Lady Skywriter

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2010-03-11T12:52:00.001-06:00

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We've Come A Long Way, Baby!

2010-03-09T10:49:00.004-06:00

My "other job," non-remunerative, I hasten to add, is writing and editing Reflections, the quarterly newsletter of the NWA History Centre. While doing research for the March, 2010 issue, I came across this gem in the NWA H.C. archives. The weekly NWA employee newsletter, named "NEWS Letter," funnily enough, and dated December 28, 1944, featured this front-page story:

Florence Kerr Takes NWA Post

Mrs. Florence Kerr, director of war public services of the Federal Works Agency in Washington, has resigned that position and will join Northwest Airlines on January 1 as director, women's division, traffic, promotion and public relations.

Announcement of the appointment was made today by President Croil Hunter.

Her activities with NWA, Mr. Hunter said, will be devoted principally to stimulating interest among women in air travel and educating women's groups in the convenience and comfort offered by commercial aviation.

"This is an important work," Mr. Hunter asserted. "Promotional work among women's groups is a field which has been largely overlooked by the airlines.

"Surveys have indicated that women exert a significant influence on methods of transportation to be used by all types of travelers. By bringing to the attention of women the advantages of air travel, the commercial airlines industry can gain the support of an extremely important public element.

"With so many sons now in war flying, women are certain to have a new aviation-consciousness when these boys return. The job of helping to develop that interest among women everywhere holds a unique importance for the entire airline industry."

Can't help but wonder what Florence Kerr, if she is still with us, thinks about women in aviation today. I guess one could say she did her job well in 1945, since if she got on a commercial airliner today, chances are her Captain is a woman, the air traffic controller guiding her through the skies is a woman and women have already lived in the space station. Way to go, Florence!

Tongue in cheek Department . . .

2010-03-06T10:43:00.004-06:00

If we don't laugh, we'll cry!

Thanks to retired NWFA Bob DuBert for this great cartoon.

"Not Big Brother," NTSB says

2010-02-26T09:15:00.002-06:00

The hapless duo piloting NWA Flight 188 last fall . . . you remember, the flight that overshot MSP by 100 miles, can't seem to catch a break. Now the NTSB says it wants to monitor all cockpit conversation on all flights, citing this event as one of the reasons.

The pilots union is fighting it, as may be expected. Wonder how far they would have flown if a cabin attendant hadn't come knocking on the flight deck door, wondering when they were going to land?

It would be fun to get NWA Captain Deke DeLong's take on all of this. Check out the next NWA History Centre newsletter, Reflections, coming in March, telling of the day Deke overflew Fargo, N.D. more than 60 years ago. www.NWAhistory.org

Deke was a NWA pioneer and a real character. He learned to fly in France in WWI, barnstormed in the USA, started with NWA in 1928 and was Sr. Pilot for many years before retiring in 1959. Cap't DeLong died in 1964.

Scanned to the Skin

2010-02-11T11:09:00.002-06:00

KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul - Full-body scanners coming to MSP

Y'know, I'm not so worried about how each individual feels about being "scanned" to the "skin."

I'm more worried about the TSA people who have to look at each and every body. YUK! I think they should get hazard pay!

Yesterday I mentioned American Airlines new $8 fee for a blanket in flight (provided, of course, your flight is over two hours in duration) for coach passengers. Today American surpassed itself in the extra charges domain by announcing a $50 charge for flying "standby" (again, for coach passengers only.) Soon a first-class ticket will seem like a bargain compared to a coach ticket plus all the extra charges.

I'VE BEEN SCAMMED!!!

2010-02-09T14:05:00.005-06:00

No, this has nothing to do with airlines, past or present.

It started this morning. After my usual coffee stop, I ran into the credit union next door to hit the ATM for $60 cash. When the receipt came out, it showed a balance of $200 + change in my checking account.

I haven't had a checking account balance that low since I was a NWA stewardess in my twenties, when my monthly salary was $212.50.

