Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Page S100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO URBAN RAHOI
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, today I honor an Alaska legend,
Urban Rahoi, on the occasion of his 100th birthday, which occurred on
Monday, January 6, 2019. Now, my colleagues might wonder, what the heck
is an Urban Rahoi?
To his admirers throughout the State of Alaska, the question is more
appropriately stated: What is Urban Rahoi not?
Urban is a World War II veteran, an Alaska pioneer, a homesteader, a
lodge owner, a legendary hunting guide, an aviator, a snowmobiler, an
entrepreneur, and a statesman. They call him ``Urban Legend--kind of an
odd play on words because ``urban legends'' are supposed to be false,
but you will not find a more direct and honest guy than Urban Rahoi.
He has been flying for more than 80 years and has survived three
plane crashes with barely a bruise. That earned Urban a reputation of
being somewhat indestructible. That reputation has only strengthened
over the years.
In 2016, Urban was out at his remote lodge on an inholding in the
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. He woke up at 6 a.m. one morning with
a ``difficult to describe feeling.'' He felt something was just wrong
and needed to get out of there. Urban was 97 years old at the time.
Now, most 97-year-olds who wake up to these feelings would likely
call 911--not Urban. He gets in his plane and flies off from the lodge
to Tok. Then he gets in a truck to begin a 202-mile drive to Fairbanks.
He stops for breakfast, drops by a friend's cabin for lunch and
storytelling along the way, goes home for a half hour, and then drives
over to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. It turns out Urban had suffered a
stroke, albeit a minor one in his estimation.
Urban is fond of saying: ``In my dictionary, two words don't exist:
can't and impossible.'' So he wasn't about to let a little stroke stop
him. Following his release from the hospital, Urban put in long hours
in physical therapy. He was reportedly grumpy about missing fall
hunting, but he was looking forward to returning to flying and
participating in the Tired Iron snowmachine race.
The Tired Iron race is a fundraiser for the Boy Scouts that features
racers in relatively ancient snowmachines, or what people in the lower
48 would call snowmobiles. Urban races a 1965 vintage Polaris Mustang.
He is known to quip that the iron may be tired, but he isn't. True to
form, Urban won the 2017 Tired Iron, months after his stroke. Come to
think of it, he won the 2018 Tired Iron as well.
Just as I said, ``indestructible.''
Urban Rahoi was originally from Iron Mountain. He learned to fly in
1934, making his first solo flight at age 15, and joined the Air Force
in 1942, where he flew B-17s during World War II. After the war, Urban
attended Michigan Technological Institute for 18 months. Restless, he
began flying in Alaska and soon packed up his wife Vi, their four dogs,
and a pile of gear into his three-passenger Super Cruiser, flying north
to Fairbanks. That was in 1947, a dozen years before statehood.
He was one of the founding partners of Interior Airways, which at one
point was one of the largest operators of C-130 cargo planes in the
world. He remained active in the Air Force Reserve in Alaska and
founded his own air service, which enabled him to get back to his
homestead on the Tanana River every night. A real estate developer, as
well, he developed the Lakeview Terrace subdivision in South Fairbanks.
Urban holds Alaska State Guide license No. 1, issued shortly after
statehood, but he began guiding from his Ptarmigan Lake Lodge even
before Alaska statehood and remains a master sheep hunter today.
My family has many stories from hunts with Urban, and all end with
how Urban kicked their butts as he hiked up and down the mountain,
packing more than his share. Urban's energy humbled the strongest
hunter, regardless of age.
Urban is also a citizen-statesman. He served on the Fairbanks North
Star Borough Assembly and has run for the Alaska Legislature several
times. He remains active in the realm of game policy.
In recent years, Urban has been working on a bucket list item: flying
vintage planes. He flew the B-17G Yankee Lady out of the Yankee Air
Museum in Ypsilanti, MI, when he was 94. In 2015, he wanted to fly a B-
17 over the National Mall in commemoration of VE Day. Despite my
efforts to help him gain permission to fly, he ended up a passenger
because the government wouldn't let him fly in restricted airspace.
They clearly didn't know my friend's skill as an aviator.
During a visit to Eielson Air Force Base in 2016, Urban told his
hosts that he lives by a simple philosophy: ``Be happy with what you do
and if you aren't happy, go find something you'll be happy with.'' By
all accounts, Urban has enjoyed a happy and successful life following
that philosophy.
It is with great pleasure that I honor my friend Urban Rahoi in the
U.S. Senate. On behalf of my colleagues, I extend Urban best wishes for
what I know will continue to be an adventurous future.
____________________
