Shortly after WWII, an Alaskan bush pilot named Jim Dodson was landing at Nome. There was a 7,500-foot runway that was 500 feet wide. A 30-mph crosswind was blowing, so he landed across the runway, directly in front of the tower. 500-foot landings were routine for him.
The book where I read this (Glacier Pilot, by Beth Day) didn’t say what sort of aircraft Mr. Dodson was flying that day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q8fBMpJ_kE
Being able to take off and land short runways is a good skill to have regardless, but that was the preferred mode of travel in Alaska pretty early in the history of flight. Wiley Post built a plane / had it built for his work with Will Rogers, and per Kelly Johnson’s memoir, the design was nose-heavy because Post wanted to get airborne quickly. On the fatal flight it didn’t work out due to ice loading I think.