NEWS FROM THE PAST ( 1929 )
In the year 1929, Harold Gillam made
a survey of the possibilities for comm
ercial flying in the regions adjacent to
Cordova. Gillam was preparing to open
up a commercial service in the Copper
River Valley to "give service to this
great mineral belt area". Gillam was not
certain where he would establish his main
headquarters, but felt in all probability
that McCarthy, with its large airfield
and central location would be chosen as
the base for one of his two planes.
Harold felt that by using Cordova as a
base, he would be taking a chance of
having his ship tied up for an extended
oeriod because of bad weather.
At this time Chicken Creek was being
mined extensively, which was another
' reason for picking McCarthy,..the ^ir
- distance being shorter than from any other
•local ity.
In showirig how plane service had aided
in opening up the Fairbanks and Anchorage
regions, Gillam hoped to make the same
claim for the Copper Riv0r Basin. "The
Copper River and tributary valleys are
known to include the mostly mineralized
belt in Alaska, yet there are less pros
pectors than elsewhere because of the
hardships which must be endured and the
time lost in penetrating the almost
trailless regions by the overland route."
(Local legend has it that the only time
Gillam was ever weathered in in Cordova
was when the wind was blowing too hard
for the "speeder" to carry him to the
field! )
It was soon after this that Jack
Dorrance and A1 Lyle were flying in and
out of Copper Center. Their hangar is
still in existence on the McCrary prop
erty, just beyond tl^ pos;t-office, and
is now being used as a garage. The old
"pioneei^" field is also used today, despite
its small..size, by sucl^ modern day pioneers
as Jack Wilson. Jack regularly flies
prospectors, geologists, hunters, and just
plain tourists from this spot. Joy Morgan
/
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WE
Glennallen, Alaska
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ir
Serving the Heart of Alaska since 1934
Contact your Cordova agent at TA2 -3351