I scurried back home to look at the bank statement I remembered receiving a few days ago.

Disclosure: I have been derelict in checking my bank statements every month. Until now, that is!!!

I found numerous charges previously unknown to me and vendors I've never heard of. After spending almost two hours on the phone to one vendor, who was unable to verify the charges, I decided my time would be better spent if I went directly to the credit union and talked with a real live person. Angie, short for Angela, (but I think it is really short for Angel,) patiently helped me go through all the debits to my account and highlight all the bogus ones. Turns out every one was an online charge using my credit union debit card! She then put me in touch with their fraud division, where I learned that more charges were occurring as we spoke. My checking account balance was now down to about 38 cents. My debit card number was promptly rendered kaput. The fraud division will proceed from here. I learned that I may be reimbursed for some, if not all, of the bogus charges (roughly $2500) once they have completed their investigation.

In the meantime, I have car insurance due in a week. Yikes! So I had to drain some cash from a C.D. to cover my checking account balance. And I needed spending money, too, as my debit card has been shredded and my new debit card won't arrive for a week to 10 days. That rules out the ATM!

Ladies and Gentlemen, hear my words! Check your checking account balance frequently! Don't wait for the monthly statement to come by mail. You can do it online or by phone, too!

You're going to need all the cash you can muster. Especially if you travel by air. American Airlines announced today that is is charging $8 for a pillow on all domestic coach flights over 2 hours plus all flights to Hawaii, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and Canada. Under 2 hours? No pillows, period.

I love an airline with a sense of humor!

2010-02-03T15:53:00.007-06:00

Since Northwest Airlines has disappeared, I'm casting about for a new one to adopt. Kulula has my vote!

Note: Double-click on each photo to enlarge.

This is Kulula, a domestic airline in South Africa. Don't you love the "big cheese" and the "loo?" Check out their company website https://www.kulula-air.com/default.aspx?parent=0 for more fun.

Note: Be sure to double-click on the photos so you can read the paint job!

NO MORE NWA.COM

2010-02-02T10:50:00.002-06:00

Well, it is over.

The last regularly scheduled NWA flight, No. 2470, departed Los Angeles International Airport for Las Vegas at 8:45 p.m. Saturday.

At 3 A.M Sunday, Northwest's web site began redirecting customers to Delta.

Check out some interesting NWA milestones attached.

For 84 years, it was a great ride!

"Deltification"?

2010-01-30T12:05:00.003-06:00

Glen Stubee, Star Tribune Company

According to Suzanne Ziegler, writing in the Saturday, January 30, 2010 Minneapolis Star Tribune, opening the new "Delta North" headquarters is one of the "final steps toward completing the "Deltafication" of Northwest after the Atlanta-based airline purchased Northwest in October 2008."

"Deltification." Hmmmm.

Bill Lentsch, Delta Air Lines senior vice president for Minnesota operations, and himself a former Northwest leader and employee, acknowledges that Delta has a challenge connecting the Delta brand and the Delta family to the community. He says, "The Northwest history is something that we're all proud of and and we're all fond of, but I think the excitement that comes along with being a part of the biggest and the greatest airline in the world is something that is just overwhelmingly positive and wipes all that other stuff away."

Delta has already "wiped away" all NWA branding from airports, and expects all NWA airplanes to be re-painted in Delta livery by the end of the first quarter. That is the end of March, 2010.

Well, Mr. Lentsch and Delta, you're not going to wipe my "stuff" away, and you're not going to wipe away all the "stuff" and the dedicated volunteers at the NWA History Centre in Bloomington, near the MSP airport.

Check it out at www.nwahistory.org.

Then c'mon out to the museum, where red tails can still be seen.

Commemorating 'Sully's' Extraordinary Feat, One Year Later

2010-01-16T13:29:00.004-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=tE_5eiYn0D0#t=109

Captain Sully Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 have been catapulted into national fame. They have become living legends. Neither pilot flies much anymore, now mostly flying desks, instead. What a shame. We need them "upstairs."

