It's a big fall for Evergreen, the multi-faceted firm that's serviced government agencies for more than a half-century. The company flew the Shah of Iran around in , and ran mysterious missions to El Salvador and Nicaragua shortly thereafter. The flights to Afghanistan began just a few months after the American invasion, in February, That same year, Evergreen denied it had anything to do with the CIA's "rendition" flights that took terror suspects to torture-friendly regimes. But Evergreen handled more than military or intelligence community work.
Its supertankers put out fires from Israel to Mexico. Slade Gorton, who roomed with Smith when both were in the U. Air Force during the s. The U. All told, Smith said his company flew in countries over the years. Smith was born in Seattle. At age seven he walked into a local bank and borrowed money for a lawn mower and by the time he was 11 he had saved enough money from his lawn business to make a down payment on a modest home for himself and Grandma Smith.
He attended public schools, traded doing odd jobs for flying lessons, graduated from the University of Washington, and went on as a commissioned Air Force officer after graduation.
Smith never lost his enthusiasm for aviation. In he hired legendary test pilot Bob Hoover, made him a company director and sponsored his P, Shrike Commander and Sabreliner airshow acts. The complex also includes the adjacent Wings and Waves water park, which uses an old Evergreen mounted on the roof as part of its feature waterslide. It draws , visitors per year. Closure of the company -- originally scheduled for last Saturday , but denied as false rumor by founder Delford Smith — would end a storied, three-decade history for the airline whose baggage includes close ties with the CIA.
Evergreen once operated a global fleet of Boeing cargo jets, running round-the-world flights and keeping a plane on standby for secret U. Several Evergreen companies founded and owned by Smith have been major Yamhill County employers, as have the year-old's nonprofits, which include a water park and an air-and-space museum.
Managers say the attractions will remain open. But the Oregon Department of Justice is investigating them for alleged commingling of funds between Evergreen's profit and nonprofit arms, and Smith may have put up some of the planes in the museum as collateral being claimed by creditors. Voicemails left for Hines posed questions concerning the airline's remaining property, employees, contracts and its Federal Aviation Administration certificate, a potentially valuable asset.
Hines told The Oregonian Monday the company was still operating and managers hoped to save it. In addition to its federal prison, Victorville is known for one of the nation's busiest "boneyards" -- where unneeded commercial planes go to be stored or to die and be chopped up for parts. Some leased Evergreen cargo jets have been repossessed by creditors, according to public records and former union officers. Evergreen International Airlines had full-time employees as of September, according to a filing with the U.
Bureau of Transportation Statistics -- down from a peak of in The privately held company hasn't disclosed revenues since , when it had to do so in order to market junk bonds. But former managers say Evergreen has long depended on heavy borrowing, leasing most or all of its aircraft and engines, many of which are now being claimed by creditors. Creditors seeking millions of dollars in damages have filed numerous lawsuits , some of which have produced default judgments as Evergreen lawyers fail to show up in court.
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