Gail and Ed Lindsay are two San Diego Kite Club members who certainly made history in and around the club. A wonderful pair, a powerful kite-making duo, and a kindness worth writing about. Before I tell you about the generous donation from the Lindsay household. I feel the need to catch you up on their history and words from Gail.
They started making kites in 1990–1991 and entered their first competition in 1992 as novice kite makers at WISKF, where Gail took first place. She said, “they gave neat ribbons back then, which featured a picture of the maker’s kite (picture provided). For at least ten years, they continued competing, with estimates placing their last competitions and kite-making around the early 2000s. They competed for a decade and attended at least half a dozen Nationals, though Gail can’t recall exactly how many. They entered other competitions as well and won a lot. She mentioned the cool ribbons that would include the kite she entered into competition on them. I took some photos of the Scott Hampton drawings that included her kites on them.
Teamwork
Gail sewed almost all of their kites, but when competition rules required her to frame them, she would. Ed sewed some kites too, but mostly focused on framing and bridle work. He was deeply into the engineering side of things.
Ed’s first kite was an all white flow form (lifter kite) made from white fabric they salvaged from a dumpster. It looked like a bloody tooth, and a dentist once offered to buy it but Ed refused to sell.
Gail’s early inspiration came from feathers and birds, but around 1994 she shifted toward Hopi and Kachina native art. During a trip to Arizona, they walked into a Native store filled with traditional artwork. Gail recreated a Cloud Man and Cloud Woman design on a kite. This trip to Arizona had a positive shift on her artwork.
Over the years, Gail and Ed made dozens of kites. Gail said, sometimes from their own ideas, sometimes from class designs where they added their own touches. They never kept count of how many they made, how long each took to make and some they didn’t even photograph. In one moment with Gail, I saw at least 35 kites from their collection. They likely completed 15 to 20 kites just from workshops, not counting their original works of art. Like this beautiful hummingbird quad line kite.
Special Memories
Martin Lester once held a kite-making retreat in Junction City, TX. Ed also taught classes there. They learned to make a ladybug kite, and Ed decided to make a giant fly swatter just to get laughs. After the class finished. The kite makers all took out their ladybug kites together for a group fly. At that moment, Ed brought out the swatter to “knock” them from the sky. Only to have the ladybug kites attack the swatter instead. (Picture Provided)
They also made a special banner for Charlie McClary’s (Club Member and husband to Joann McClary) 60th birthday in the shape of a Revolution kite. Gail described, “the screening went down to the opening, where a bunch of fighter kites surrounded the Rev.” It said, “San Diego Kite Club on the banner.”
The People, The Community, and the Fun
Gail said, “About the San Diego Kite Club, we met so many great people. Diana Martin, for example, put a lot into activities and had a lot of energy, like you, Ziggy.” “We had a good, good time with the club.”
As far as competition went, Ed and Gail enjoyed it. They had all the right people to help them and to help each other. Randy Tom, Jose Sainz, Martin Lester, Scott Skinner and others. They shared passion, inspired each other, and freely exchanged tips and feedback before heading into competition. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it. The San Diego Kite Club could draw in the fliers and makers and because they worked together, San Diego was pumping out talented kite making competitors.
Take the 93 World Kite Cup for example. For years you could hear people like Andy King and Corey Jensen announce, “there should be a new class in kitemaking- novice, masters, and those from San Diego!”
“Seems this part of the country is walking away with the 1, 2, and 3 prizes on a consistent basis. Randy Tom, Gail Lindsay, and Jose Sainz keep sweeping the field and the sky.”
Gail’s Donation to San Diego Kite Club
This story involves 4 people.
Erin Quinn (club equipment manager)
Morten Nielsen (La Kite Club member)
Gail Lindsay (club member)
Ziggy Santa Maria (club prez)
Just before Kite Party in March of 2025. A buddy of mine, Morten, reached out to me and said there is a gal named Gail looking to donate materials to the San Diego Kite Club. A few things happened shortly after Morten messaged me. Morten made the choice to pick up a donation from Gail and bring it to me at Kite Party in Huntington Beach, CA. I started the process of finding and reaching Gail on Facebook. The donation Morten brought me made it to Erin Quinn’s workshop space. Erin graciously offered space to start a kite building workshop within the San Diego Kite Club organization and Gail’s donation certainly got us going in the right direction. Over the next several months of working with Erin and speaking with Gail. Erin and I made a date to visit Gail and Ed Lindsay’s house. She prepared a 2nd donation for us to pick up and take back to our workshop space. The day had finally come to make the drive out to Yucaipa to see Gail. Erin being a new kite maker couldn’t wait to meet Gail and speak about kite making. Something tells me if Ed was around for this conversation, Erin would have chewed his ear off trying to understand the basics to kite framing or bridle work. Here are some photos after packing up the car.
Gail was a gracious host the moment we arrived. I’m sure Ed would have welcomed us with open arms but he passed away in 2021. Erin and I personally wanted to thank her for the previous donation and what she continued to donate. I also felt it was important to capture important stories and details about Gail time behind a sewing machine, and Ed’s framing skills. As well as their time competing. With Gail’s permission, I asked dozens of questions, wrote down notes as we talked, took photos and got personal about parts of her and Ed’s story. She really had a lot to say behind each question. It was my privilege to be there and even more with her willingness to share a glimpse of their work.
Erin and I left with a hopeful and inspired attitude about making kites and helping others make kites. So much good is about to happen and we can all certainly thank the Lindsay’s. Just before leaving Gail, Jose Sainz got on a video call with us. He said, “Ed would be so happy about the donation being made to the club”. Gail agreed immediately with Jose. I stood there feeling like Erin and I did something special, we did something really good that day. All the while we have Gail to thank for her generous donation to the San Diego Kite Club and contributing towards kite makers and fliers alike. I plan to make another drive out to see Gail, thank her once again and hopefully have some kites to show her, made from her donations.
For more about Gail and Ed Lindsay, see these links below.
Page 8 – Interview with Gail Lindsay
https://www.sandiegokiteclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Skylines_Jan-Feb1993.pdf
Page 6 – 93 world cup article that features a bit about Gail.
https://sandiegokiteclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Skylines_Sep-Oct1993.pdf