Casa Grande Panel Against Renaming Airport

December 19, 2003

Casa Grande Panel Against Renaming Airport
Casa Grande Valley Newspapers, AZ
 

The Casa Grande Heritage Commission ruled Thursday against naming the airport 
after local aviation pioneer Earl W. Osborne Sr. in a recommendation that goes 
to the City Council.
  
Commissioners said that although they respected Osborne's achievements, they 
did not think he was a significant enough historical figure to merit the honor.

Acting Chairman Karl Peterson said he would like to see the family pursue 
renaming the new airport terminal instead for Osborne and that it might also 
have the name of George Gomez Sr., who bought the airport from Osborne's widow, 
Gertrude. That idea was incorporated into the final decision of the commission.

Both aviation pioneers died in plane accidents, years apart.

Board member Georgianne Powell is George Gomez Sr.'s granddaughter. Her father, 
George Gomez Jr., also was an aviator and died of injuries from a crash. She 
said Osborne's family was not the only one to suffer a loss and that should not 
be a factor in any decision. 

The granddaughter and son of Osborne were at Thursday's public hearing before 
the commission.

John T. Turner, who grew up "under the wing" of Osborne, wrote a letter of 
support from Sisters, Ore.

"Growing up in Casa Grande I knew Earl Osborne well," wrote Turner. "As a young 
teenager I was his paperboy and learned to fly at the airport owned, in part, 
by him. In January 1942, I was in the airplane with him when the accident that 
took his life occurred."

The commission voted in November that the application did meet the criteria for 
a public hearing. Thursday, the members voted 5-1 against recommending it to 
the council, based on cost, the belief that Osborne was not a well-known local 
figure, and on the potential loss of some of the name recognition the airport 
has to the city.

"I feel the name Casa Grande Municipal Airport has some heritage to it," 
Commissioner Mikel Diwan said. "I would hate to lose that."

The city has owned the airport since 1957.

Though he had been the leading force in developing what came to be known as 
Three Points Airport, Osborne's ties to Casa Grande Municipal Airport, a few 
miles to the north, seemed tenuous to commissioners. Construction started in 
1942, a few months after Osborne died.

Airport Advisory Board member Terry Emig and Airport Manager A.J. Blaha said 
the cost was prohibitive. The city Public Works Department estimated the cost 
of changing signs at $2,150.

Additionally, Blaha said, the current letter recognition for the airport, CGZ, 
would probably have to be changed to something more anonymous. After further 
questions from the board, he said that even without a new name the airport call 
letters might be changed by the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA would 
have to approve any name change, he said.

Blaha said he would prefer any name change be a part of the airport's master 
plan, currently being revised. Emig, and others, pointed out the widespread 
inconvenience of losing the name and having to change maps, global positioning 
satellite software and airport directories.

Earllynn Osborne-Brown, Osborne's granddaughter, reiterated that she was 
willing to accept some of the cost of new signs and also advise map companies 
of the change.

Casa Grande resident Mike Griffith spoke out against the idea.

Vernon Hancock, who as a child also knew Osborne, said the name change should 
occur.

"I knew Earl as a young lad. I would go into his store," Hancock said. "I have 
a feeling if it's possible, we ought to do it."

Osborne-Brown said that other airport name changes were done with a minimum of 
fuss.

"Sometimes people change their names or their residences," she said, "and there 
is a time frame when people get used to the change. ... Many many airports have 
their names changed. You don't see the cities falling apart."

She compared the situation to what a recently married woman goes through when 
changing a lot of paperwork.

Emig mentioned John F. Kennedy (New York), O'Hare (Chicago) and Ronald Reagan 
(Washington, D.C.) airports, named for individuals who had had "major 
accomplishments." 

Earl Osborne Jr., the son, said that although more famous names were used for 
many airports, the honor was proportional in relation to the size of the 
airports named after them.

"Many airports have changed their names," Osborne said. "Were they much more 
significant names? Yes, but they were for significant airports. This is a small 
town."

Osborne said that without his father, it likely would have been many more years 
before the city got its own airport.

Though she said it was "a letdown," Osborne-Brown said she would pursue naming 
the terminal solely after her grandfather. She said he was the first man of 
aviation for Casa Grande and he should receive stand-alone recognition. 

 
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