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Rocky Nelson Collection 1946-1951

MSS-107

Biographical Note

Hillis Orville "Rocky" Nelson was born to Charles A. and Agnes (Hilstrum) Nelson in Sisseton, South Dakota on April 20, 1904. He was one of four children, including Merle Evelyn (Nelson) Clayton (1901-1994), Leland Kenneth (1906-1992), and Evelyn Blanch (ca. 1909-). Rocky Nelson married Jean "Pody" Owen (1908-1979) and the couple had one son, Jon Rockwell.

In the 1930s, Nelson oversaw irrigation well drilling and equipment enterprises in the Los Angeles, California area. During the Second World War, he operated a naval flight instruction program at Safford, Arizona. In 1946, Nelson established Arizona Airways as an intrastate air service. When that firm subsequently failed financially, he campaigned to retain its air mail routes. Those routes eventually became a part of the service network of Frontier Airlines, of which Nelson was the regional vice president. He was also a member of the initial Arizona State Aviation Commission and an organizer of the annual Arizona Aviation Conference.

During the postwar period, Nelson was active in irrigation development projects in Mexico. Rocky Nelson died in Phoenix, Arizona of heart disease on March 6, 1951.

Scope and Content Note

The Rocky Nelson Collection contains a financial report, press releases, newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks dating from 1946 to 1951. These materials document the establishment of an intrastate airline called Arizona Airways, a campaign by that airline to gain route use permission from civil aeronautics authorities, and concurrent public debate over the utility of air feeder lines in general. This collection also documents a concerted effort to convert small, municipal airports and former Army Air Forces facilities in Arizona into commercial terminals.

Arrangement

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Access to portions of this collection has been restricted in order to protect the original materials. Photocopies of the originals are available for patron access. Contact the University Archivist for information on access to restricted portions of this collection.

To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Copyright

Arizona State University does not own the copyright to this collection. We recognize that it is incumbent upon the researcher to procure permission to publish information from this collection from the owner of the copyright.

Access Terms

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Rocky Nelson Collection, MSS-107, Arizona State University Library.

Provenance

Rocky Nelson Jr. donated these papers to the Arizona Collection in 1992 (ACC# 1992-00562).

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