Illegal You Say? Sounds like fun to me!

2010-01-12T12:56:00.008-06:00

What we need around here is a slightly looney idea for a sunny winter day. Take our minds off mega-airlines and banks, for instance!

So a couple of Minnesota fellows complied with our wish. Hans Meyer, of Burnsville, and his buddy Mike Doherty, of LeSueur, Minn., wanted to go flying yesterday and were captivated by crystal clear views of the Minneapolis skyline. It was around Noon on Monday, January 10. Why not land on Lake Calhoun, park our airplanes on the ice and grab a bite to eat on Lake Street?

Why not, indeed?

When they returned from lunch, along came a couple of spoil sports from the Federal Aviation Administration led by a Minneapolis Parks police officer. Each pilot was issued a citation for not having a permit to land on Lake Calhoun. No federal flight rules were violated, but they bumped headlong into a city ordinance.

The moment of apprehension.

Park Police Capt. Robert Goodsell said that in many areas of the state, landing a plane on a lake is legal and common. "But for us, it causes alarm. The pilots didn't know we had ordinance against that", he said. "They were very apologetic." From the Minneapolis StarTribune, January 11, 2010. Photos by Jennifer Simonson, StarTribune.

It's in the Bag. . . the profit, that is!

2010-01-12T12:05:00.006-06:00

We read today that Delta, the biggest airline in the world, has again hitched up the fees for checked luggage.

Well folks, it is our own fault. If we were willing to pay more for our tickets, there would be no need for fees. The irony is, however, that once imposed, additional fees rarely go away. So even if they hike up the price of tickets, we'll still pay extra for checked bags, aisle seats, etc., etc. You know who invented this cash cow?

You betcha! The Banks.

Our banks/investment houses/big borrowers of taxpayer funds/big bonus bottomfeeders/con artists, invented the whole fee thing. If you remember the golden age of passenger flight, you probably remember a time when banks were solid members of the community. They lent money to members of the community for fixed-rate mortgages, which they held for the duration of the loan. The money they lent to homeowners came from the deposits we made into our savings and checking accounts and the certificates of deposit we purchased. Banks kept a very low profile. Little advertising. The only competition was between Savings & Loan institutions, who hoped toasters and sets of dishes would snag new depositors.

One day they looked askance at their profit margins and cast about for ideas on how to improve them. The bank card was born. This was a time when debt was considered a good thing. Leverage, they called it. We were allowed to deduct bank card interest from our income taxes. Spend, spend, spend, the theory went, and the Me, Me, Me generation fell for it hook, line and sinker. Oh, and at the same time the value of our homes started going through the roof. Home equity became our personal banker. Borrow more, spend more, the value of your home will only go up. That old "leverage" again.

We're still dealing with the fallout.

Maybe if we get rid of all of our excess "stuff" we won't have so much to fill our suitcases with. We could even maybe get by with just a carry-on. Be prepared, however. If we do that, sure as shootin' a "fee" for carry-ons will magically appear. Profit margins, you know.

Museum lives on to remember NWA | Minnesota Public Radio NewsQ

2010-01-02T14:09:00.001-06:00

Museum lives on to remember NWA | Minnesota Public Radio NewsQ

It's Over. Northwest Airlines is no more

2010-01-01T10:22:00.006-06:00

A bittersweet New Year dawns as Northwest Airlines is fully absorbed into Delta Air Lines effective today. The FAA has determined that Delta has fully complied with all conditions it placed on the acquisition and issued a "single operating certificate" effective January 1, 2010. A few terse lines from Investors Business Daily tell the story.

A glance at a time line of the merger illustrates how quickly this all happened. Step by irretrievable step, an 84 year old airline with a rich history has disappeared.

But has it really?

The volunteers who operate the NWA History Centre don't think so, as they continue their work to archive and display Northwest Airlines artifacts at their museum in Bloomington, Minnesota and tell fascinating stories of the venerable old airline in their quarterly newsletter, Reflections.

