Winslow Today: Commerce and Employment

Winslow Today: Commerce and Employment. Journeys to Winslow. After World War II, Winslow's growth slowed as technology reduced the railroad industry's manpower requirements. In 1979, downtown businesses were devastated when the Interstate 40 bypass opened. Today, the economy is more diversified, and Winslow's population is stable at almost 10,000 people. The largest employers include the BNSF Railway, the Winslow Unified School District, Northland Pioneer College-Winslow Campus, the Little Colorado Medical Center, Winslow Indian Health Services, and an Arizona Department of Corrections facility south of town., The Santa Fe and BNSF Railways , Town leaders resisted growth after World War II, so the Santa Fe expanded the diesel shops in Barstow, California, instead of Winslow. Technological advancements, along with the loss of passenger operations to Amtrak in 1971, continued to reduce jobs throughout the industry, though railroads remained critical to hauling freight around the nation. The Santa Fe merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1995, and Winslow continued to serve as division headquarters until the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway moved them to Belen, New Mexico, in 2001. The company, renamed BNSF Railway in 2005, was purchased by Berkshire Hathaway in 2010 and remains one of the largest employers in town., The Winslow-Lindbergh Regional Airport , The best preserved of the original TAT airfields, the Winslow Municipal Airport was renamed in 1998 as a lasting tribute to its role in aviation history. Wiseman Aviation has been contracted by the city to run daily operations since 2007 and restored the terminal to its original style. Said Orville Wiseman, "The Winslow Airport was probably the busiest airport in the Southwest back in the 1940s... all the airmail for Northern Arizona went through there... it's probably the oldest continuous service passenger terminal in the world... that's a pretty neat little piece of history." Current airport users include the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. military, Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility, medical transport services, and the E&O Kitchen. Recreational flyers continue to stop here for the good weather and unobstructed landscape, as well as for the annual High Desert Fly-In (www.highdesertflyin.org)., Winslow as Border Town , Hopi and Navajo people have continually migrated between their tribal lands and Winslow for trade, employment, education, public services, and entertainment. Non-native Winslow residents have also migrated to Hopi and Navajo communities while working as traders, teachers, and medical workers., Captions , Upper Left: A BNSF train led by six locomotives approaches Winslow from the west, with the San Francisco Peaks in the background and Interstate 40 on the right. The BNSF serves the western two-thirds of the United States and parts of Canada and Mexico. (Courtesy of BNSF Railway Company) , Upper Middle: Bill Shumway worked for both the Santa Fe and BNSF Railways from 1970 to 2010: "There was a lot to enjoy... you hardly ever worked with the same person... for the most part, everybody out there got along... the scenery was always fun, and just the idea of going for an afternoon train-ride was always exciting to me..." (Courtesy of Bill Shumway) , Upper Right: Susan Kislingbury, who comes from a long line of railroaders, went to work for the Santa Fe in 1969 when she was 18 years old: "I hired out as a conductor in February of '95. I was going to be 45 years old. But it's the best thing that ever happened to me. But it was tough... and then I became an engineer in September of 1998." Interview by Mary Tolan of Northern Arizona University, 2009 , Middle Left: Seen outside the historic hangar with "TAT: Winslow-Lindbergh Airport" on the front, this vintage Cessna visited during the 2016 High Desert Fly-In. , Center: The US Forest Service maintains the Winslow Air Tanker Base, which supports wild and forest fire suppression. These planes helped fight the San Juan Fire in eastern Arizona in June 2014. (Courtesy of Orville Wiseman) , Middle Right: Seen inside the historic hangar, this Boeing CH-47 Chinook landed in Winslow to make an emergency repair in 2012. (Courtesy of Orville Wiseman) , Lower Middle: In 1996, Patricia Egan posed with her second-grade students at Dilkon School, 40 miles northeast of Winslow (left). She remembers leaving Chicago in 1989 at age 55 to start a new career. "I felt like everything in my life leading up to that time prepared me for that, and I felt a real kinship with the people, especially the grandparents, many of whom were taking care of the kids... And I felt very honored by that trust." , In 1956, the Bureau of Indian Education opened a Native American dormitory in Winslow named Emmons Hall. Renovated and renamed Winslow Residential Hall in 1990, it houses Hopi, Navajo, and Apache students while they attend Winslow High School. , Sophomore and varsity basketball player Kaelyn Bitsoi (right, at left) describes why she was willing to leave her home in Leupp to attend school in Winslow: "It gives me more experience, more time to be social amongst my peers here at the residential hall, (and to get) to know the staff... (and) the high standards that they have with the accelerated classes... I like them. Actually, I love them!" , Helene Botone (right, at right), Winslow Residential Hall Executive Director, reflects on one of the advantages for the students: "I see the students as we're all related even though we're miles part, I still know a lot of the familles. Some of the kids here I had when they were little, at a different school district. it's like one big, regional community. , Acknowledgments: This printing of the Old Trails Museum's Journeys to Winslow exhibit was funded by Tess and Lawrence Kenna. The exhibit was originally developed by OTM Director Ann-Mary Lutzick for the Arizona tour of Museum on Main Street's Journey Stories exhibit, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and Arizona Humanities. Unless noted, all images and interviews are from the Old Trails Museum Collection. For more Winslow history, visit the Old Trails Museum (across from the Standin' on the Corner Park) or www.oldtrailsmuseum.org.