Senior Moments, a monthly coffee and conversation program designed specifically for seniors, will meet in the Library’s Conference Room at 3 p.m., Monday, Sept. 19 for a lecture on “Behind the Smile: the Glamour Years of Aviation.”
Mom …? Advertisement from American Airlines, 1968 (via Wikimedia Commons)
What would you do if your plane’s emergency exit erupted? Or if missiles exploded as your jet landed in a war zone?
The late 1960s and early 1970s years, during the dawn of the jet age, were a time when danger and glamour existed side by side. Flight attendants served elaborate meals, captains permitted cockpit visits, smoking was allowed, and passengers dressed for the occasion.
But it was also a perilous period: terrifying episodes in Vietnam and Egypt, frightening landings, and uncontrollable soldiers. Because international air time was so long, babies were born in flight, numerous health emergencies occurred, and indiscreet sexual escapades took place.
About the presenter
Bobbi Phelps Wolverton was a flight attendant for six years with World and Saturn Airways. She writes travel, airline, and history series for The Connection. She is the vice president of the Authors Guild of Tennessee. Bobbi graduated from the University of California at Berkeley.
— Editor’s note: The above announcement is from Darien Library. We recently came across these article on airline travel in the 1950s and earlier, making some of the same points:
- What It Was Really Like To Fly During The Golden Age Of Travel (Fast Company; Dec. 5, 2013)
- Flying today is much better than it was in the Golden Age of aviation (Business Insider; Aug. 12, 2015)
Link to Wikimedia Commons.
