Title: Brown County (Wis.). Park Commission: Records of the Brown County Park Commission and Airport Committee
Inclusive Dates: 1928-1960

Creator:

• Brown County (Wis.). Park Commission

Call Number: Brown Series 39

Quantity: 2.0 c.f. (5 archives boxes)

Repository:

Housed at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Archives and Area Research Center; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library / Green Bay Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Correspondence, agreements, ordinances, petitions, resolutions, reports, and miscellaneous papers of the Brown County Park Commission and Special Airport Committee which shared a common membership. Dealing primarily with aviation matters, they also concern park and historical site management. The records document construction of Austin Straubel Field, disputes with the Civil Aeronautics Board, the certificate renewal of Wisconsin Central Airlines which several local communities supported with briefs discussing their industries and commerce and their need for an airport, and other topics.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-brow0039

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

Alphabetical.

The Brown County Board created the Park Commission November 21, 1928 under provisions of Section 27.02 Wisconsin Statutes 1927. The Commission reported to the Board regularly and had responsibility for the creation and maintenance of parks in the county, especially Pamperin Park. A.T. Pamperin, a prominent local businessman, donated 120 acres of land west of the City of Green Bay to be turned into a public park. The land was developed in the mid-1930's as a WPA project. In addition the Commission undertook a study of the problems and opportunities offered to Brown County by the growth of air transportation. The only airport in Brown County in 1929, Blesch Field, was privately owned by Brown County Airport Inc. When that company could no longer afford to operate the field, the Commission took over the field's management. Also in 1929 the Commission began preparing plans for a newer, more modern airport, but did not select a site until the winter of 1940-1941 when it chose a spot in the town of Preble near County Trunk V. The County Board created the Special Airport Committee in November, 1943. It consisted of the same people who served on the Park Commission. The policy of joint membership continued until 1956.

When the County sold Blesch Field in 1948, construction on the new field had already begun. It was funded partly by federal aid from the Civil Aeronautics Board and partly by bond issues. In 1949 the airport (named Austin Straubel Field after a Brown County war hero) was dedicated. In the next few years the Airport Committee became involved in several disputes with the Civil Aeronautics Board. Especially important were those over how much federal aid the Civil Aeronautics Board had promised Brown County and whether Wisconsin Central Airlines, a major passenger carrier for Green Bay and several small cities in Wisconsin and Michigan, should have its certificate renewed.

These papers document the technicalities of airport construction and management and the adaption of a local government to a new problem. They also contain much additional information of interest. There is a great deal of correspondence with Senator Alexander Wiley and U.S. Representative John Byrnes and some with Senator Joseph McCarthy concerning their help to Brown County in its disputes with the Civil Aeronautics Board. Numerous resumes sent to the Airport Committee, especially in 1960 when it chose a new airport manager, provide a collective biography of the people of the aviation industry.

Of special interest are the records concerning the Wisconsin Central Airlines certificate renewal case. Several of the small cities affected by a possible WCA shutdown submitted briefs to the Civil Aeronautics Board explaining their need for an airline. In these briefs they listed industries in the community with out-of-state customers or outlets; size and type of tourist trade; number of out-of-town clients of doctors, lawyers, and other professional people; and other information that proved their need for convenient and quick transportation to and from distant parts of the country.

The bulk of the collection concerns aviation. Records relating to Brown County parks are interfiled with these materials, however, reflecting the original order in which these papers were created.

Processing Information

Processed by Robert Shuster and John Fleckner, April 1975.

Box   1 Folder   1	Agreements, Contracts, Leases, and Options, 1939-1958
Box   1 Folder   2	Applications for Airport Director, 1960
Box   1 Folder   3	Committee Meeting Minutes, 1930-1948
Box   1 Folder   4	Construction Bids for Airport, 1944-1951
Box   1 Folder   5	Construction Costs for Airport, 1944-1951
	Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   6	A, 1938-1952
Box   1 Folder   7	B, 1938-1952
Box   2 Folder   1	C, 1939-1952
Box   2 Folder   2	D, 1939-1951
Box   2 Folder   3	E-F, 1939-1951
Box   2 Folder   4	G, 1933-1952
Box   2 Folder   5	H-J, 1938-1943
Box   2 Folder   6	K-L, 1938-1953
Box   3 Folder   1	M, 1938-1952
Box   3 Folder   2	N-O, 1938-1951
Box   3 Folder   3	P-Q, 1943-1952
Box   3 Folder   4	R, 1939-1949
Box   3 Folder   5	S, 1937-1951
Box   3 Folder   6	T-V, 1939-1952
Box   3 Folder   7	W, 1938-1949
Box   3 Folder   8	W, 1949-1952
Box   3 Folder   9	X-Z, 1942-1951
Box   4 Folder   1	Engineering Master Plan for Brown County Airport, 1946
Box   4 Folder   2	National Airport Plan, 1949
Box   4 Folder   3	Ordinances, Petitions, and Resolutions, 1928-1952
Box   4 Folder   4	Pamperin Park Maintenance Costs, (1937-1951)
Box   4 Folder   5	Transcript of a Hearing Before the States Aeronautics Commission on State Aid to Airports, 1947
	Wisconsin Central Certificate Renewal Case
Box   4 Folder   6	C.A.B. Communications, 1949-1951
	Exhibits
Box   4 Folder   7	Appleton; Bemidiji, Minnesota; Brainerd, Minnesota; Chicago Association of Commerce and Industry, 1950-1951
Box   4 Folder   8	Clintonville; Eau Claire; Fergus Falls, Minnesota; Grand Rapids, Minnesota, 1951
Box   4 Folder   1	Green Bay-Brown County; Hibbing, Minnesota; Madison; Manitowoc; Milwaukee, 1950-1951
Box   5 Folder   1	Minneapolis-St. Paul; State of Minnesota; Nationwide Airlines; Public Counsel, 1950-1951
Box   5 Folder   2	Rhinelander; Stevens Point; Thief Falls, Minnesota, 1950-1951
Box   5 Folder   3	Wausau; State of Wisconsin; Wisconsin Manufactures Association, 1950-1951
Box   5 Folder   4	Northwest Airline Briefs, 1951
Box   5 Folder   5	Petitions, 1950-1951
Box   5 Folder   6	State Attorney General's Memorandums, 1951