Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 116

Special advertising section of the GAZETTE JOURNAL Saturday, November 7, 1998 5 Hubbard Field becomes flight catalyst iliw j. tS- pounds of mail, and baggage. Hubbard was responsible for securing a deal that brought Boeing's mail service to and from Chicago through the Reno airport. But he could see that the mail service would someday become secondary to a bigger, more profitable industry: passenger service. "Reno was, just like today, a destination stop," Ainsworth said.

"It was a place to get away." Through the years, tourism, liberal divorce laws and marriage laws, entertainment, and proximity to Lake Tahoe all added up to make Reno a popular stop. In 1937, United Airlines acquired Hubbard Field from Boeing. In 1953, the City of Reno leased Hubbard Field from United, becoming the official owner in 1955. The airline had improved the airport's lights and was responsible for its development. By Rhlna A.

Guldos Men were doing it, women were doing it. Flying was Aviation heroes Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart spurred a love of flying among men and women in the United States. With its new-found popularity, flying as a hobby and for tourism purposes created a need for bigger airports. Here in Reno, the construction of a bigger airport was a matter of time, especially after 1927, when Lindbergh was paraded through Reno's downtown streets after he landed to a cheering crowd at Reno's Blanchfield Airport. "Lindbergh put aviation in Eeople's minds," said aviation istorian Cindy Ainsworth.

"They wanted to fly." And people wanted to fly in and out of Reno. Boeing Air Transport wanted to move more people through the airport. It noted that Blanchfield had a hard time Jw I ---bi- One of the "new kind" of airplanes flies over the old Reno arch. Great strides were made in airplane travel during the time that Hubbard Field transformed into Reno Municipal Airport. Gone were the two-passenger planes which traveled at 100 miles an hour.

They were replaced by faster and accommodating two-passenger planes. Boeing vice president Eddie Hubbard and O.C. Richardson, the company's station manager, set out to change all that. Boeing bought 120 acres to build a bigger airport. In October 1928, Hubbard Field was dedicated by Bill Boeing, after Eddie Hubbard.

"The city didn't have to pay for runways, (and) didn't have to pay for development," Ainsworth said. "Boeing was a big player." The first commercial flight left Reno in November 1928, with eight passengers mostly air transport officials 785 Continued on page 6 Here's to an airport that's going some place special. 1 loppy birthday; RenoTahoe International Airport. Over lite past 70 years, you 're lifted our community to new heights. It's an honor to be part of your ground creir..