Cheyenne Star, (Cheyenne, OK) -
In the early days of settlement of the Cheyenne-Arapaho lands, a traveling doctor and his wife, Dr. H.C. and Elbertine Laird, bought 160 acres west of Cheyenne. Although the couple lived only briefly on the land, they always talked of Cheyenne as their home.
Their daughter Mignon Faith Laird sold the land to the Twon of Cheyenne in 1967 for the Airport named in her honor. Although she had lived in New York since 1921, she never forgot that her roots went deep in the good red dirt of Oklahoma and she proudly proclaimed herself an Oklahoman.
In August of 1984, Mignon died alone in New York. Her estate include many items form her theatrical career. Her harp and other items related to her years on the stage and her brief run with the Ziegfield Follies are in the Backkettle Museum in Cheyenne. Her books, scrapbooks, and diaries, etc. are now a part of the Minnie R. Slief Memorial Library collection. The residue of her estate she left to the Cheyenne Airport Authority to aid in the maintenance and upkeep of the Mignon Laird Airport.
Involved in the theatre all her life, Mignon was a dramatic person. It is indeed fitting that she asked in her will that her ashes be spread on the Mignon Laird Airport so that she can be a part of the good earth of Western Oklahoma forever. In doing that, she follows historical precidence set by the settlers who buried their dead where they fell on the trek west.
It is in honor of Dr. H.C. and Elbertine and their daughter Mignon Faith Laird that we observe Mignon's last wishes today.