I wrote a book! It’s not dramatic or serious or complicated. It’ll never make a prestigious literary list, nor will it be “banned in Boston.” Titled Stewardess, it is the story of my experience as a stewardess for Northwest Airlines in the early 1960s.

Although I flew well into the Jumbo Jet age when the title stewardess was changed to flight attendant, those early years were unique. Then the job was relatively new. Following WWII, commercial flight was fast becoming a booming business, and was largely the province of businessmen and the very rich.

Realizing that passengers required someone to look after their needs, airlines hired mostly women and gave them the title of stewardess.

Because the stewardess spent the most time of any airline employee with the passengers, she must have an attractive appearance and an engaging personality. Consequently, work rules were very specific about height and weight and background experience. They also decreed that the stewardess could not work beyond age 32 or if she got married.

A great many women applied, lured by the promise of glamour and adventure. Indeed, it is not an overstatement to say the job of stewardess was the dream job of that era.

Deluged with applications, airlines could pick and choose only those women they deemed acceptable, and only a few made the cut.

At that same time, a significant transformation in aviation was taking place. Airlines were phasing out their old propeller-driven aircraft and replacing them with narrow-body jet aircraft.

Consequently, I had the unusual experience of being trained in and working trips on Northwest’s old Douglas DC-4s, 6s, 7s, and the Lockheed Electra as well as the brand new Boeing jets, beginning with the 720-B.

The 1960s has been dubbed “the golden age of the stewardess”. The job was unique and much sought after. Actually getting hired was very exciting. This era also was called “the golden age of airline travel” as we pampered passengers with excellent meals and beverages and special attention. Airline seats were relatively comfortable as well, making for a more pleasant ride.

I’m happy to have been a stewardess then. I’ve shared many of my most memorable experiences in the book.

Stewardess, by Carol Hanson Hall, is available for sale on Amazon. com. The ISBN number is 979-8-218-36173-0.

Welcome aboard!

Carol Hall lives in Woodbury. She’s a longtime freelance writer, a University of Minnesota graduate and a former Northwest Airlines stewardess.

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