Bookwalter, Charles.

Charles "Verne" Bookwalter was born in Corvallis, Oregon on November 19, 1882. He spent most of his early years in Corvalis and Spokane, Washington. Bookwalter enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War I. He flew the first airmail flight from Seattle to San Francisco in 1926, and in the 1930's Bookwalter moved to Skagway, Alaska and founded the White Pass and Yukon Airways. He left Alaska at the start of World War II, returning 10 years later to fly for Alaska Coastal Airlines in Juneau, Alaska. In the 1950's, Bookwalter joined the U.S. Department for Fish and Wildlife and in 1956, he went to work for the Federal Aviation Administration. In 1965, Bookwalter and his wife moved to Nome, Alaska where they lived until his death in 1975. Bookwalter's orginal pilot's license was signed by Orville Wright.