Robert Campbell Reeve - Tilly

Tilly

In March 1933, Reeve took an order into Chisana. On the way back to Valdez his engine quit and he made a forced landing by Mount Wrangell. He and his passenger used snowshoes to walk the 20 miles (32 km) to the Nabesna Mine, where owner Carl Whitham assisted them. They returned to Valdez for help, got the spare parts to repair the engine and flew back to the plane, where the three men repaired the engine, using a tree to hoist it clear of the aircraft.

During the Great Depression, there was constant talk of reopening the gold mines. One of the biggest was the Big Four Mine on the Brevier Glacier, only 30 miles (48 km) from Valdez, but at and elevation of 6,000 feet (1,800 m). Clarence Poy of San Francisco said he would buy the mine if Reeve flew his supplies and men in. Reeve took the current owner, Jack Cook to the mine to inspect it. The landing spot turned out not to be as good as had been claimed, but although the aircraft was partially buried in soft snow, no damage was done. Reeve later marked out a landing strip with flags and lamp black.

Reeve's success with supplying the Big Four Mine let to further contracts with other mines; the Mayfield, Little Giant and Ramsay Rutherford. During this time, Reeve learned more about assessing suitability of landing sites from the air, and developed the technique of dropping supplies by air. Miners being so keen on getting their supplies that they would pay for another load if supplies were damaged when dropped. In 1934, the price of gold almost doubled under the New Deal Gold Reserve Act and Valdez boomed. In the summer of 1934, Reeve's exploits, including landing on mudflats (having manufactured skis from stainless steel to fit to his aircraft) regularly reached the papers. He received some fan letters, including one from Miss Janice Morisette, who asked if he needed an extra hand. Janice lived about 30 miles from Reeve's hometown. They corresponded for a few months and Janice flew to Valdez in June 1935. Reeve left on a prospecting trip to Canada, but his curiosity got the better of him and he returned within a month. When he first saw her she reminded him of "Tilly the Toiler" and thus the nickname stuck.

Reeve tried his hand at mining, and joined with prospector Andy Thompson to prospect the Ruff & Tuff Mine. He went to Canada in 1936 to try placer mining to finance the Ruff & Tuff. The mining didn't pay, so Reeve returned to Valdez flying supplies. He earned enough money to buy basic equipment for the Ruff & Tuff and later he and Thompson sold the mine, with Reeve getting the contract to supply it. Tilly had returned to San Francisco in the meantime, but she returned in April 1936. Reeve decided that despite his sporadic income, he would marry Tilly and so they were married in Fairbanks. Reeve bought another plane, a Fairchild 71 to celebrate.