In January of 1969 I reported to Minneapolis, North Central Airlines for Stewardess training! Yep- back then we were were called Stewardesses. I came in with 3 1/2 years with NorthWest Airlines in reservations. I knew that office work was not my thing! When I applied with North Central, I was thrilled to be hired and be able to be on my feet, moving, and meeting passengers in person rather than over the phone!
On my first day I was excited! And a bit nervous! I'm not sure the number in my class- I believe we started out with 28-30. It's been 52 years, so some facts are a bit fuzzy.
Mary King was our main teacher. God bless Mary King! She was funny and kind! But on the first day she made an announcement that shocked me. Even though we were told that housing would be provided, she announced that since many in our class was from Minneapolis, no housing would be provided- for any of us!!
We had one gal that had just come from Delta- had resigned as a Stewardess with them to fly for NorthCentral. She was outraged! This was not anticipated! She had no funds for housing! She ended up leaving the class! I was in shock, but I was not about to leave! How could they do this! And how would I do this?!
I had a certain amount of cash I had put aside for food, cosmetics, and whatever else I would need. It wasn't much, but I anticipated it would just get me through 6 weeks. But where was I going to stay for 6 weeks!?! I decided I would sleep on a park bench if I had to, I was not leaving! Well- okay! Not a park bench in Minneapolis in January, but you get the idea.
One of my classmates offered for me to stay with her, God Bless her. But about a week through our training she said her roommate wanted me to pay 1/3 of the rent! What could I say? I paid- but I now was out of money! I knew I was not going to be eating for most of the remaining weeks! We were getting paid about $7 a day, after the first week. Not really enough to finish covering rent and have much to live on. I started loosing weight.
When I started the training I was 123 pounds, well within my weight limit for 5foot 6 1/2 inches tall with medium-large build. (I was allowed to be up to 130 pounds.) After a couple of weeks Mary King took me aside and said I was melting right before her eyes! I told her about the rent issue- and that I didn't care if I became a skeleton, I WASN'T giving up! Her cheeks turned red as I shared my plight.
Usually Mary King would eat in her office, or where ever the trainers would eat. But she began coming to the cafeteria a couple of times a week and would join me where I sat- in a corner studying. Often she'd have a sandwich and would give me half- simply saying "EAT!"- I tried to decline, being embarrassed- but she would just say not to be silly. So a few days a week I would eat 1/2 a sandwich and a cup of coffee. I also would get a hard roll with butter on occasion.
When I graduated after 6 weeks I was 115 pounds! Looking at my pictures back then I look like a skeleton with skin pulled over! Oh my! Thank goodness I started out not only young, but healthy! If I hadn't been I'm not sure I would have made it!
It took a while to regain some weight. I had to learn how to deal with motion sickness from turbulence first! Bottom weight my first year flying was 113 pounds! By the end of the first year I made it to 118 pounds! My base supervisor at the time was Jean Brock- who would pull me in for a weight check- saying I was TOO thin! She was afraid I'd not be able to fight any infection or germs I'd pick up while flying!
So that's my saga of my training experience- at least as weight and food goes! We did have a great group of gals, several I flew with from time to time. As often happens, people changed bases and we lost touch.
I guess the bottom line to this story is that sometimes stubbornness and determination is a good thing! I thank my lucky stars (and Mary King) for being able to tough it out. What a career I had!
Until Next Time, Dear Reader!
Life Is Indeed An Adventure! And Sometimes Being Too Stubborn To Quit Can Be A Real Advantage!
3 comments:
Mary King was special. We had a 1 bedroom apartments not far from our training center, with 4 of us ladies. 1 bath. We all made it. I took out a loan to fund my time in training and like you I was not going to give up without a fight. Thanks for sharing your memories.
Dear Bonnie- Thank you! So thankful for our young, tough attitudes! Sometimes our dreams come with a price- but what a career we ended up having!!
Mary king was part of the personal factors (or something like that) go committee who investigated accidents as part of the overall NTSB investigation. I was the probationary First Officer on the Kalamazoo accident in 1978. I ended up in the hospital for several weeks with a major lower back injury. Mary made a point to visit me on several occasions and we formed a bit of a friendship. At one point Mary smuggled into the hospital a small bottle of champaign to celebrate my being released to go home. When she discovered there was no way to chill the bottle, Mary found a way around the problem…she asked a nurse for a bed pan which she then filled with ice and…voila! Cold Champaign. She was so very special and I will never forget the time we spent together in that hospital.
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