Lady Skywriter doesn't think so, as she continues to blog about the golden era of passenger flight and Northwest Orient Airlines lore.

And I'll bet there are thousands of people out there with ties to their "hometown airline" who will miss seeing the signature red tail flying overhead.

Help preserve the memories. Have a story to tell? Please share it.

NWA Flight 188 Was Not The First Time a NWA Crew Overflew Their Destination !

2009-12-20T11:04:00.006-06:00

People - you are not going to believe this. Information has recently come to light that the same thing happened in 1948. Of course, laptops were not the culprit then - it was the Minneapolis Sunday newspaper!

Bob Johnson, NWA historian and author of the book Voices From The Sky ~ Little-Known and Long-Forgotten Stories About Northwest Airlines' Earlier Years, recently shared this fun fact with me. I have sent a request for more information to Bob Chemick, retired NWA Sales Executive. Chemick was the NWA transportation agent in Fargo, N.D. in 1948, site of the incident, who shared his eye-witness account with Bob Johnson. I am hoping to hear confirmation of this tale from Bob Chemick soon, hopefully with some additional details.

Until then, this is what I know:

On a beautiful sunny day in 1948, a shiny new Martin 2-0-2 was put into service on the MSP-Fargo route, replacing the slower Douglas DC-3. A large crowd of people and the press were waiting on the tarmac to celebrate the arrival of the new Martin 2-0-2. The appointed arrival time came and went. Nothing happened. Folks were scanning the skies as they waited. Finally it appeared, approaching the airport from the North. L. S. (Deke) DeLong, even then a NWA legend, was captain. When asked what happened, Deke later said, "I forgot I wasn't in a DC-3. We were reading the Sunday papers and we got there before we knew it." (As earlier noted, the DC-3 was slower than the new Martin 2-0-2.)

Deke died in 1964. Wouldn't you love to have the chance to ask him what he thought about NWA #188 pilots saying they overflew MSP because they were using their laptops? In 1948, reading the newspaper proved equally as distracting, but the long-forgotten Fargo flyover brought good-natured ribbing then, and brings chuckles today. A far cry from the potentially career-ending transgressions by NWA #188 pilots that continue to dominate aviation news month after month in 2009.

It was a kinder, gentler, time.

Bob Johnson's book Voices From The Sky is available at the NWA History Centre, 8101 34th Avenue South, Bloomington, MN 55425. 952-698-4478 www.nwahistory.0rg

In the 1950s, passengers flew the skies in style | Minnesota Public Radio NewsQ

2009-12-16T19:46:00.000-06:00

In the 1950s, passengers flew the skies in style | Minnesota Public Radio NewsQ

Joe Koskovich Has Flown West

2009-12-14T09:33:00.006-06:00

Joe Koskovich, Boeing Stratocruiser captain, on Feb. 7, 2009 at the

Fujiyama Trayx & Oshibori Towels book launch at the NWA History Centre.

He flew 38 years and accrued over 30,000 hours. Joe Koskovich, veteran Northwest Airlines captain, died in Shakopee, MN on Saturday, December 12, 2009 at the age of 89. Funeral arrangements are pending.

I was delighted that Joe attended my book launch at the NWA History Centre last February. He flew the last inbound flight of the Boeing Stratocruiser from New York to MSP in September, 1960. As you may imagine, Joe was full of wonderful stories. And the first thing anybody says about Joe is what a nice guy he was.

My favorite Joe Koskovich story is the one he told about "Wing Walker Nancy." In Joe's own words:

"It was the late 1950s, a DC-6B to New York from the old Minneapolis terminal. It was a night trip. I suppose about 9 o"clock. We had a new stewardess on board, I think it was her first trip. There were three on board and I don't know why the other two didn't override her. Anyway, we went to fire up the engines and I started three and four. They used to backfire sometimes, they'd belch flame out the exhaust. Occasionally you'd get what's called a stack fire, too much fuel in the exhaust system. It would burn off and there'd be a big flame coming out the back.

