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Laying Foundations: New Deal Public Works and Aviation Infrastructure

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2018

M. Houston Johnson V
M. Houston Johnson V*
Affiliation:
Virginia Military Institute
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Abstract:

This article examines New Deal public works agencies’ pivotal contributions to American aeronautical development, arguing that their creation of aviation-related infrastructure offers powerful evidence of the New Deal’s success in remaking the American landscape and fostering economic growth. Organizations such as the Civil Works Agency, the Public Works Administration, and the Works Progress Administration built or improved almost every contemporary U.S. airport, funding improvements that created the foundations of America’s modern air transport network. Much more than make-work endeavors, these efforts reflected New Dealers’ desire to use public works to create worthwhile products. These policies highlight the sophistication with which the New Deal promoted economic development, and belie the image of public works agencies privileging short-term employment to the detriment of economic gain. Airport terminals, runways, hangers, and countless other aviation-related improvements represent some of the New Deal’s most significant physical legacies, highlighting the Roosevelt administrations’ vital contributions to aeronautical development.

Keywords

New DealCivil Works AgencyPublic Works AdministrationRoosevelt AdministrationU.S. Aeronautical Development
Type
Article
Information
Journal of Policy History , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , October 2018 , pp. 695 - 726
Copyright
Copyright © Donald Critchlow and Cambridge University Press 2018 

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References

NOTES

1. McKee, Oliver Jr., “More New Airports: WPA’s Expansion Program Aims to Keep Pace with Growing Air Transport,” New York Times, 6 October 1935, 169.Google Scholar

2. Public Works Administration, America Builds: The Record of the PWA (Washington, D.C., 1939), 281–82;Google Scholar 291. Unfortunately, the vast majority of PWA records were destroyed before being transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration. As a result, no specific aviation-related project files remain from the period before 1940. As other records indicate—including references in the PWA publication cited above, Federal Aviation Commission testimony, passing statements in the records of the PWA’s Investigations Division, references in WPA project files, and media reports in publications like the New York Times—the PWA did fund a large volume aviation-related projects. Details relating to individual projects, and the nature of aviation-related allocations, however, remain unclear.

3. “$101,000,000 Spent on New Airports,” New York Times, 27 February 1938, 14; Memorandum, 29 October 1934, Box 51, Airway and Airport Projects Folder, Harry L. Hopkins Papers, Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library, Hyde Park.

4. Final Report of the WPA Program, 1935–43 (Washington, D.C., 1947), 122; “Defense Projects Get WPA’s Priority,” New York Times, 7 June 1940, 14.

5. Final Report of the WPA Program, 51; “WPA Plans Air Markers,” San Diego Evening Tribune, 17 November 1936, Box 5, RG 69, NARA; “WPA Weather Data Will Aid Aviation,” New York Times, 30 July 1940, 37.

6. For more information on the government’s expanding regulatory role, see Vietor, Richard H. K., “Contrived Competition: Airline Regulation and Deregulation, 1925–1988,” Business History Review 64, no. 1 (Spring 1990): 61–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

7. See Bernstein, Barton J., “The New Deal: The Conservative Achievements of Liberal Reform,” in Towards a New Past: Dissenting Essays in American History (New York, 1967);Google Scholar Leuchtenburg, William, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932–1940 (New York, 1963), 125, 130;Google Scholar Schlesinger, Arthur Jr., The Age of Roosevelt: The Coming of the New Deal (Boston, 1959), 282–96;Google Scholar and Zinn, Howard, “The Limits of the New Deal,” in The Politics of History (Champaign, 1990), 133–34.Google Scholar

8. Smith, Jason Scott, Building New Deal Liberalism: The Political Economy of Public Works, 1933–1956 (New York, 2006),Google Scholar 19, 22. See also Leighninger, Robert D. Jr., Long Range Public Investment: The Forgotten Legacy of the New Deal (Columbia, S.C., 2007),Google Scholar and Taylor, Nick, American Made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA: When FDR Put the Nation to Work (New York, 2009).Google Scholar

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10. See Phillips-Fein, Kim, Invisible Hands: The Businessmen’s Crusade Against the New Deal (New York, 2009).Google Scholar

11. Smith, Building New Deal Liberalism, 1–2, 87.

12. Ibid., 2, 208, 258; Final Report of the WPA Program, 50–51. For more information on New Deal public works, see Leighninger Jr., Long Range Public Investment; Taylor, American Made; Leuchtenburg, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932–1940, 118–42; Schlesinger Jr., The Age of Roosevelt: The Coming of the New Deal, 282–96; and Nash, Gerald D., The Great Depression and World War II: Organizing America, 1933–1945 (New York, 1979), 33–36.Google Scholar

13. Department of the Interior Memorandum to the Press: Interview with Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior, by Walter Trumbull, 3 July 1933, Box 1, RG 135, NARA.

14. Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior, Speech to the Conference of Mayors at A Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago, 23 September 1933, Box 1, RG 135, NARA.

15. Hopkins, Harry L., Spending to Save: The Complete Story of Relief (New York, 1936), 114–15.Google Scholar

16. Works Progress Administration Press Release, 29 March 1936, Box 51, Airway and Airport Projects Folder, Harry L. Hopkins Papers, Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library, Hyde Park; “WPA Work is 60% Complete,” New York Times, 14 March 1937, 21.

17. Daly Bednarek, Janet R., America’s Airports: Airfield Development, 1918–1947 (College Station, Tex., 2001), 6, 14–92.Google Scholar

18. MacDonald, Austin F., “Airport Problems of American Cities,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 151, Postwar Progress in Child Welfare (September 1930), 226.Google Scholar

19. McKee, Oliver Jr., “More New Airports: WPA’s Expansion Program Aims to Keep Pace with Growing Air Transport,” New York Times, 6 October 1935b, 169.Google Scholar

20. Ibid.; “Report on Airport Needs,” New York Times, 13 July 1936, 30; Bednarek, America’s Airports, 67–92.

21. John Geisse, Testimony Before the Federal Aviation Commission, 18 October 1934, Box 15, RG 197, NARA.

22. A. B. McMullen, Letter to Corrington Gill, Assistant Administrator, Works Progress Administration, 23 November 1937, Box 6, RG 237, NARA; W. Sumpter Smith, Memorandum for Corrington Gill, Assistant Administrator, Works Progress Administration, 25 November 1937, Box 5, RG 237, NARA.

23. “C. of C. Director Warns City to Buy Air Field,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 18 January 1928, 2; “Airport a Necessity Here, Says Leopold,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 19 January 1929, 1; “Mynatt to Go Airport Hunting,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 24 November 1934, 1; “Holland Is Added to Airport Group,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 20 February 1935, 2; “‘Don’t Muff Chance to Get First Class Airport,’ Business Leaders Beg Council; Point to $500,000 for $50,000 Bargain,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 12 December 1935, 1.

24. Memorandum, 29 October 1934, Box 51, Airway and Airport Projects Folder, Harry L. Hopkins Papers, Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library, Hyde Park. Hopkins reported that at the start of the program there were 2,028 airports in existence in the United States. That number referred to all types of fields, including government, army, navy, municipal, emergency, and private. For more information on the CWA, see Schwartz, Bonnie Fox, The Civil Works Administration, 1933–1934: The Business of Emergency Employment in the New Deal (Princeton, 1984).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

25. Memorandum, 29 October 1934, Box 51, Airway and Airport Projects Folder, Harry L. Hopkins Papers, Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library, Hyde Park.

26. “$101,000,000 Spent on New Airports,” New York Times, 27 February 1938, 14; Memorandum, 29 October 1934, Box 51, Airway and Airport Projects Folder, Harry L. Hopkins Papers, Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library, Hyde Park; Schwartz, The Civil Works Administration, 183.

27. “Plan to Salvage 1,450 CWA Airports,” New York Times, 12 April 1934, 3.

28. White House Memo, undated, President’s Personal File 39, Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library, Hyde Park; Komons, Nick, Bonfires to Beacons: Federal Civil Aviation Policy Under the Air Commerce Act (Washington, D.C., 1989), 348–51.Google Scholar

29. John Geisse, Testimony Before the Federal Aviation Commission, 18 October 1934, Box 15, RG 197, NARA.

30. Exemplifying this interpretation is William Leuchtenburg’s analysis. He describes Harry Hopkins’s central goal as “putting to work as many men as he could who were currently on relief.” Roosevelt’s decision to allocate more authority—and more federal dollars—to Hopkins’s WPA than to the more parsimonious Ickes’s PWA, in Leuchtenburg’s words, represented a “regrettable” decision. See Leuchtenburg, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 125.

