| 190808 |
Born in Kansas
|
| 1923
|
Sells his favorite sheep for
$10 and pays $7.5 for his first airplane ride with WWI
pilot, Preacher Smith |
| 1929
|
Smith and three others started a
flying circus |
| 1933 |
They sold out to the Inman
Brothers Flying Circus and Smitty hired out to them |
| 19366
|
Smitty set a record for flying
more than 26,000 passengers for the flying circus |
| 19377 |
Came to Alaska after M.D.
"Kirk" Kirkpatrick, president of Cordova Air Service offered him a job
as a pilot |
| 1937
|
Glacier Pilot Bob Reeve gave
Merle Smith the nickname "Mudhole" after
Smitty hit a hole on takeoff and his Stearman C3B biplane nosed over
into the muddy runway. The nickname would stay with him for life.
|
|
1938
|
Married sweetheart Bertha |
|
1939
|
Became president of Cordova
Air Service after Kirkpatrick was killed in an accident |
| 1942 |
Goes to work for
Morrison-Knudson and Harold Gillam and flies mail and cargo along
several routes throughout Alaska, mostly in support of the war effort. |
| 1943
|
Flight to Chisana to bring
food and supplies to a mining settlement that had not been re-supplied
for 8 months |
| 1944 |
Returns to Cordova to rebuild
the Cordova Air Service |
| 1950 |
Is grounded because of health
problems but continues to build Cordova Air Service into one of Alaska'a
most successful airlines. |
| 1952 |
Cordova Air Service merges
with Christensen Flying Service and becomes Cordova Airlines |
| 1968
|
Cordova Air Service merges
with Alaska Airlines, Mudhole serves as director and vice-president of
Alaska Airlines until mid 1973 |
|
1977
|
Inducted into the OX5 Aviation
Pioneers Hall of Fame |
|
1981
|
Merle K. "Mudhole" Smith dies
on June 16 |