Well, this stewardess thought the airplane was on fire. I had three and four going and I'm looking down at the guy on the ground and as I started number two he gave me the chop sign. About this time one of the other stewardesses comes up and says, 'We've got a problem.' I told my co-pilot to see what's going on. He says, 'Look out the window.' I turned around and there's three or four people standing out on the wing with their shoes off. If they'd fallen off it would have been eight feet at least. She'd opened the left side emergency door and sent them out there. She thought the airplane was on fire.

She came up front to apologize when we were aloft. I guess she thought she was going to get chewed out. I smiled and said 'What were you trying to do, tip over my airplane?'"

(See more Joe Koskovich stories in the chapter "Joe Koskovich Remembers" in Voices From The Sky, Little-Known and Long-Forgotten Stories about Northwest Airlines Earlier Years by Bob Johnson. Available at the NWA History Centre.)

Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave . . .

2009-12-10T10:44:00.010-06:00

Flight 188 and its consequences just won't go away. Now we learn that it is highly probable the pilots were tuned in to the wrong frequency and were dialed into Canadian Air Traffic Control instead of the good 'ol USA, which would help us understand (sort of) their failure to respond to repeated attempts to contact them.

Just like that, it becomes an "international incident."

The FAA claims it did not have this information before releasing its findings earlier this month.

Meantime, the pilots have named Air Traffic Control as a "contributing factor" in their failure to land, as scheduled, in Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Hmmm. Are they saying USA Air Traffic Control or Canadian Air Traffic Control is to blame, I wonder.

See - it just gets confusinger and confusinger.

Will this saga ever wind down?

Detroit Woman Gives Northwest Airlines The Knee

2009-12-08T15:08:00.005-06:00

It had to happen. I was kind of expecting the first lawsuit over impossibly small airplanes and seats to be a head injury. You know, when you crack your head against the overhead bin when you try to stand up to exit your row. It has to have happened to you if you are over 5 ft. tall

But no. The first federal lawsuit to be filed against an airline for injuries sustained during the excruciating task of getting into and out of your airplane seat involves a knee. I'll bet she also hit her head during her attempt to negotiate the hurdle. Speaking of which, it would help to be a world-class hurdler in this situation, wouldn't it?

Kathy Kuhn of suburban Detroit was attempting to land in a middle coach seat. You could say she should know better, but lets be honest. Most of us have tried this maneuver at one time or another. Some successfully, some not. In Kathy's case, she couldn't get the armrest to go away. Her knee and the armrest tangled. Kathy lost.

She was on her way to Las Vegas with her husband, who says she was on crutches the whole time they were there. I hope her injury at least got her some sympathy at the blackjack table.

You knew this was coming next . . . Now if it was 50 years ago and Kathy was boarding a Boeing B-377 Stratocruiser . . . she not only wouldn't have had a middle seat to contend with, both she and her husband could have shared one of those huge, soft, cushy Stratocruiser seats and had room to spare.

Well . . . almost.

The Day Airline President Donald Nyrop Tended Bar on a Boeing Stratocruiser

2009-11-23T08:57:00.005-06:00

Donald Nyrop enjoys telling the following story on himself. I was reminded of it when I read that effective December 1, 2009, Delta, the biggest airline in the world and adoptive parent of Northwest Airlines; will no longer accept cash on its domestic flights. Instead, flight attendants will be equipped with credit card scanners. Yup - you will have to pay for your drinks and (pardon the expression) food with your credit card. Just when we are all experimenting with the concept of leaving the credit card at home in an attempt to pare down that unseemly balance.

I won't dwell further on the implications of credit card swiping aloft. Suffice it to say, "Don't Leave Home Without It!"

