This copy of the 1969 brochure introducing North Central’s new headquarters and primary maintenance base (today’s Building D at Delta’s Minneapolis/St. Paul complex) comes from Hal Carr’s personal collection. The complex was a beautifully realized Mid-Century Modern design that has held up quite well in the five decades since it was completed, as the many photos inside this brochure will demonstrate.
Its positioning alongside busy Interstate 494 then and now was a master stroke of marketing that Republic, Northwest, and Delta continued to take advantage of – both to burnish name recognition, as well as to show off their fleets. North Central’s management could never have anticipated that their investment would be the visual focal point of essentially the Twin Cities’ third “downtown”.
From the donated papers of Hal Carr, we find a copy of the full-color brochure sent to all Southern and North Central employees to introduce Republic Airlines:
Click to open a PDF of the full document.
Staff photos taken for the piece are the main attraction for today’s readers. Perhaps you or someone you know appears here?
Departing from the Airliners International conference in July 2021, we had given ourselves plenty of time to explore Phoenix International Airport’s pair of landside terminals and the excellent photography options made available by the airport’s elevated inter-terminal tram system. While food and shopping options pre-security were still severely limited due to combination of COVID spacing concerns and the overall labor shortage, the airport’s commitment to displaying art nevertheless made for a visually interesting expedition, and one that we will be keen to repeat when the pandemic is finally under control.
Below are a collection of Phoenix Airport Museum flyers and photos from several exhibits, with the “Style in the Aisle” installation of special interest to the Northwest Family of course due to the colorful display of uniforms, bags, and service materials from Bonanza, Air West, and Hughes Airwest.
This installation is located on the ticketing level of Terminal 3 (Delta, United, Frontier, Spirit, Alaska, Hawaiian) at the base of the escalators heading up to security and the concourse/inter-terminal tram levels.
This photo installation is on the concourse level of Terminal 4, pre-security, at the bottom of the escalator bay to get up to the inter-terminal rail station. The gallery location on the concourse level, pre-security in Terminal 4 was closed for updates and staffing shortages at the time of our visit.
As can be seen in the background, the pair of “Style in the Aisle” kiosks are located on Terminal 4’s ticketing level, with Southwest’s counters on one side and American’s on the other.
Wow, every single line of this page is tasteless.
The NWAHC is coordinating a transfer of some relevant surplus materials to the PAM, as we do with many other airline and airport museumsOur display of interest!
The NWAHC Archives received a cache of over 250 photo negative slides back in 2008 but they were not converted to positives until a few years ago by our previous editor Robert DuBert. Only a few came with captions to identify people or events, but you can see these were taken in the 1959-1962 era at the company’s headquarters in Las Vegas, and most were candid or lightly staged shots of everyday business. We’ll debut a large number of them here now – many pictures were shot of particular scenes, so we’ll show the highlights. If you can help us identify the folks and their roles in these pictures, or share stories about your time at Bonanza, please leave a note in the comments!
Seeing double? Model F-27 meets its life-size original on the ramp at Las Vegas, 1959. Slide from Bonanza archives at the NWAHC.Santa descending F-27 N148L at Las Vegas, 1959. From the NWAHC archives.Handing out gifts on the Las Vegas ramp, Christmas 1959. From the NWAHC archives.Handing out gifts on the Las Vegas ramp, Christmas 1959. From the NWAHC archives.1960 action in Bonanza’s Las Vegas hangar with F-27 overhaul. From the NWAHC collection.
1960 action in Bonanza’s Las Vegas hangar with F-27 overhaul. From the NWAHC collection.
1960 action in Bonanza’s Las Vegas hangar with F-27 overhaul. From the NWAHC collection.1960 action in Bonanza’s Las Vegas hangar with F-27 overhaul. From the NWAHC collection.
1960 action in Bonanza’s Las Vegas hangar with F-27 overhaul. From the NWAHC collection.
1960 action in Bonanza’s Las Vegas hangar with F-27 overhaul. From the NWAHC collection.
F-27 flight deck detail, 1960. From the NWAHC collection.Gladys Pyles, 1960. From the NWAHC archive.Bob Hill, 1960. From the NWAHC archive.“Spoor, undated” From the NWAHC archive.George Schleifer, Feb. 1960. From the NWAHC archive.
Caption: “Puskarich, 1960.” From the NWAHC archive.
Anne Sanderson, no date noted. From the NWAHC archive.
