Wyoming's Friendly Skies: Training America's First Stewardesses

by Patty Kessler (Foreword), Alda Kessler Stewart (Foreword), Starley Talbott

Boeing Air Transport, a precursor of United Air Lines, began carrying passengers in 1927 on small, uncomfortable airplanes with few amenities. Steve Stimpson, manager of Boeing's San Francisco office, considered hiring stewards to alleviate passengers' concerns. Ellen Church convinced him that employing women, especially nurses, as stewardesses would be a visionary solution. Eight brave young women entered Boeing's brief training program in Cheyenne in May 1930, making them the first airline stewardesses in the world. In 1947, United Air Lines established its Stewardess Training Center in Cheyenne, operating for nearly two decades. Authors Starley Talbott and Michael Kassel celebrate the world's first stewardesses, as well as the thousands who followed in their footsteps.

144 pages, Paperback

Published August 10, 2020

Reviews

[Wyomingmy307 · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's always interesting to learn how things started. This book does a great job of detailing the founding and early history of airline "stewardesses". Now I know why there was a height and weight requirement, and it's not what you think! I really enjoyed the Wyoming history angle, and the photos, especially those snazzy uniforms (I want a wool cape now!). I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike Kassel for the podcast episode on "Wyoming's History of Flight". Whether you are interested in the history of Wyoming, early flight, or women, this will be a greatly enjoyable book for you!

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[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating subject I'd not known about previously. Good factual information as well as plenty from the stewardesses' personal experiences from various sources.

A little repetitive and could have used an epilogue expanding on events pertaining to these ladies after the school closed -such as the reunions or the court decision forcing the airlines to allow married stewardesses to keep their jobs- but for what it is, I enjoyed the book.