Title: La Crosse Citizens Airport Committee Records
Inclusive Dates: 1942-1947

Creator:

• La Crosse Citizens Airport Committee (Wis.)

Call Number: La Crosse Mss AG

Quantity: 0.4 cubic feet (1 archives box)

Repository:

Housed at the Special Collections & Area Research Center, Murphy Library, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

UW-La Crosse Murphy Library / La Crosse Area Research Ctr. (Map)

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

Abstract:

Records of a citizens group active in establishing a municipal airport for the city of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Included is correspondence with the State Planning Board, federal agencies, Congressman William H. Stevenson, and others; reports; transcripts of condemnation hearings; topographical surveys and maps; and other materials. Information on Janesville, Wisconsin's airport and on general municipal planning for La Crosse is also present.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-lx00ag

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

The Citizens Airport Committee was organized by several La Crosse civic groups in 1942 to submit to the Common Council of the City of La Crosse “a complete and thorough study” of the possibility of establishing a municipal airport. The Committee was composed of representatives of the American Federation of Labor, Congress of Industrial Organizations, Flyers' Club, Business Men's Club, Chamber of Commerce, and other organizations. It was chaired by Quincy H. Hale, a La Crosse attorney.

Working closely with H. W. Torkelson of the Wisconsin State Planning Board, the Committee selected an airport site and explored sources of government financing. It presented resolutions to the Common Council calling for a bond issue to fund land purchase, and it assisted in the land condemnation proceedings when purchase was authorized.

The Committee faced a crisis in April 1944, just as runway construction was about to begin, when the financial support promised by the federal Civil Aeronautics Administration was suddenly withdrawn. This occurred because the government felt that changes in the war situation required changes in their funding priorities. However, a presentation on May 27, 1944, by Congressman William H. Stevenson and others convinced President Roosevelt that the government had a moral obligation to honor its earlier promises.

The crisis over, construction began and the airport was operating by the summer of 1945. With completion, the Committee ceased its activities and turned over airport management to the City of La Crosse.

The La Crosse Citizens Airport Committee Records, 1942-1947, consist of correspondence, committee reports, transcripts of condemnation hearings, clippings, topographical surveys and maps, and miscellaneous other materials.

The correspondence is arranged chronologically and consists of the exchanges of Chairman Quincy Hale with federal government agencies, Wisconsin's representatives in Congress, H. W. Torkelson of the State Planning Board, and La Crosse people involved in the airport study. Information on Janesville's municipal airport and on general municipal planning for La Crosse is also included.

A small amount of correspondence is filed in the folder labeled “Pfafflin Airport.” This concerns a small private airport operated by Ray and Charles Pfafflin on part of the land to be included in the municipal airport. The Pfafflins fought the condemnation proceedings, and hearing transcripts are also included in this folder.

The remainder of the collection is arranged into files labeled committee reports, information sources, clippings, and miscellaneous material.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Quincy H. Hale, La Crosse, Wisconsin, October 28, 1971. Accession Number: M71- 300

Processing Information

Processed by Dan Harris and Karen Baumann, June 9, 1972.

La Crosse Mss AG	Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   1	1942 January-June
Box   1 Folder   2	1942 July-December
Box   1 Folder   3	1943
Box   1 Folder   4	1944
Box   1 Folder   5	1945-1947
Box   1 Folder   6	Committee reports, 1942, 1945, undated
Box   1 Folder   7	Pfafflin Airport, 1943 May - June
Box   1 Folder   8	Information sources, 1935, 1940, 1942-1945, undated
Box   1 Folder   9	Clippings, 1930-1944
Box   1 Folder   10	Miscellaneous, 1941-1943, undated