loading image
Ellen Church, remembered as the world’s first airline stewardess, was hired by Boeing Air Transport’s district manager, Steve Stimpson, in their San Francisco office in 1930. Stimpson refused to hire Church, a licensed pilot and a registered nurse, as a pilot for Boeing Air Transport. Nevertheless, she persisted and suggested Stimpson hire her as a registered nurse to quell passengers fear of flying. Thus, the stewardess profession was born. Church convinced Stimpson to hire seven other registered nurses. During the 1930s and 40s, stewardess across various airlines were required to be trained nurses as aircraft were unpressurised, and flew low through weather formations, which often created very bumpy rides. Their jobs also included weighing passengers and luggage, loading, and unloading bags, helping to fuel airplanes, and occasionally pushing the airplane into hangars. They are, l-r, Jessie Carter, Cornelia Peterman, Ellen Church (who was the first hired and who in turn hired the other seven), Inez Keller, Alva Johnson, Margaret Arnott, Ellis Crawford, and Harriet Fry. photoraph: Boeing Air Transport (BAT), Boeing 80A, first eight stewardesses; c. 1930 Gift of United Airlines Archives 1999.047.119
This image was posted on March 20, 2024.