1954 United Convair Promo Film - A wonderful slice of Mid-Fifties Culture

Bob DuBert sent the following email:

"Posted on YouTube earlier this week is "The Sky is For Everyone", a beautifully produced promo film by United for the Convair 340.

Lady Skywriter notes: Set aside a half hour to watch this wonderful snapshot of the 1950s on full screen. See what passengers wore on the airplane: mink scarves draped on the women, who also wore small hats with veils, gloves and high heels. Notice the men in three-piece suits and the automobiles of the day. In addition to the Convair 340, catch a glimpse of a Boeing B-377 Stratocruiser and a Douglas DC-6. And appreciate the film itself - the majestic announcer and the background music.

Bob continues: "If Northwest had bought Convairs instead of those junkpile Martins, there would have been no crashes, no financial crisis, no Harold Harris. Just think how different the company history might have been! Of course, then Croil Hunter might have remained president a few more years, Donald Nyrop might have stayed in his law practice, and who knows what might have happened as the 1950s transitioned into the Sixties.

"North Central, of course, bought Convairs, both the 340 and 440, subsequently re-engined to 580 specs., which eventually lived happily at Northwest for a few years."

Lady Skywriter notes: One reason given for Northwest being the only major airline world-wide to purchase a fleet of 25 Martin 202s, was that Martin was able to deliver them months earlier than the Convairs would be available, thus giving Northwest a competitive edge. This decision proved disastrous, as outlined in the December, 2013 REFLECTIONS, NWA History Centre newsletter.

Bob DuBert in a later email:  "In some ways, aircraft decisions are a crap shoot.  Nyrop ordered the Lockheed Electra, and the Tell City crash could have crippled the company . . . more recently, Northwest was the launch customer for the 787, which Delta cancelled, a decision which turned out to be very smart in light of the major losses incurred by United after that plane was grounded for months. You just never know how things are going to turn out."

Howie Wing Gallery

In my last post, I tell how former Northwest Airlines stewardess Helen Jacobson Richardson is key to my discovery of Howie Wing.

To recap, for one year prior to joining Northwest Airlines, Helen flew for United Airlines.

Helen Jacobson at work for United Airlines, 1938-1939

In January, 1939, Kellogg promoted Howie Wing by arranging the first radio broadcast from an airplane.  Here Helen Jacobson is making sure Bill Janney, who played the part of "Howie", sound effects man Alexander Binnie and actor Robert Strauss are comfortable.

Helen's experience set me on a hunt for information about Howie Wing. Who was he? Please note: This will not be  the whole delicious story of Howie Wing and Kathy and Jim Hanmel's discovery of long-lost episodes of Howie Wing, A Saga of Aviation radio shows.  For the whole story, please read Kathy's 3-part report of 2005 and her follow up report in June 2007 in Radio Recall, the journal of the Metropolitan Washington Old Time Radio Club.

"The airplane had greater impact upon our popular culture after the sky battles of WW-I over Europe. The Howie Wing Radio Program was created by Wilfred G. Moore and aired from 1938 to 1939. Wing was a 21-year-old "junior pilot" whose adventures were typical for aviator fiction of the time. He was taught by Captain Harvey, a WW-I ace. Howie's girlfriend was Donna Cavendish. A fellow pilot was Zero Smith, one of the best "tough weather pilots" but cranky, devious, and generally disagreeable, and often suspected of working for the Germans. The villain of the show was Burton York, who posed as an insurance agent to discredit Captain Harvey." wingnut.org

Following is a sampling of tidbits I have enjoyed thanks to the research of Kathy Hammel and her team, who so graciously have shared them with me, and now I share them with you!

When young listeners sent in their two circle K box tops and a nickel, they received the Cadet Aviation Corps handbook, pilot wings and an official membership certificate with their name neatly typed on it. Kathy Hammel

Included in the handbook are these handsome profiles of an "air stewardess" and commercial pilot: Note: click on the pages for easier reading.

Before long other airlines got into the act:

Thank you Kathy for opening up the whole new world (to Lady Skywriter) of old time radio!

l-r Kathy Hammel, Jerry Haendiges, and Kathy's husband  Jim, in Jerry's recording studio
 Jerry digitized and cleaned up the recordings Kathy and Jim found so that they sounded brand new.
 Jerry has a pretty extensive website at http://www.otrsite.com/radiolog/

Last but not least, Click here to listen  to episodes of Howie Wing, A Saga of Aviation. Note: I suggest you may find it easier to listen to individual episodes, listed below the collection.

Howie Wing, A Saga of Aviation

"Howie Wing, A Saga of Aviation," was a children's radio serial about a young pilot and friends who foiled spies and smugglers with some fancy flying. Written by Captain Willfred Gibbs Moore, a flying reservist who served as a pilot in WWI,  Howie Wing was considered authentic and educational."  
From  Kellogg's and Howie Wing, by Kathy Hammel, Radio Recall, June 2007, the journal of the Metropolitan Washington Old-Time Radio Club.

