In The Beginning

   Paul returned from the war and pitched in to help his parents and the rest of the family build the airport. Ruth Maxine, Paul's wife, started the first restaurant. The Cable's would complete one project and move on to the next. Dewey loved riding on the grader and never stopped using it even when he was eighty, much to Paul and Walter's consternation. Fifty-seven years later the Cable family is still improving the airport one project at a time.

   They used the rocks cleared during the runway construction whenever possible. They were available, plentiful, and fitted in with the area decor. They built the airport administration building, cafe, flight school, office, and shop with these granite rocks. Dewey designed the buildings, and the family built them. They are still being used today, which attests to their sound construction.

   Dewey was a genius at improvising. He needed runway lights, so he used surplus heavy-duty electrical cable he found in a junk yard. The cable had originally been bought by the government for use in a battleship.

   The airport needed a beacon and the CAA had a surplus airways tower near Porterville. Walter and a friend rented a flatbed truck and hauled it back to the airport. They needed a beacon to put on top of the tower and the CAA donated them one, but first they had to take it down from a hilltop near Palm Springs, which was no easy task.

   Dewey had his share of problems with both the city of Upland and San Bernardino County over building permits. A case in point was when he built the seven sided maintenance hanger. It was completed before the paperwork was. When confronted with that fact, he pulled a recruiting poster off the wall and sketched the plans for the building on the back of it, and handed it to the inspector. He then proceeded to draw up the blueprints and required paperwork, which was approved. This sort of thing happened often enough that Dewey got quite a reputation for his individualism.

   In 1949, Dewey wanted to build some hangars, so he designed and built the first nestled T-hangars. He found students who were willing to work in exchange for flying time. With their help and using salvaged material where possible, he kept the cost down to $272 per hanger. The fact that he didn't have a building permit didn't come up until after the project was finished. Dewey went to court to show that, at the time of construction, none was required. He won!

Drilling for water

   In the beginning the city wouldn't let him hook up to the city water, so he dug his own well. When the city wouldn't issue the proper
permits and convinced Edison not to hook the airport up to electricity, he put in his own power plant. Problems with the city went on for years, and Dewey attended all the city council meetings to keep tabs on what they would be trying to do to him next.

   Edison's power line, which ran up Benson Avenue on the approach end of runway 24, was a hazardous obstacle. Edison wanted $60,000 to bury 300 feet of the line underground. Dewey thought that was ridiculous, and after four planes hit the lines, he turned to the press. In a series of articles, Dewey got the message out about the power company's apparent lack of interest in safety. Negotiations began and the power company soon buried the power line. The final bill, $7,500.

Cable Airport - January 27 1952

   Dewey fought hard for decades to protect Cable Airport from outside interests who wanted to either shut it down or take it over. He also helped save El Monte Airport and Big Bear Airport.

Dewey Cable - The Man, The Legend>>

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