Manuscripts Collection
Republic Airlines was a publicly-held, Minneapolis-based carrier providing air transportation to the traveling and shipping public. It was created in 1979 by the merger of North Central Airlines and Southern Airways; in 1980 it acquired Hughes Airwest. North Central Airlines was established in December, 1952, when Wisconsin Central Airlines officially changed its name to North Central Airlines. Wisconsin Central was founded in 1944 and served communities in Wisconsin, Illinois, upper Michigan, and Minnesota. North Central expanded service to include communities in Iowa, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and other states, as well as some in Canada. Southern Airways, which was established in 1949, provided airline service to communities in the southeastern portion of the United States.
Hughes Airwest was officially established in April, 1970, after the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) approved the 1969 purchase of Air West by Hughes Tool Co., which was owned by industrialist and aviator Howard Hughes. The short-lived Air West was created in April, 1968, by the merger of three western regional carriers: West Coast Airlines, Pacific Air Lines (known as Southwest Airways until 1958), and Bonanza Air Lines. West Coast Airlines provided service to communities in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Southwest Airways served communities in California and Oregon; Pacific Air Lines continued flying in these states and expanded service to include communities in Nevada and Washington. Bonanza Air Lines provided service to communities in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. Air West and Hughes Airwest served communities in the eight states previously served by their predecessor companies (Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington), and some in Canada and Mexico as well.
The collection includes historical background materials, annual reports, route maps, flight schedules, and information on mergers and acquisitions. There are printed items related to local and regional air service (ca. 1949-1976); advertising material; information on aircraft; Civil Aeronautics Board documents (including some with significant historical information); employee labor agreements, manuals, and other files; photographs, movies and video recordings; audio recordings; microfilmed news clippings; and printed and semi-print materials such as departmental memoranda, newsletters, employee magazines, and in-flight magazines.
Loose newspaper clippings and scrapbooks containing news clippings were microfilmed.
These documents are organized into the following sections:
Records of Republic's successor, Northwest Airlines, are also in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections.
M579: St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society, 1995. 35 microfilm reels; 35 mm.
M580: St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society, 1994. 15 microfilm reels; 35 mm.
Microfilm is available for sale or interlibrary loan from the Minnesota Historical Society.
Original clippings (52.25 cubic feet) were disposed after microfilming.
Accession number: 13,862; 15,187; 15,188; 16,339
Digital masters of the audiovisual material are maintained on the Society's secure digital collections storage servers and are managed and preserved in accordance with archival best practices.
The original audio and video were disposed after the material was digitally reformatted into wav and mov files.
Processed by: John M. Wickre, May 1989
Digitization and encoding by April Rodriguez, March 30, 2022.
Digital audio and video transferred from master audiovisual material by the Minnesota Historical Society for preservation purposes (March 2022).
Digitization was made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008.
Catalog ID number: 990017115580104294
Annual local/regional air service issues.
Commemorative air mail envelopes used upon the inauguration of new air mail routes and collected by Tollie Glaves, Superintendent of Mail for Frontier Airlines. Many of the envelopes have post-mark to delivery times noted on them.
This microfilm reproduces loose newspaper (and some magazine) clippings documenting Republic Airlines activities at the local, regional, and national levels. The clippings are arranged chronologically by year and month. They are not in order by day within each month, and some are not correctly filed by month. Most of the clippings were collected for the airlines by clipping services. A "citation" slip attached to most of these articles gives the title, place of publication, and date of the newspaper (or magazine) in which the article appeared. Beginning in 1982 there are many newspaper pages containing articles pertaining to the airlines that were not clipped. Some of these articles are marked; those that are not usually can be identified by their headlines.
Also includes magazine articles and "Clips from P.R." for 1983.
Also includes "Clips from P.R." for 1984.
[Published as
Printed items (both black and white and color) advertising airline services.
Printed items (mostly black and white single-page advertising proofs).
Printed items (both black and white and color) advertising airline services.
Includes 1975 donation to Henry Ford Museum.
The newspaper (and magazine) clippings document the air carrier's activities at the local and regional levels. The clippings are arranged in series according to format, i.e., clippings scrapbooks and/or loose clippings and, most often, in roughly chronological order by year and month within each series. Most of the clippings were selected by clipping services. A "citation" slip attached to most of them gives the title, place of publication, and date of the newspaper (or magazine) in which the article appeared.
Includes information on WC predecessor, Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, Clintonville, Wis., [ca. 1939]-1946.
Includes consolidated Bonanza, Pacific, and Air West annual reports for the year 1967.
Women's air race. 4 folders.
News for employees.
Includes coverage of Airwest-Frontier route exchange, Cabo San Lucas, and the Hughes Airwest Air Race Classic.
Partial photocopies.
Includes section of clippings (June 1954) from
Photos of company operations, executives and employees, aircraft, and other views. Most are black and white 8 x 10-inch size; there also are some color views and slides. Some additional photos are mixed in with archival material in previous boxes.
Container note: Bonnanza-30. Picture quality of film has been impacted due to the color fading to magenta.
Digital version
Digital version
DC-9 built by McDonnell Douglas Corp. for North Central Airlines. Shots of the plane on the runway and in the air.
Digital version
Footage contains a mixture of scenes such as aviation pioneer Donald Douglas, aviation buff Arthur Godfrey, North Central Airlines hangar, North Central Airlines flight interior, and shots of the Wright Brothers' Aeroplane at a museum.
Digital version
Promotional film with voice-over describing the airline and various jobs. Shows fabrication, towers, computerized booking, baggage, food, terminals, and shots of New York City.
Digital version
Nnarrated fishing trip on the Mississippi in Minnesota. Produced by North Central Airlines in cooperation with Gapin's World of Fishin'.
Digital version
Footage contains a Pacific Airlines plane parked in a hangar and staff working on the exterior.
Digital version
Ppromotional piece on Republic Airlines with shots of employees, customers, services, planes, and facilities at the time of the consolidation of Southern and North Central airlines.
Digital version
Container note: "Employees" XAGA 6037 :30. "Salk Lake Service" XAGA 6041 :30. "L.A. Service" XAGA 6043 :20. "Salt Lake" XAGA 6047 :10. "L.A." XAGA 6049 :10. "Las Vegas" XAGA 6061 :10. "Corporate" XAGA 6055 :10.
Digital video
Footage contains a Republic airplane on the tarmac, taking off, and in the air. No sound.
Digital video
Footage of company's upcoming promotional commercials with celebrity cameos and feedback from customers via letters.
Digital video
Concerns the merger of Bonanza, West Coast, and Pacific Airlines into Air West, and expounds upon the characteristics of Air West.
Digital audio
Radio interview and recruiting piece to hire stewardesses. Interviewees talk about being a stewardess, hiring, training, regulations, and recruiting in Salt Lake City.
Container note: Interview (on Jack Bogut Program) KALL Radio, West Coast Stewardess.
Short commercials to advertise flights to Orlando, Chicago, and New Orleans.
Container note: Cut 1: :60 with/Jim Axel. Cut 2: :30 with/Jim Axel. Cut 3: :60 Jingle Only. Cut 4: Sample Air Shot WSB. 1971/72 "Nicest People"
Digital audio
Container note: Side 1 Here's how well-known writer Ed Labunski built our kind of music. Side 2: Radio Commercials. 1. Z:60 "Gotten Together". 2. :60 "The Best" 3. :30 "Gotten Together. 4. :30 "People"
Digital audio