Max & Thelma Biegert's Legacy
At the Depot platform stands a gentleman with a firm handshake and a woman with firecracker red hair, representative of her personality. The two are talking naturally with other guests of Grand Canyon Railway, laughing and enjoying the morning.
One would be hard-pressed from their casual and friendly demeanor to recognize that this is indeed the Max and Thelma, owners of Grand Canyon Railway and for whom Max & Thelma's restaurant is named. Their journey to Grand Canyon Railway is as remarkable as the line itself.
Max grew up on a Nebraska farm during the depression in the 30s, while Thelma - youngest of eight - grew up dancing in Louisiana.
"My dream was to dance. I loved all kinds and especially ballet," said Thelma.
It was that love that eventually brought her and Max together. While visiting a sister in Nebraska, Thelma attended a dance where from across the room, she spotted Max. The two felt an instant connection, and Max began a year of long distance courting.
With Thelma living in Texas and Max running a successful aerial crop spraying business in Nebraska, the two would travel back and forth frequently. Often, Max would pick Thelma up in Texas and bring her to Nebraska to visit her sister. With Thelma's family philosophy of "having fun" and Max's family philosophy of "business" the two found that they completed each other and quickly fell in love.
One year after meeting at that Nebraska dance, they were wed. For their honeymoon, the two traveled to Cuba for a full month, choosing a big honeymoon over a big wedding.
The key word is "big" - Max and Thelma have been doing everything "big" since the day they met.
Biegert Aviation, which operated off and on from 1947 to 1983, was responsible for some of the largest aerial spraying operations on record. These included the Miami Beach Mediterranean Fruit Fly Project in 1956 where a photograph of the Biegert Aviation plane spraying the beach made the center spread of LIFE Magazine.
Another claim to fame is the company's introduction of 4-engine spray technique. The Biegert's introduced B-17s to the art of aerial spraying, and Max actually rebuilt and flew the first B-17 Biegert Aviation ever used for this technique.
Max and Thelma were very much a team in the Biegert Aviation operation, with Thelma obtaining her aviation license shortly after marrying Max.
Having moved to Phoenix in 1955, Thelma belonged to a prestigious Phoenix Women Pilot's organization called "The 99s." The group's name came from the fact that there were only 99 female pilots in the United States. The Phoenix club, which had approximately 18 members, used to race regularly and host treasure hunts on Saturdays.
While aerial spraying was a great success, the couple saw an opportunity for a completely new business venture that they couldn't resist - daycare.
In 1970, Max and Thelma took a break from the flying game to move to Houston and launch the organization. It was a 10-year project, growing from one center in Houston to 60 centers in five states. Max's strong business sense found the areas with the greatest need while Thelma's class and fun-loving attitude ensured the centers were places families loved to bring their children. Often, the centers would sell-out before they ever opened, with word getting out that one was coming to the area.
In 1980, after commuting back and forth from Phoenix for five years, the couple sold the business to ARAMARK. Today the chain is known as Children's World.
The couple decided that it was finally time for retirement in the early 1980s. The two began traveling the world, finding that they enjoyed experiencing new countries and the comfort of cruise ships as much as the excitement of flying and business adventures.
Fate had something else in store for this couple, however, and their retirement lifestyle would not last.
Max and Thelma made the mistake of lending money to a gentleman who was going to develop the Railway. After a couple of years of no action, the two decided it was time to recoup their funds. Unfortunately, the investor had spent the money and had no way of repaying them, so he transferred the north 20 miles of track into their name.
The two saw a business opportunity and hired consultants, formerly with the Walt Disney Company, to come out and survey the situation. After 10 days, the advice was unanimous - with the Grand Canyon at the north end and I-40 at the south - the consultants didn't see how the venture could possibly fail. However, they did not recommend the venture, believing it would take too much time and money to get off the ground.
Believing in the possibility, Max and Thelma moved forward. They negotiated the additional 45 miles of track and Williams property and began the process of restoring Grand Canyon Railway.
The team operated largely out of a 60-foot trailer in Williams - which they named "Versailles." Neither knew anything about locomotives at the time, but they knew and still know business. Using their good business sense, they went about hiring the most talented individuals in the industry. "We've never been reluctant to hire people smarter than ourselves," said Max and Thelma. And of course, Thelma added her own personal touches to bring a level of class and personality to the business-end of things. These include the red carpet rolled out for guests and the white gloves adorning PSAs' hands.
Railway service returned on Sept. 17, 1989. Max and Thelma agree that the re-inaugural is their favorite memory. 10,000 people came to the platform to see the train off, and Governor Rose Mofford was the train's guest of honor. She's actually responsible for the train robberies taking place today, saying that the only way she'd participate was if the train was robbed. Her watch, stolen during the robbery, is on display at the Railway Museum.
When the couple got involved with Grand Canyon Railway, it was a pure business decision. Over time, the historical aspect of the Railway has become increasingly important to them and their family. Today too, the Railway's employees have become Max and Thelma's extended family.