I was traveling last week and going through airport hell with all the dread that 9-11 gave us. On my return I was talking to a good friend who brought up the old days of traveling when when we were kids. You have to admit traveling in today's times is pretty miserable. The airlines have thrown in the towel on service, and watching 80 year old senior citizens getting strip searched in a wheel chair is really the limit for me. What was it like back in the good old days? I remember having to "dress up" for the airport, there was nobody in shorts and a T-shirt traveling. The majority of air travelers were male business men. Women were seen on planes with the family during the early to mid 1960's. For a while flight attendants (then known as stewardesses) work some skimpy outfits to please those guys with the brief cases! It was not uncommon for airports to have a vending machine selling life insurance just in case the plane crashed! Mutual of Omaha made a fortune installing those kiosks. Prices for a ticket were regulated and very expensive, so the only way for airlines to compete was to offer the best service. Those days are total history folks. Remember the great lunches and endless snacks on coach flights? I remember opening the little ash tray by my seat & seeing Lucky Strikes smashed in there. The ability to smoke on a plane was part of the fabric of flying. The security? NONE. Honestly, I remember walking on the plane to say goodbye and I did not even have a ticket! There were not too many shops at the airport (hardly any)....just a news stand and a small breakfast-lunch diner. On the return back to Stumptown, everyone was there at the gate to greet you and walk to the baggage claim. Long term parking was not even a thought, you parked at the terminal. I remember some parking places right up front. Back then travel was exciting & something to look forward to. Today it is a nightmare. I still dress up for a flight, you won't catch me in shorts and a back pack, wearing a baseball hat backwards. My Dad's favorite airline was "WESTERN" "The onlyyyyyy wayyyy to fly" (a line trademarked by Barney Keep who was the voice for Western)....TWA were the big boys for a long trip, and kids loved that airline because it was the Beatles choice for travel. Great times...Wonderful Memories.
This was your best post to date.
Posted by: steve | June 05, 2009 at 07:51 AM
I never knew that about Sweet Lovable Ol' Barn! Cool!
Posted by: Don from Salem | June 05, 2009 at 10:40 AM
How about this one. United-Western and others had retail ticket offices all over town. Remember taking a number and waiting for a clerk?
Posted by: Wally B | June 05, 2009 at 10:51 AM
This is your best historic post yet! Great pictures. Those were the days....
Posted by: Vector | June 05, 2009 at 11:37 AM
I remember the mail level (photo) and the parking right in front. I agree, this blog brought back special moments when family and friends arrived and said goodbye. Today we are all treated like criminals in our own airport.
Posted by: Sharon | June 05, 2009 at 03:52 PM
TWA were the big boys for a long trip, and kids loved that airline because it was the Beatles choice for travel. Great times...Wonderful Memories.
As you might know, my love of flying goes back to the time of the DC-3, the wonderful workhorse of an airplane that is still being flown now for nearly 65 years.
As a kid in Medford, Oregon, I knew then I wanted to fly, what really pushed it, was a trip from Medford, up to Roseburg, My aunt paid for a ticket an I asked..."can I see the cockpit?"
The ticket agent was only to happy to say "YES!"
The door to cockpit was open ,and the co-pilot came back and escorted me in.
The captain was "William Appel" ...He was everything I wanted to be, he had eyes that were clearly focused on the airplane, all business, and yet still answered my questions.
The airline was "WEST COAST AIRLINES"...I was barely 8 years old, that was 1954,it seems like yesterday,and I did learn to fly, and Captain Appel..I can still see his hands on the throttles, adjusting them, and how blue the sky was...GREAT MEMORIES!
Posted by: Jack Peek | June 06, 2009 at 04:41 AM
Mr. Stump: You are a valued friend...THANK'S FOR BEING HERE.
Posted by: Jack Peek | June 06, 2009 at 04:43 AM