31. McKee, Oliver Jr., “More New Airports: WPA’s Expansion Program Aims to Keep Pace with Growing Air Transport,” New York Times, 6 October 1935a, 169.Google Scholar

32. Final Report of the WPA Program, 51. See also “Airport Projects Pushed by WPA,” New York Times, 16 August 1936, 22; “Big Aviation Gains Seen by Vidal,” New York Times, 25 December 1936, 8; “Airport Projects by WPA Reach 940,” New York Times, 15 August 1937, 5; “Work Begins Today on Queens Airport,” New York Times, 9 September 1937, 25.

33. L. L. Odell, Works Progress Administration Division of Airways and Airports Memorandum, 24 September 1935, Box 5, RG 237, NARA.

34. Final Report of the WPA Program, 122.

35. L. L. Odell, Works Progress Administration Division of Airways and Airports Memorandum, 24 September 1935, Box 5, RG 237, NARA.

36. “Big Airport Program On,” New York Times, 9 February 1936, XX7.

37. The discrepancy between these numbers and the ones from L. L. Odell listed above reflect the complex nature of the WPA appropriations process. States and localities applied to the WPA to fund specific projects. The president had to approve all requests, which then had to be cleared by the administration’s Washington office and Commerce Department officials. At that point, projects were “approved,” but funds could not yet be released. After approval, the Washington office referred applications to WPA state administrators, who provided further review in consultation with Bureau of Air Commerce experts, and only then were funds released for construction. Thus, a project could be “approved,” but the release of its funds could be pending for some time. Further complicating matters, these WPA figures only reflect federal allocations, not state and local contributions.

38. Works Progress Administration Press Release, 29 March 1936, Airway and Airport Projects Folder, Harry L. Hopkins Papers, Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library, Hyde Park.

39. Ibid.

40. “Report Airport Needs,” New York Times, 13 July 1936, 30.

41. Statement by Lieutenant Colonel F. C. Harrington, Proceedings of the National Airport Conference, 6 and 7 December 1937, p. 75, Box 3, James Roosevelt Papers, Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library, Hyde Park.

42. See Komons, Bonfires to Beacons, 372–73, and Bednarek, America’s Airports, 98–99.

43. “CAA Gives 3 Plans for Airport System,” New York Times, 25 March 1939, 4.

44. Final Report of the WPA Program, 51, 84; “Defense Projects Get WPA’s Priority,” New York Times, 7 June 1940, 14; “WPA to Increase Work on Defense,” New York Times, 15 June 1940, 8; “WPA Construction As a Defense Aid,” New York Times, 7 July 1940, 4; “Defense Projects Expanded by WPA,” New York Times, 11 November 1940, 19; Harvey E. Valentine, “Work Begun On Airports,” New York Times, 20 April 1941, XX8; “Large WPA Fund Spent on Defense,” New York Times, 15 July 1941, 15; “Pre-Crisis WPA Aid in Defense Hailed,” New York Times, 19 October 1941, 25.

45. A. B. McMullen, Letter to Corrington Gill, Assistant Administrator, Works Progress Administration, 23 November 1937, Box 6, RG 237, NARA.

46. W. Sumpter Smith, Memorandum for Corrington Gill, Assistant Administrator, Works Progress Administration, 25 November 1937, Box 5, RG 237, NARA.

47. A. B. McMullen, Letter to Corrington Gill, Assistant Administrator, Works Progress Administration, 23 November 1937, Box 6, RG 237, NARA.

48. “Big Airport Program On,” New York Times, 9 February 1936, XX7.

49. Hodges Briscoe, Letter to Mr. McDaniel, 25 August 1937, Hodges Briscoe Collection (1 Box), Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, East Tennessee History Center, Knoxville; “Strenuous WPA Work ‘Spoils’ Crawford’s Arm, Elbow, and Trip,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 13 September 1936, A-4; “Gen. Knox Open Letter to City Manager Dempster,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 24 September 1937, 13; “Airport Buys Fence,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 30 September 1937, 4.

50. “12,000 or More See Dedication of New Airport,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, 15 October 1937, 1; “40,000 Attend Airport Dedication,” Nashville Tennessean, 2 November 1936, 1; “325,000 See Mayor Dedicate Airport to World Service,” New York Times, 16 October 1939, 1.

51. A. B. McMullen, Letter to Corrington Gill, Assistant Administrator, Works Progress Administration, 23 November 1937, Box 6, RG 237, NARA.

52. W. Sumpter Smith, Memorandum for Corrington Gill, Assistant Administrator, Works Progress Administration, 25 November 1937, Box 5, RG 237, NARA.

