Tonight's The Night! NWA History Centre on Public Television

Norm Midthun and Red Sutter being filmed for "Lost Twin Cities 4"

A reminder....

Lost Twin Cities 4 will premiere tonight, Wednesday, August 13th at 8:00 pm on tpt Channel 2. It will feature a segment about NWA in the 1950’s – the “luxurious” days of flying, 

and how it transitioned into the jet-age of the l960’s and early 1970’s.  It will be a pledge show—which means it is scheduled in a 2 hour block to accommodate pledges.

Telling the history of NWA and sharing their memories:

Jack El-Hai, Author:  “Non – Stop”  a Turbulent History of Northwest Airlines

Retired stewardesses:  Anne B. Kerr and Fay Kulenkamp 

Retired pilots:  Homer “Red” Sutter and Norm Midthun

The Northwest Airlines segment of Lost Twin Cities 4 was filmed, by Twin Cities Public Television, at the NWA History Centre.

Currently scheduled airdates:

tpt Channel 2:

   Wednesday, August 13th at 8:00 pm

   Saturday, August 16th at 7:00 pm

   Sunday, August 17th at 2:00 pm

tpt LIFE:

    Sunday, August 17th at 8:00 pm

For any additional airdates and times, please check your local listings.

As promised, here is video of Boeing 377 Stratocruiser Giant RC Model in Flight

You can still find a Northwest Airlines B-377 Stratocruiser in the most surprising places . . .

Lady Skywriter with NWA B-377 Stratocruiser   photo by John Billingsley

. . . I found this one yesterday on a farm near Owatonna, Minnesota!  Not only is it beautiful to the eye (that Northwest livery was the best!) but it also flew beautifully at the behest of its new owner, Jeff Quesenberry of Apple Valley, MN, who greased its landing to a huge round of applause.

All this took place yesterday at the 10th Anniversary gathering of SMMAC, Southern Minnesota Model Aircraft Club. There was every type and size of radio control aircraft on display and flying in demonstration flights. WW I and WW II dogfights, commercial airliners, military jets and the biggest R.C. model J-3 Cub I've ever seen.

There will be another huge regional show of Warbirds and Classics at Fond du Lac Wisconsin next weekend, August 15, 16 and 17.

This gorgeous giant scale NWA Boeing Stratocruiser with a wingspan of 15 ft. will be there, as will Carl Bachhuber, the talented man who designed and built her and dozens of his other "favorite airplanes." 

If you can't make it to Fond du Lac, see my next post to enjoy video of NWA Ship 704 in flight.

Cockpit Chronicles: Behind the scenes with a flight attendant — Crew Meals

Well, this woke me up this morning!  Can anybody tell me what aircraft this is?

My first impressions are of the flight attendant.  Can't help noticing the very long straight hair, hanging freely to the middle of her back, wisps hanging nearly into the food!  The sunglasses perched on the top of her head.  The earrings.

All grounds for dismissal back in the 1950s.  We must have been very boring back then.

It was also amazing to me that both the captain and first officer had their laps full of food trays at the same time.

The size of the galley is a wonder.  And we thought the Boeing Stratocruiser had a large galley!  They do have lots more to do than we did, and I'm sure in half the time!

It's a real education to see what goes on behind the scenes on today's flights.

Lost Twin Cities 4 Preview

TPT-2 Lost Twin Cities IV, featuring Northwest Airlines, will premier Wednesday, August 13 at 8 p.m.

Fay Kulenkamp and Anne (Lady Skywriter) Kerr being interviewed.

Way back in April, as we filmed this segment about Northwest Airlines at the NWA History Centre, we were told it would probably air in August.  That seemed such a long wait.
And in the flash of an eye, here it is upon us.
Those of us who were interviewed have no idea if we will be included in the production or wind up on the cutting room floor.  We will discover the content right along with the rest of you.
For more information, check out my post of April 21, 2014

Northwest Airlines: Remembered and Celebrated

Bruce Kitt stars in this week's segment of Bloomington Today, a City of Bloomington, MN cable network feature about the NWA History Centre.  Good job, Bruce!

Happy July 4th, everyone!

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."

NWA Systems Operations Control, Segment 2 October, 1996

NWA Systems Operations Control, Segment 1 October, 1996

Thanks to Bob DuBert for alerting me to this. A fond look-back at a great airline! Watch for Segment 2, tomorrow!