So . . . back to the day in the 1950s when busy Northwest Airlines President Donald Nyrop had pre-boarded a NWA flight in Washington D.C. for his return to his office in St. Paul, and discovered there would be a delay. It seems one of the flight attendants had become ill and Nyrop's flight would have to wait for another flight to arrive with a substitute. Mr. Nyrop asked the senior stewardess what would be required of the substitute. When he learned that they needed someone to man the Boeing Stratocruiser's lower level cocktail lounge as bartender, he declared, "I can do that! Lets get this flight off the ground."

Mr. Nyrop received a quick course in airplane bartending. The miniature bottles are kept here, water and mix are here, ice is here, and here's where you put the money. In those days, and I have an old beverage list to prove it, Haig & Haig and Johnny Walker Black Label were $1.00; as were Walker's Deluxe, I.W. Harper, Canadian Club, Seagram's VO and Gordon's gin. Martinis and manhattans were 75 cents, and B&B or Drambuie were $1.50. Go ahead - cry!

It seems Mr. Nyrop did a super job. And the passengers loved it, the word having spread through the main cabin that "the president of the airline is serving drinks downstairs." There was a steady stream of curious passengers up and down those spiral stairs.

Back in his office a couple of weeks later, Mr. Nyrop received a memo from the accounting department that his "bank," from working the flight, was $1.00 short, and he would need to make restitution. Nyrop was mortified. He invited his Chief Accountant and the bewildered clerk who had sent the memo out to lunch, where he paid back the $1.00 he was short.

FAA Computer Glitch Hampers Air Travel . . .

2009-11-21T12:28:00.009-06:00

Good grief. Computers again. We're just recovering from the NWA flyover last month, purportedly caused by pilots glued to their laptops instead of making a scheduled landing at MSP.

Now this last Thursday, November 19, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) computer system crashed, failing to upload flight plans all over the NorthEast.

Apparently Atlanta was hit hardest. Atlanta. Home of Delta, the largest airline in the world, and adoptive parent of Northwest Airlines.

I am happy to report that Northwest Airlines, with most of its hubs in the midwest and west, scored 88% on-time flights last Thursday compared with Delta's 56%.

At least it wasn't Thursday THIS week. The Thanksgiving holiday is the heaviest travel time of the year.

I wonder what it will take to get anybody's attention in the halls of Congress and the White House. For years the FAA's antiquated computer system has been an issue.

Oh, I forgot. The U.S. Senate is too busy voting on whether to even consider debating the health care bill and the President is too Far East to be paying attention. And then there's Sarah . . . and Oprah . . . clearly there's just too much other, more important, stuff going on right now.

What, and give up my Tokyo run?

2009-11-15T11:44:00.011-06:00

Yes she did. Phyllis Tack & Charles Curry were wed in 1948

And they stayed "wed" for 55 years until Charles death

Phyllis Curry today with her prized NWA DC-3 model

Phyllis grew up at 51st and 11th Avenue, Minneapolis. She had three brothers, one a Navy pilot. Both her son and daughter are pilots. Charlie has been with Northwest for 25 years and plans to work another five years before retiring. Janet worked for Champion, which unfortunately folded.

Speaking of the DC-3, Phyllis chuckles when she recalls how she and the other stews felt when the airline announced it was buying DC-4s. They would be expected to serve a meal to 44 passengers between MSP and Milwaukee. "There's no way that two stewardesses can serve 44 passengers in one hour and forty minutes," the ladies fretted.

Of course they discovered a "way" and their successors have been figuring out how to cope with each new bigger and better airplane put into service, carrying more and more passengers, ever since.

Thanks to you and other pioneers, Phyllis, we've come a long way!

Shemya to Tokyo on a DC-4 in 1947

2009-11-12T09:02:00.005-06:00

Douglas DC-4 on the ground in Tokyo

The Shemya to Tokyo leg of the trip left Shemya at midnight. As previously mentioned, Phyllis says it was an adventure trudging through wind-whipped snow to the airplane, which was parked about a city block away from the terminal. Passengers were mostly wives and children of the occupational forces, joining their spouses in Japan. "There were more baby bottles than refrigeration to store them," Phyllis says. "We had to move them in and out of the little tin ice box to give each bottle equal refrigeration time."