53. A. B. McMullen, Letter to Corrington Gill, Assistant Administrator, Works Progress Administration, 23 November 1937, Box 6, RG 237, NARA.

54. Ibid.

55. W. Sumpter Smith, Memorandum for Corrington Gill, Assistant Administrator, Works Progress Administration, 25 November 1937, Box 5, RG 237, NARA.

56. A. B. McMullen, Letter to Corrington Gill, Assistant Administrator, Works Progress Administration, 23 November 1937, Box 6, RG 237, NARA.

57. “Mayor Certain Present Airport Can Be Enlarged,” Chicago Daily News, 4 December 1936, Box 13, RG 69, NARA.

58. WPA Result of Engineering Review, 29 November 1937, Box 13, RG 69, NARA.

59. WPA Project Update, Data as reported 3-1-38, Box 13, RG 69, NARA.

60. Edward Kelley, Letter to Jesse H. Jones, Federal Loan Administrator, 19 November 1940, Box 13, RG 69, NARA.

61. See Fred S. Childs, Report Relating to the Proposed Construction of the Newark Airport Hangar, April 1936, Box 27, RG 69, NARA; Morton M. Milford, Special Assistant to the Administrator, Memo to Mr. C. C. Thompson, 22 October 1936, Box 27, RG 69, NARA; “Newark Asks WPA Aid to Improve Airport,” New York Times, 22 August 1935, 27; “Airport in Newark Gets Big WPA Fund,” New York Times, 22 September 1935, 23; “Newark Mayor Honored,” New York Times, 20 October 1935, 15.

62. Engineering Review, Newark Airport W.P.A. Project, James W. Costello, Chief Engineer, Department of Public Affairs, A. H. Armstrong, Principal Assistant Engineer, Newark Airport, 10 May 1938, Box 27, RG 69, NARA.

63. Otto Kein, Memorandum Re: Inspection Report of the St. Louis, Missouri Airport Project, 15 December 1938, Box 23, RG 69, NARA; “$200,000 Airport Projects Planned,” Saint Louis Globe-Democrat, 24 June 1937, Box 23, RG 69, NARA.

64. J. W. Gentry, District Director, WPA Report of Completed or Discontinued Project, 6 June 1937, Box 4, RG 69, NARA.

65. “WPA Plans Air Markers,” San Diego Evening Tribune, 17 November 1936, Box 5, RG 69, NARA.

66. WPA Weather Data Will Aid Aviation, New York Times, 30 July 1940, 37.

67. A. B. McMullen, Chief, WPA Airport Section Safety and Planning Division, Letter to Earl C. Popp, Regional Supervisor, Bureau of Air Commerce, 25 December 1937, Box 5, RG 69, NARA.

68. WPA Engineering Division, Memo to the Project Control Division, 29 November 1937, Box 13, RG 69, NARA.

69. Harry Goldberg, Letter to L. L. Odell, 18 October 1935, Box 13, RG 69, NARA.

70. W. M. Aldous, Letter to John S. Wynne, 18 December 1936, Box 23, RG 69, NARA.

71. B. M. Harloe, Letter to Matthew S. Murray, 6 April 1939, Box 23, RG 69, NARA.

72. John S. Wynne, Letter to F. C. Harrington, 17 November 1936, Box 27, RG 69, NARA.

73. Fred S. Childs, Report Relating to the Proposed Construction of the Newark Airport Hangar, April 1936, Box 27, RG 69, NARA.

74. “Airport Plan Hits New Snag: WPA Cannot Move Tracks,” Chicago Daily News, 23 April 1937, Box 13, RG 69, NARA; “Airport Compromise is Near,” Chicago Herald and Examiner, 23 July 1937, Box 13, RG 69, NARA.

75. For additional information about airport development in Tennessee and the WPA’s role therein, see Fulbright, Jim, Aviation in Tennessee: Tennessee’s Aviation History in the Stories of People, Places, and events (Goodlettesville, Tenn., 1998), 36–71,Google Scholar Patton, Edwin P., “Transportation Development,” 178–236 in Heart of the Valley: A History of Knoxville, Tennessee, ed. Deaderick, Lucile (Knoxville, 1976),Google Scholar and Van West, Carroll, Tennessee’s New Deal Landscape: A Guidebook (Knoxville, 2001), 226–54.Google Scholar

76. “Offers Airport Repairs,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 30 November 1933, 3.