Earlier this year, in my tribute to Helen Jacobson Richardson, I mentioned having seen a newspaper clipping at Helen's memorial about the first dramatic broadcast in radio history made from an airplane, "Howie Wing, a Saga of Aviation." Helen was the stewardess. Below she is pictured with (l-r) Bill Janney, who played the part of "Howie", sound effects man Alexander Binnie and actor Robert Strauss on an unspecified United Airlines airplane,  January 20, 1939.

Minneapolis Star, January 20, 1939, courtesy Mary Jo Nelson, Helen Richardson's daughter

I visited the NWA History Centre and the Minnesota Historical Society, searching their Northwest archives for news of this flight.  No luck.  I entreated Helen Jacobson Richardson's children to search for the newspaper clipping I had seen at her memorial, still assuming that she was working for Northwest at the time of the flight.  Mary Jo Nelson came up with the photo above and sent it to me. The photo's caption reminded me that Helen had flown for United before joining Northwest that same year, 1939.  No wonder there was no mention in Northwest Airlines archives anywhere.  The clipping Mary Jo sent me had no source or date.  I took it back to the Minnesota Historical Society to their Gale Family Library newspaper collection and found the above clipping in The Minneapolis Star, Jan. 20, 1939.

In the process Lady Skywriter became enamored of Howie Wing, and set out to find out more about him. I discovered a wonderful resource for old radio shows, The Metropolitan Washington Old-Timer Radio Club. I requested information about Howie Wing, and was put in touch with Jack French, editor of Radio Recall, the organization's newsletter.  He, in turn, referred me to Kathy Hammel, their Howie Wing expert.  Kathy responded immediately and began educating me on Howie Wing.

Stay tuned to learn more about Howie Wing, A Saga of Aviation.

Helen Jacobson Richardson Loved Northwest Airlines!

Courtesy, Minnesota Historical Society

Among many artifacts Richardson donated to the Minnesota Historical Society is the "gum caddy" that Helen used to pass gum to passengers to alleviate pressure-popping in their ears.

Helen Jacobson Richardson died January 6 at Friendship Village in Bloomington Minn.  She was 99 years old.  She was the third stewardess hired by Northwest Airlines in 1939. All registered nurses, the first two, in order, were Dorothy Stumph and Virginia Johnson. Helen brought additional experience to Northwest, having already flown for United Airlines for a year, and surviving an airplane crash in the process. 

Helen began her career in the air on a dare from her friend, Bob Richardson, a medical intern at St. Paul Bethesda Hospital, where Helen was a nurse.  Helen surprised Bob and her family when she took him up on it, flying for United for a year before home-town Northwest began hiring. Bob and Helen kept in touch and eventually married in early 1942, which meant Helen was done flying.  Married stewardesses were not allowed. ("I know," Lady Skywriter groans, "the same thing happened to me in 1960!") 

After Helen's memorial service at Fort Snelling Chapel, friends and family gathered at the Officer's club. It was nice to meet Helen' kids and peruse a table of mementos. I became distracted by the sight of two uniformed Northwest and Delta flight attendants in attendance and I raced over to them to ask the obvious . . . how did you know Helen?

Wayne Snyder, Denise Martin, Anne Kerr, Marsha Martin, Jerry Nielsen
Wayne and Jerry serve on the NWA History Centre Board.

It seems Helen was a passenger on a flight of Denise's in 2006.  She sat in an aisle seat and they talked from time-to-time.  Helen shared the story of her early flying days with Denise, and when she deplaned Denise said, "Helen pressed a piece of paper in my hand with her phone number on it." She said, "I'd like to continue this conversation." And they did.

Denise called her sister Marsha, also a NWA flight attendant, and they visited back and forth with Helen. Then one day Denise was asked to work a demonstration flight on an A-380 that Airbus was bringing in to MSP, hoping Northwest would buy for their fleet.  Denise got the idea to invite Helen to come along to see this huge new aircraft.  She went to her boss at the airline, telling Helen's story, and a ticket for Helen was obtained. Although Helen declined to go on the flight, she had a great time visiting the airport, meeting then-NWA President Doug Steenland and various other dignitaries, and enjoyed sharing the limelight.

Marsha Martin retired from NWA just before the Delta merger, and Denise is still flying. They came to Helen's service to pay tribute to a special friend.

Remember that table of mementos I mentioned earlier?  On it I saw a newspaper clipping about a flight Helen worked for United in January, 1939, before she joined Northwest.  The clipping referred to the first radio broadcast from an airplane. WCCO and "Howie Wing" were mentioned.  This clipping has opened up a whole new world for Lady Skywriter. Stay tuned for news on this in a future blog.  Although she has left us, Helen continues to bless us.