Phyllis Curry with her small Japanese friends.

On layover in Tokyo, the crews stayed at a Staff House, which afforded full food service as well as sleeping accommodations. Shopping was an experience. Vendors set up card tables in a row in front of their bombed-out shops and encouraged Phyllis and her crew members to come further down the line for a "better deal." Phyllis spent some of her free time with local children, helping them make the best of their war-torn surroundings.

Japanese kids playing in rubble left from WWII

All photos are from Phyllis Curry's collection

Phyllis met her future husband, Charles Curry, flying the Orient. They had three trips together. It was a two week trip, so the crews flew only one per month, then added one domestic trip per month to accrue enough hours.

After their third trip together Charles broke his ankle skiing and when she visited him in the hospital he said, "Would you like to get married and go with me to Miami?"

Phyllis answered, "What, and give up my Tokyo run??"

What happened next? Stay tuned for next post . . .

Before we leave Shemya . . .

2009-11-07T09:56:00.008-06:00

Phyllis Tack Curry ready to do some wash.

If you're having trouble reading the sign over the door, please allow me:

It says, "Home for Wayward Girls."

Can you imagine that sign being over the door today? I'm also wondering how many of you remember the brand of soap Phyllis is holding in her hands? Lux soap was highly visible when I was a kid. Don't remember the last time I saw it on a grocery shelf. I have searched the web for Lux soap flakes to no avail. There is still a Lux brand, but it appears that today they only produce bar and liquid soaps. There are Lux flakes ads for sale on the net featuring royalty, high level politicians and Hollywood actresses. Fun to see. There is even an unopened box of Lux flakes for sale for a mere $28.00. Reminds me of the time I saw a bottle of Mrs. Stewart's Bluing in an antique store. An antique store. I couldn't believe it. It seems only yesterday that I used Mrs. Stewarts. Okay, okay, at the time we still had a wringer on the washing machine and a washboard in the laundry tub and a mangle to "iron" sheets and tablecloths. Iron sheets you ask? Youbetcha! I think I belong in an antique store!

But I digress.

Back to 1947 and Flight 1 to the Orient, Shemya to Tokyo, next post.

Layovers in Shemya with Phyllis Tack Curry

2009-11-05T10:10:00.011-06:00

Shemya 1947

Quonset "Hotel" on Shemya

Phyllis Tack was her maiden name. Her father took the family out to Wold Chamberlain Field in Minneapolis to watch the airplanes when she was a kid. He thought the Ford Trimotor was "the greatest thing." One day when she was about 14 years old, she saw the door open and a stewardess hand some papers out. She decided then and there that that was what she wanted to be when she grew up. She and a friend rode their bikes to the airport and went in the coffee shop looking for a stewardess. Phyllis wanted to stand next to one to find out if she was "too tall."

When she was 19 she went to the NWA offices at the airport looking for a job. She talked to the legendary Rosie Stein, the Chief Stewardess. Phyllis says Rosie put her arms around her and said "you go back home and wait until you are 21. In the meantime, get all the education and social experience you can." Phyllis was devastated. "I wanted it so bad," she says.

Did she dream that just a few years later she would be spending layovers in the far North on a remote Aleutian Island?

The crew accomodations in Shemya were quonset huts. The stews shared a little sitting room and each girl had her own bedroom. The purser, pilots, flight mechanic, navigator and radio operator were in other "hotel rooms." The weather was often so bad a bus had to pick them up at their huts and run them to the mess hall for meals. Phyllis complained, "and they always parked the DC-4 about a block away from the shack." (Shack in Shemya-speak meant the terminal building.) As she lunged into the weather, fighting her way through the brutal winds and stinging snow towards the airplane, Phyllis wondered if her mother would still consider this a glamour job "if she could see me now."

Next post: Rested crews press on to Tokyo.