77. “Re: Filling Station For McGhee Tyson Airport,” 3 June 1930, Knoxville, City Council Records (Microfilm), Book 13, 324–25; “Longer Airport Needed,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 5 August 1930, 6; “Airport Gets Improvements,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 24 June 1930, 4; “Delay Airport Station,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 24 September 1930, 8; “Airport Plans Up in Council,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 10 February 1930, 5; “Air Line Men Visit City,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 27 October 1930, 2; “Confer on Air Line Tuesday,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 4 May 1931, 2; “New Airline to Stop Here,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 5 May 1931, 2; “New Airline Open Thursday,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 12 May 1931, 2; “Can’t Find Promoter,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 16 May 1931, 2; “Doe Studies Air Route Through Here,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 15 November 1932, 1; “Re: Air Route Through Knoxville to Atlanta,” 15 November 1932, Knoxville, City Council Records (Microfilm), Book 14, 320.

78. “Longer Airport Needed,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 5 August 1930, 6; “State Will Ask $104,000 For Relief in Knox County,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 12 October 1932, 1; “$200,000 Loan Asked by State,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 13 October 1932, 12; “Knox County Granted $104,736 Relief Loan in R.F.C. Allotment,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 15 October 1932, 1.

79. “Air Mail Port Choice Untold,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 20 June 1934, 7; “Air Lines, P. O. Pass Buck on Port Choice,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 16 June 1934, 2; “Says Isle Port Has Been Picked,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 21 June 1934, 1; “Letters Sent by Air Mail Move Fast—If Wind Blows,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 12 July 1934, 11; “Mail Plane May Stop,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 13 July 1934, 14; “Eastbound Plane Passes City By,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 19 July 1934, 18; “Airmail Service Here Is Stopped,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 20 July 1934, 1.

80. “Airport Must Be Improved,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 23 October 1934, 16.

81. “Hope to Solve Port Problem Once and for All,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 31 October 1934, 1; “Inspect Sites for Airport,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 7 November 1934, 1; “Await Reports on Field Check,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 8 November 1934, 1; “Advise City Not to Spend More on Existing Ports,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 20 November 1934, 1; “Re: Providing Adequate Airport for City,” 11 January 1935, Knoxville, City Council Records (Microfilm), Book 15, 332; “Name Airport Committee,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 9 January 1935, 11.

82. Benton J. Strong, “Berry Favors Airport Here,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 21 June 1935, 1; “WPA Asks Airport Survey for City,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 7 August 1935, 6; “Berry to Press Fund for Airport,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 14 August 1935, 10; “WPA Chief Says City May Get Airport Fund,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 2 August 1935, 4; “City Airport Request Ready,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 31 August 1935, 7; “May Pick Port Site Tonight,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 3 September 1935, 1; “$491,000 Project Gets WPA O.K. In Nashville,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 4 September 1935, 1; “Port Project Sent Off,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 8 September 1935, 1; “Harry S. Berry, State Administrator, Letter to L. L. Odell, Chief Technical Officer, WPA Division of Airways and Airports,” 20 November 1935, Box 38, RG 69, NARA; “P.O. Official Coming,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 13 October 1935, B–7; “WPA Receives $470,000 Airport Fund,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 8 November 1935, 1.

83. “Re: Appropriation of $8,000 from Permanent Improvement Fund for Purchasing Land for New Airport,” 10 December 1935, Knoxville, City Council Records (Microfilm), Book 15, 638; “Council Halts Airport Project as American Airlines Announces Passenger Service After Jan. 1,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 11 December 1935, 1; “Funds Refused as Officials Balk in Meet,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 13 December 1935, 15, and “Allen’s Vote May Get Land for New Airport,” 1; “Airport Money Voted; School Bond Hit Snag,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 15 December 1935, 12.

84. “Council Halts Airport Project as American Airlines Announces Passenger Service After Jan. 1,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 11 December 1935, 1.

85. “Funds Refused as Officials Balk in Meet,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 13 December 1935, 15, and “Allen’s Vote May Get Land for New Airport,” 1; “Airport Money Voted: School Bond Hit Snag,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 15 December 1935, 12.

86. “Airport Money Voted: School Bond Hit Snag,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 15 December 1935, 12.

87. “Re: Appropriation of $8,000 from Permanent Improvement Fund for Purchasing Land for New Airport,” 10 December 1935, Knoxville, City Council Records (Microfilm), Book 15, 638; “Council Halts Airport Project as American Airlines Announces Passenger Service After Jan. 1,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 11 December 1935, 1.

