Alaska News

Alaska Aviation Legends: Bobby Miller, airline CEO and gold-mining sourdough

Robert "Bobby" Miller's parents, Frank and Mary Miller, were both immigrants from Slovenia who came to Fairbanks via Minnesota and Montana, having followed the gold miners north to the great territory. Frank Miller built saloons that catered to gold miners in the early years of the 20th century, including a saloon in the then-boom town of Iditarod as well as boarding saloons in Fairbanks and Chisana during the great gold rush.

By the time young Bobby was 10 years old, he was already fixing automobiles at a shop run by his brother, Max Miller. Bobby and Max would follow seasonal work to the gold mines each summer, relocating to Livengood, where Bobby's skills as a mechanic -- even at a young age -- were not lost upon the locals. He spent his high school years assembling cars that arrived at the Livengood gold mine, via airplane, and in pieces.

World War II hit Alaska when Bobby was 28; at the time he'd already amassed seven years experience running bulldozers for gold miners. Bobby spent two and a half years at Cold Bay in the Aleutian Islands during the war and was responsible for logistics, primarily tasked with ensuring the delivery of necessary parts for all war equipment stationed in Cold Bay. However, needs dictated that Bobby lead the effort to construct miles of road in Cold Bay. Ultimately he taught soldiers how to run heavy equipment and supervised 40 soldiers were stationed there over the course of the war.

After his honorable discharge from service in 1946, the military started selling surplus gear and equipment at auction. Miller started buying: together, he and his brother acquired eight planes and formed Northern Air Service.

Miller took particular interest in salvage and built Northern Air Service with the auctioned excess of the military along with failed business ventures in the Alaska Territory. This business acumen eventually led him owning several companies, including the Miller & Bentley Equipment Office, which he operated "off the old Bentley Brothers Dairy," he later recalled. Miller also opened Miller Salvage & Car Sales on Illinois Street in Fairbanks, which grew to include an inventory exceeding 1,000 vehicles at one point.

Aviation expands across Alaska

In 1945 Northern Air Service merged with six smaller airlines in the state and became Northern Consolidated Airlines (NCA) and Bobby ran the business from Fairbanks.

"NCA served two major areas of the state out of Fairbanks," Miller recalls. "One route served Tanana, Kokrines, Ruby, Galena, Koyukuk, Nulato, Kaltag and local mines in the area. The second route ran to Bethel, McGrath and Lake Minchumina. Eventually we grew to 33 airplanes and provided service to the entire Yukon and Kuskokwim drainages."

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Miller spent 18 years as chairman of the board of directors for Northern Consolidated Airlines; during that time the company only had one bad mishap, when its Fairchild F-27 was flying through the region where the Aleutian and Alaska mountain ranges intersect, over the modern day Lake Clark National Park and Preserve area.

The airplane had a catastrophic structural failure when it lost its wing into Lake Iliamna.

"We never forget those we have lost in the skies of Alaska," he said.

The Wien Air years

In 1968, NCA merged with Wien Airlines to become Wien Consolidated. The company continued to evolve and in 1973 became Wien Air Alaska. When Wien moved their headquarters to Anchorage, Bobby retired from management but remained active on the board of directors.

By the early 1980s Wien Air Alaska owned 10 737 jets and was considered an excellent airline that connected Alaska bush communities to Anchorage, Seattle and other Lower 48 destinations. But expansion came at a cost and while the company was financially vulnerable, the Wien Airlines board chairman orchestrated the sale of Wien Consolidated to Household Finance. Stockholders were forced to sell their stock at basement prices. Nine months later, one of the board officers bought Wien back. The opportunity didn't last, as the airline soon shut down a second and final time and the assets were sold.

"I was fortunate to have good pilots as a whole. We ended our aviation bravely selling to Alaska Airlines," Miller recalled.

An Alaska entrepreneur through and through

Miller was never one to miss a business opportunity when one presented itself. As gold prices climbed during the 1970s, Miller purchased a dragline mine in Manley Hot Springs. He helped local gold miners by forming Alaska Gold Sales, which operated strictly to help local miners who were being gouged by profit-hungry jewelers and assayers.

In 1980, Miller purchased Circle Hot Springs on the Steese Highway by Central. Bobby spent millions on the resort, renovating it to become an inviting destination that he hoped would appeal not to tourists but instead to local Alaskans.

"I wanted Arctic Circle Hot Springs to cater to the tastes of Alaskans and our miners," Miller said. "I believe in meat and potatoes. Tourist just weren't my class."

Miller has owned and operated more than 19 businesses, including major airlines, and was often given tremendous financial leeway from his banker for financing. Once Miller asked his banker why he enjoyed such lenient financing. "I thought you knew what you were doing," Miller recalled his banker responding.

But it was likely something more than that. Miller always put Alaskans first.

"Since I was 5 years old, I've always worked hard. And money was never (my motivation); for me it was about the people of Alaska," Miller said, adding, "especially the miners. They came first. I worked hard and tried to treat people right.

"I am fortunate to still be active in business relationships, and enjoy lasting friendships. I was raised with the belief that you never lie, cheat or steal and always help people in need. I worked 16-to-18 hour days for over 75 years. At 96 years old I still get out each week for coffee and conversation with friends at the local restaurant."

Bobby Miller is one of nine men and women selected to represent the next class of Alaska Aviation Legends, an annual project that recognizes the pioneers who made Alaska's aviation industry and culture what it is today. For more on the legends, consider attending the Nov. 1 banquet in their honor. More information is available in the Alaska Bush Pilot blog, in the Alaska Dispatch Calendar, and at the Alaska Air Carriers Association website.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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