D-Day Pilot Dick Brown Remembers . . .

l-r Dick Brown and Joe Farrell with their Martin B-26 Marauder bomber
Photo courtesy Richard Brown

June 6, 1944, retired Northwest Airlines Captain Dick Brown participated in the D-Day invasion, a significant turning point for Allied forces in WW II.

Today, 70 years later, his memory of that day is crystal clear.

"We knew something was up," Dick said.  "We heard this huge racket around midnight.  We all ran outside and looked up.  The sky was full of C-47's (DC-3's) towing gliders.  We went back to bed. A couple of hours later they woke us up again and by 5 a.m. we were taking off from our base in England in lousy weather - 500 ft. ceiling and raining.  We had to form up under the clouds, then climbed up in formation to on top, which was about 11,000 ft.  During climb we lost two aircraft when the leader made a turn, they lost sight of us and crashed into each other.  When we came out on top it was daylight, so we tried to regroup and join with other aircraft. Over the channel we found a hole in the clouds and descended down to 1500 ft. to get under the cloud layer. The channel was full of ships as far as we could see. We headed for our target on Utah Beach and we could see landing craft about 1/4 mile off shore. I felt sorry for them because they would be digging a foxhole in the sand while I would be back in my bunk on dry land.  We got shot at by ground fire but didn't lose any aircraft over the target so we headed home."

Dick's bomb group moved to southern England in July and then to Normandy in August to an air field just inland from Omaha Beach.   "I had two crash landings, but both times the whole crew survived them.  Had the nose shot off twice, and at least three times they counted over 100 holes from flak," Dick recalls.

He flew 66 missions, the last on September 12, 1944.

"I arrived back in the states in October, 1944, and after some R&R at home I spent the winter towing targets for B-24's out of Harlingen Texas. There were seven W.A.S.P.'s in the outfit and they were great pilots," he said.
"I was discharged in May, 1945 at Fort Snelling and went over to Northwest Airlines to apply for a pilot job. They told me it would be a couple of months and I got a call from them in August."

Thus began his 36-year career  as an airline pilot. Dick started in the DC-3 and spent the last seven years of his NWA career flying the Boeing 747.  Along the way he flew, and thankfully survived, the ill-fated Martin 202, which was Martin's attempt to capture the commercial aviation market after WW II.  Note: The Martin B-26 Marauder bomber Dick flew during the war was the precursor to the 202.

Dick Brown today - full of vim, vigor (and stories)  at 92 years of age.
Photo Anne Kerr

Oh yes. Joe Farrell (photo on top of page) and Dick were reunited at Northwest Airlines a year after they returned from the war. Dick was hired a month before Joe, so he was senior to him, which provided endless ribbing over the years.  Joe Farrell died in 2005. Stay tuned for more Dick Brown stories in future posts.

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.

Bob Reardon's 90th Birthday Party ~ Thanks for the Photos, Richard Moody!

A gathering of former Pursers to mark the occasion.
l-r  Bruce Retrum, Bob, Richard Moody, Lou Reynolds 

Look at the blaze!  That's a lot of candles, Bob.

I love the message on Bob's cake:  "Robert is 90! Happy Birthday! Otherwise All is Lovely & Serene"

All the well-wishers at Bob's 90th . . .

. . . plus Lady Skywriter and countless others who have flown with you 

and admire your style, as you continue your 63rd year in the air, Bob!

Keep Flyin' High and Having Fun

Happy Birthday Robert Reardon! 90 Years Young Today. And Still Flying !!!

Bob Reardon and Bonnie Vork in B-377 Stratocruiser galley 1950s
Photo taken in flight by Anne Billingsley, Lady Skywriter

After 56 years of flying, featured in American Express  magazine, Departures, Mar-April 2008

Bob and Anne at "Remembering Donald Nyrop" event at NWA History Centre, June, 2011
See Summer Special Edition 2011 Reflections page 2

Mary Ann Gallagher, Bill Marchessault, Bob Reardon, Fay Kulenkamp and Maggie McMahon
NWA flight attendants in vintage uniforms at "Remembering Donald Nyrop", June, 2011

To mark Bob's 60 years of service, a huge celebration was held at the Officer's Club at MSP.  Pictured here,
Mitch (Radisson Narita) and Bob with event planners extraordinaire Richard Moody and Lori Rothmund
See Fall, 2011 Reflections, page 9

Jean Carlson Schreier, Bob and Anne at 60th

NRT Earthquake Flight Crew with Bob at Center back
See story in June 2011 Reflections, page 3

So what's next, Bob?  Are you up for another party?  Your 65th Anniversary is coming up in 2016.