88. “The $500,000 Airport Bargain,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 11 December 1935, 6.

89. “‘Don’t Muff Chance to Get First Class Airport,’ Business Leaders Beg Council; Point to $500,000 for $50,000 Bargain,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 12 December 1935, 1.

90. “C. C. Will Form Bureau to Get Industries Soon,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 28 March 1928, 2; “Will Plan Air Tour,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 30 May 1930, 1; “Plan Schedule for Air Tour,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 31 May 1930, 10; Dozen Planes Will Start Tour Friday,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 24 July 1930, 1; “Ten Good Will Airplanes Are on Their Way,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 25 July 1930, 1; “Air Tourists Welcomed in Middlesboro,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 26 July 1930, 1; John T. Montoux, “Air Tour Will Bring Throngs to Dedication,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 27 July 1930, 1; “Thousands Throng to M’Ghee Tyson Airport as Dedication Begins,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 1 August 1930, 1, and “Crowds Swarm Around Field; Many Get Through,” 2; “Big Meet Is Climax of Rites at Port,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 2 August 1930, 1; John T. Montoux, “Airport Fete Goes Beyond Expectations,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 3 August 1930, 1; “Wanted—An Airport,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 5 January 1929.

91. “Ordinances; Ordinance No. 710,” 14 December 1935, Knoxville, City Council Records (Microfilm), Book 15, 649; “Airport Money Voted; School Bond Hit Snag,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 15 December 1935, 1, 12; “City Assures Large Airport,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 20 December 1935, 1.

92. “Knoxville Airport,” H. S. Sanders, Regional Engineer, WPA, undated, Box 38, RG 69, NARA; “Statement of Project Estimate Detail,” 22 March 1938, Box 38, RG 69, NARA.

93. “Three Shifts Soon to be on Airport Job,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 26 April 1936, A-6; “WPA Has 3151 At Work on 54 Knox Projects,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 6 September 1936, A-7; “Many Improvements Result from WPA Work,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 28 February 1937, Magazine 1; “Harry S. Berry, State Administrator, Letter to L. L. Odell, Chief Technical Officer, WPA Division of Airways and Airports,” 20 November 1935, Box 38, RG 69, NARA.

94. Al Manola, “’The Next Time You Hear One of Those W.P.A. Jokes,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 28 February 1937, Magazine 1; “Many City Improvements Result from WPA Work,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 28 February 1937, Magazine 1; “Work Starts on New Half-Million-Dollar Airport,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 13 March 1936, A-2; “Cameraman Gets ‘Aviator-Eye View’ of New Airport,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 18 April 1936, 6; “Making The Grade—And Making it Level—On Alcoa Airport Job,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 16 August 1936, A-8; “Stately Structure Rising at New Airport,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 11 October 1936, A-2; “Airport Begins to Look Like It’s Supposed To,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 22 March 1937, 9; “Crack Fliers Will Stage ‘Aerobatics’ at Dedication of New Airport July 11,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 13 June 1937, 1; “New Port Takes Over Air Business,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 30 July 1937, 24; Hodges Briscoe, Letter to Mr. McDaniel, 25 August 1937, Hodges Briscoe Collection (1 Box), Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, East Tennessee History Center, Knoxville.

95. “12,000 or More See Dedication of New Airport,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, 15 October 1937, 1; “‘It’s a Honey’ Williams Says of Our New Field,” 1; “Air Guard Spreads Wings,” 17; and “Usually Passes Us Up—But Lands Today,” 17.

96. “Port ‘Settles Down on Map’ After Day of Air Thrills,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, 16 October 1937, 1; “12,000 or More See Dedication of New Airport,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, 15 October 1937, 1.

97. Knoxville Airport, H. S. Sanders, Regional Engineer, WPA, undated, Box 38, RG 69, NARA; “New Port Here to Give State ‘Air Highway,’” Knoxville News-Sentinel, 11 July 1937, A-8.

98. “Airline is Using New Airport Now,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 29 July 1937, 2; “New Port Takes over Air Business,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 30 July 1937, 24; E. H. Briscoe, Untitled Letter, 18 July 1990, Hodges Briscoe Collection (1 Box), Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, East Tennessee History Center, Knoxville; “Airline Service to Be Improved,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 29 August 1937, 12; “Air Travel Is Soaring,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 27 September 1937, 5.