Founder Of Northern Consolidated Airlines Was 96

It was an oddly quiet passing, for a man who made quite a mark on Alaska's rich aviation history. Ray Peterson, who built a handful of backwoods cabins into a florishing tourism business and airline, died in his sleep this week in his Anchorage apartment at the age of 96.

Peterson got his start in aviation near Chicago in the 1930s, after a chance encounter with a biplane that landed in the field where he was bucking hay.

"The farmer said 'Okay if you take this kid up for a ride," Peterson recalled in a 1978 interview with the Anchorage Daily News. "So he took me up and the first thing I noticed was how cool it was. Here I was, far above the earth, and it was cool. Well, it didn't take me long to decide that flying was for me."

Peterson arrived in Alaska via steamship on April Fools' Day, 1934. It was quite a change from his Nebraska home... but Peterson relished his new environment, taking a job at Star Air. For the next several years, Peterson flew open-cockpit biplanes loaded with men and supplies to the Lucky Shot Mine near Hatcher Pass.

His job expanded with the onset of World War II, to ferrying supplies and personnel for the military. Among his passengers were high-ranking officers, and politicians. Peterson also loved to fish... often stopping during official business to throw a line into Alaska's many rivers.

Accurately surmising that others would enjoy the same opportunity, Peterson started dabbling in tourism. He founded Northern Consolidated Airlines in 1947, the result of merging his Bethel-based Ray Peterson Flying Service with a number of smaller airlines. Three years later, he reached a deal with the National Park Service to construct five fishing lodges at Katmai National Monument... effectively launching Alaska's sportfishing industry.

In 1968, Northern Consolidated merged with Wien Alaska Airways, forming Wien Consolidated Airlines -- later renamed Wien Air Alaska. It was the state's largest airline. Peterson ran the company until the late 1970s.

"He was a very fine man to work for," said Edward Steger, a friend of Peterson's who worked for him 40 years.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

(ANN thanks David Zekria for use of his image of an NCA timetable -- Ed.)

FMI: www.wienairalaska.com, www.timetableimages.com