Happy, happy birthday and many more.  I loved flying to D.C. with you, first eating lunch at Bassins and then doing the town.  That was back when Ike was president and Elvis was "king."  And we got to work on the Stratocruiser.  Grand Memories.

Best wishes for many more from your old flying partner, Anne (Lady Skywriter) Billingsley Kerr

Marianne Blomquist, Former NWA President Donald Nyrop's Secretary, Passes Away

A great lady has left us. In her heyday, Marianne Blomquist was secretary to NWA President Donald Nyrop, and spent a total of 42 years of loyal service working for our beloved airline.  She has been a frequent visitor to the NWA History Centre over the years, thanks to her dear friend Shirley Huskins offering to drive when Marianne's vision failed.

Her memorial service will be held Tuesday, May 6, at Normandale Lutheran Church, Edina, MN.  See StarTribune obituary for details.

Marianne at the NWA History Centre, Nov. 2, 2013 for the book launch of author Jack El Hai's "Non-Stop"
Friend Shirley Huskins on the left

Marianne relating great stories about her boss, Donald Nyrop, at the "Remembering Donald Nyrop"
tribute at the NWA History Centre, June 11, 2011

We'll miss you, Marianne.  

Behind the Scenes with TPT (Ch 2) at NWA History Centre April, 2014

Later this summer, Ch 2 will take a look at another "lost" Twin Cities gem:  Northwest Airlines

Wayne Snyder, NWAHC BOD with Elaine Mielke, volunteer, at NWA Museum door

Lost Twin Cities IV Assistant Producer Leya Hale taking a "selfie."

TV production equipment everywhere

Leya "powdering" retired NWA F/A Fay Kulenkamp and sound engineer Eric "wiring" Anne Kerr (Lady Skywriter)

Fay and Anne during the interview

Retired NWA Captains get ready: Norm Midthun getting "wired" and Red Sutter signing his life away

Where did that red tail go, Red?

Fay and producer Lisa Blackstone with Anne's old uniform (top) and Fay's green "caterpillar" uniform (bottom)

Norm, Anne and Fay

Stay tuned for future details as to the showing date. . . . . .

Photos by Joe Callaci, Bob Johnson and Anne Kerr

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.

"What are you running, an airline or a whorehouse?"

United Airlines

The title of this blog is what Representative Martha Griffiths said in a 1964 Congressional hearing, after airline executives testified that it was imperative for businessmen that attractive women light their cigars and fix drinks.

I came across this gem in Amy Bloom's review of Gail Collins' new book "When Everything Changed," in The New York Times this week.

In it she chronicles American women's social and political history, and uses the experience of flight attendants to illustrate one of the ways our world has changed since then. When the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was established, Collins tells us, its first complainants were stewardesses, and airline executives found themselves in Congressional hearings.

Sadly, it was too late for Lady Skywriter, who had to "retire" four years earlier in 1960 because she got married. Had she not gotten married, she could have kept her job until her 32nd birthday, when she would have had to "resign" due to old age. But by then the rules would have changed and who knows? She might still be flying the Orient today, alongside Bob Reardon, who is still flying for NWA, ... er Delta, at 85 years of age.

Bob Reardon and Bonnie Vork in the galley of a Boeing Stratocruiser in 1957

Fujiyma rays & Oshibori Towels, recalling a time when passenger flight was an adventure and the Boeing Stratocruiser ruled the skies by Anne Billingsley Kerr now available on Amazon.

It's May: from Ellen Church to . . . Pet Airways?

On May 15, 1930, registered nurse Ellen Church went on duty aboard an Oakland-to-Chicago flight operated by Boeing Air Transport (a forerunner of United Airlines) thus becoming the first airline stewardess.  (She beat me out by about two and a half decades!)

On May 12, 2009, NPR's Morning Edition did a story about "an airline going to the dogs ... and cats"  All animals that fly will be called "pawsengers" and have a "pet attendant" to ease their travel, says airline co-founder Alysa Binder.  Pet Airways will begin operations this July in Los Angeles, New York, Washington, Chicago and Denver.

I wonder what Ellen Church would have to say about being a "pet attendant?"