UAF-1958-1026-794

George Lingo had a large influence in making Mount McKinley National Park a popular tourist attraction. Lingo was a 1927 graduate of the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines. After graduation, Lingo worked summers driving tourists on the Old Richardson Highway between Valdez and Fairbanks. By the late 1920s, Lingo had worked with the Mt. McKinley Tourist & Transportation Company as well as the Mount McKinley Tourist Organization. With the organization, Lingo worked several winters traveling through the Lower 48 and placing exhibits of Mount McKinley National Park in all major transportation companies, as well as meeting with tourist companies and reporters, in hopes of attracting tourists to the park. Lingo became a regent for AAC&SM, and in 1932, he was elected to the Territorial Legislature as a representative for Fairbanks. In this March 12, 1935, picture, Lingo is seated next to Governor John W. Troy as he approves the act that transformed the AAC&SM into the University of Alaska. Archives, University of Alaska Fairbanks.

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