SCOUTING YESTERDAY: Meet the South Dakotan who brought airmail to the Midwest

This week in South Dakota history: June 15-21

A new building will be named for W. W. Howes at the Huron Regional Airport, according to media reports in June 1998, more than 70 years after its namesake earned his eventual recognition.

A Huron politician, William Washington Howes was credited with bringing air mail service to the Midwest.

A member of the South Dakota Senate and chairman of the South Dakota Democratic Party, Howes ran an unsuccessful bid for Governor of South Dakota in 1920 against incumbent William H. McMaster. He then served under President Roosevelt as Second and First Asst. Post Master General. The Huron Regional Airport opened in 1920 as the William Washington Howes airport.

While working for the postal service, Howes promoted the growth of airmail service, helping to employ more than 1,200 airline pilots, which he felt added to the nation’s defenses.

SCOUTING YESTERDAY: Crazy Horse monument breaks ground 75 years ago