McGee came to Alaska as a stowaway in 1929. He worked as a miner, truck driver, Originally the operation was completely un-scheduled. He hired Roy Dickson to fly the new mail route. Dickson had brought a
B-1 Ryan airplane to Alaska in March, 1934, and flew the summer mining season for Alaska Exploration & Mining Company out of
Cantwell. McGee approached him in the Parsons Hotel in Anchorage with a proposition. "It's a new project, never been tried before, do you want to try it?" Dickson was anxious to get on McGee's payroll so he could bring his family to Alaska from the states. His Ryan was in need of an overhaul, and he had been paid mostly in company stock rather than cash for his summer's work. He accepted McGee's offer, sold the Ryan to Bowman Airways, and sent for his family. Woodley Airways was founded by
"Art" Woodley in 1932, ending his involvement in the airline business. After working his mining operations for a number of years, McGee retired to the "lower 48" and died in
Reno, Nevada, in 1988 at age 91. ==Aircraft==