelien said.Additionally, Schelien was an airline hostess for eight years, which she said takes the apprehension out of flying.Norma Laughner, 84, formerly of Slippery Rock, said she had wanted to ride in a balloon since she had seen one at a fair in Albuquerque, N.M.She said she was not nervous. In the past, she has ridden in helicopters, steered a boat down the Ohio River and drove a “ducky boat.”After her ride, Laughner said the balloon did not go high enough in the air, but she still enjoyed it.“It was great. It's such a different feeling when you're rising,” Laughner said.Diana Hunt, 74, formerly of Butler rode with Laughner. She also enjoyed the ride.It was pretty nice,” Hunt said.Henry Watson, 90, formerly of Florida went up in the balloon with his grandson Stan Lemon, 26, of Saxonburg.Watson also said the balloon did not go high enough, but still had fun. When his ride ended, the balloon's wicker basket landed hard and bounced.“The bounce, that was the best part,” Watson said.Lemon's wife works at Concordia and told him about the event. He also enjoyed the ride.“I just like the feeling of getting up off the ground,” Lemon said.