Crockett Family Photographs (PH-00431)

George E. Crockett was born on March 31, 1912 in Unionville, Missouri. He graduated from Unionville High School in 1928 and entered Jefferson City Flight Aviation School in Jefferson City, Missouri, where he earned his pilot’s license. Crockett flew mail planes in the early 1930s, worked in a grocery store in Nebraska, and traveled to small towns to be the Master of Ceremonies for amateur talent shows to supplement his income. The Wincharger Corporation of Sioux City, Iowa, hired Crockett in 1936 as a sales representative for their wind-powered electrical generators. The company provided an aircraft and he flew to and from different state fairs selling generators. In 1940, Crockett began working for the Stinson Aircraft Corporation, selling planes to corporations and commercial airlines. One of his sales routes took him between Los Angeles, California and Salt Lake City, Utah and he landed in Las Vegas, Nevada on one of his trips. Crockett was so impressed with the area and community that he relocated to Las Vegas shortly after. In 1942, he opened Crockett Field, later known as Alamo Airport.

Crockett quickly became involved in the development of aviation in Nevada. In 1945, he founded and was the first president of the Nevada State Airmen Association (NSAA). Within two months of its founding, NSAA had more than two hundred members. In 1964, Crockett became the president of the National Aviation Trades Association. In 1967, he sold his business to Howard Hughes' Summa Corporation and retired.

Crockett married Evangelyn Lingren in 1936, and they had three children, George (Mac), Ernest David, and Darla. Crockett later married Margaret "Peg" Nickerson in 1948, and the couple had two children, Caty and Henry Chris. George Crockett died on May 20, 1990 in Las Vegas, Nevada. On June 21, 1995, a street that intersects Las Vegas Boulevard south of Russell Road near McCarran Airport was dedicated in his honor.

Source:

"McCarran Founder Honored." Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas, Nevada, June 21, 1995: 19.

Margaret “Peg” Nickerson Crockett was born to Henry Cobb and Hazel Harvey Nickerson on September 12, 1924 in Pasadena, California. She grew up in Pasadena before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada with her family in 1937. After arriving in Las Vegas, the Nickersons built Hidden Well Ranch, a private ranch-style resort that was frequented by Hollywood writers, actors, and other California elite. Hidden Well Ranch was located just south of present-day Harry Reid International Airport. Peg Nickerson attended Las Vegas High School and became a licensed pilot in 1942, serving in the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron during World War II.

Peg met George Crockett in 1941 and the two were married in 1948. The Crocketts had two children together, Catherine “Caty” and Henry Chris. Peg and George Crockett ran Alamo Airport until 1967, when they sold the business to Howard Hughes' Summa Corporation. Peg Crockett was active in several community organizations throughout her life, including the Las Vegas Rotary Club, Mesquite Club, Assistance League, and National Society of Colonial Dames of America. Peg Crockett died on March 30, 2022 at the age of 97 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Sources:

Crockett Family Photographs, 1911-2022. PH-00431. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/f1qb1f

Torres-Cortez, Ricardo. “Crockett, Las Vegas aviation pioneer, dies at 97.” Las Vegas Review-Journal, April 17, 2022.

George E. Crockett opened Crockett Field (later known as Alamo Airport or Alamo Airfield) in 1942, which increased commercial traffic to and from Las Vegas, Nevada and was the original location for what is now McCarran International Airport.

George E. Crockett purchased planes and equipment from an Iowa company that had gone out of business and leased land south of Las Vegas, Nevada for an airfield. After clearing a dirt strip and building a "gas shack" and water tank, Crockett opened Alamo Airport in 1942. The original airfield used in Las Vegas, Nevada was the Las Vegas Army Airfield, located on what is now Nellis Airforce Base. However, in 1941, the United States Army took control over the Army Airfield due to wartime need and Crockett Field became the commercial airfield for the city.

In 1948, Crockett agreed to relinquish his rights to a 99-year government lease back to Clark County, and the airfield was rededicated as McCarran Field on December 19, 1948. In return, the county allowed him to continue operating his air service and fixed-base operations as Alamo Airways. After the county completed their new terminal on South Las Vegas Boulevard and built permanent runways, Alamo Airways expanded, eventually offering complete civil and charter services, aircraft sales, a government-approved maintenance shop, lodging, rental cars, restaurant, and lounge.

In the 1950s, Alamo Airways provided support to military aircraft involved in the above-ground nuclear testing program at the Nevada Test Site, located northwest of Las Vegas. In 1959, Alamo supported the World Congress of Flight held in Las Vegas, and was also involved with the 1958-1959 World Endurance Flight. In 1967, Howard Hughes' Summa Corporation bought the facility and renamed the airport McCarran International after Senator Pat McCarran. In 2021, the airport was renamed in honor of Senator Harry Reid.

Sources:

“George E. Crockett,” McCarran International Airport. https://www.mccarran.com/NVAHOF/BiosTouchScreen/Crockett.

“October 14, 2011 Day of Enshrinement: George E. Crockett.” Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame. http://www.nvahof.org/hof/george_crockett/

"McCarran Airport History," Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas, Nevada, 1998 June 11: 63.