B. Ryan, 1960. From the NWAHC archive.Maintenance staff, 1960. From the NWAHC archives.Maintenance staff, 1960. From the NWAHC archives.Maintenance staff, 1960. From the NWAHC archives.Maintenance staff, 1960. From the NWAHC archives.Group photo of the “Olympic-France” tour group with a chartered company DC-3 in 1960. From the NWAHC collection.
Leo Stec, 1960. From the NWAHC archive.
Dick Neal, 1960. From the NWAHC archive.
“We Give” charitable campaign promo photo, undated. From the NWAHC archive.A series of Flight Attendant application promotional photos, August 1960. (Bonanza called them “hostesses.”) From the NWAHC archive.FA-interview photograph, August 1960 from the NWAHC archive. Can we identify these individuals?FA-interview photograph, August 1960 from the NWAHC archive. Can we identify these individuals?
Modeling the cabin uniform, August 1960. Photograph from the NWAHC archive.
Modeling the cabin uniform, August 1960. Photograph from the NWAHC archive.
Modeling the cabin uniform, August 1960. Photograph from the NWAHC archive.
Modeling the cabin uniform, August 1960. Photograph from the NWAHC archive.Louise Wagner, Nov. 1960. From the NWAHC archive.Jim Jenks, 1960. From the NWAHC archive.N491 at Las Vegas in February 1961, getting its paint stripped as the ship is prepared to leave company service. The slide caption notes, “Tillie washing off paint.” From the NWAHC collection.
Ron Jackson, 1961. From the NWAHC archive.
Captioned “Ed Converse presents 15-year pens to Pilots, Apr. 11, 1961.” From the NWAHC collection.Ruth Jordan, Dec. 6, 1961. From the NWAHC archive.
Art Taylor, photographed March 1, 1962. From the NWAHC archive.
Frank Smith, 1962. From the NWAHC archive.
George Moulton, October 10, 1962. From the NWAHC archive.Captioned “Jim White and Reynolds, Oct. 5, 1962.” From the NWAHC Collection.Ed Converse at his desk, Nov. 1962. From the NWAHC collection.George Moulton and assistant stuffing tourism flyers into sales promotional folders, November 1962. From the NWAHC archive.George Moulton showing off the banner welcoming the American Society of Travel Agents to Bonanza HQ, November 1962. From the NWAHC archive.Ed Converse at his desk, Nov. 1962. From the NWAHC collection.“Route discussion with Ed Converse, Nov. 1962.” From the NWAHC collection.Signing of the BAC One-Eleven order, Nov. 1962. From the NWAHC collection.A post-signing snapshot at BON’s Las Vegas headquarters, November 1962, with the model front and center. From the NWAHC Archives.Dan Mills, December 1962. From the NWAHC archive.
Bruce Kitt’s article in the March 2021 REFLECTIONS on the late-1940s twists and turns of Northwest’s logo designs revealed the industrial-looking “oval” form that found use in timetables, cabin service items, and assorted print materials, but only briefly appeared on just one aircraft. We have found two more brochures from the ~1948 period to add to our examples – and this also follows on to our Extra postings this year of advertisements to entice our COVID-era wanderlust.
Classic “fashion” line illustrations and period photography from Japan, China, and the Philippines let the reader travel back in time to the postwar era, before the Communists displaced the Nationalists from Shanghai.
The Stratocruisers depicted in the brochures of course were never delivered in the “oval” livery, as the company had moved on to the classic “Compass” and red tail by they arrived. And travelers would soon have to wait nearly forty years for the next opportunity to fly NWA into Shanghai.
In an upcoming post, we’ll take you on a trip to Japan via an exciting slide collection in the NWAHC Archives – stay tuned!
Improving vaccination numbers and the drive to herd immunity for COVID-19 is allowing for domestic travel to resume. The prospects for live events and conventions this summer and fall are bright – and we have decided to resume the annual airliner show at its usual time. See the above graphic for details – hope to see you there!
After this season’s issue went to press, our director Bruce Kitt came across the August 1994 issue of the Retired Northwest Pilots Association (RNPA) magazine, Contrails, and discovered this image:
Which gives wonderful context to the photo of the Capitaliner we included in the cover story. We love being able to put names against photos as it helps families and other researchers find connections! Earl Lund, Northwest Airlines mechanic, Flight Engineer, and Pilot.
Also in our Capital story, we printed this big map in portrait mode so as to be as readable as possible. Here it is “sideways” for online readers:
Landscape view of the combined route network, as shown in the March 2020 REFLECTIONS
In the March 2021 issue of REFLECTIONS, Bruce Kitt continues the discussion of the evolution of Northwest’s logo through the 1930s and 1940s. From September 1947 into 1949, the logo was featured on timetables, company documents, and even cabin ware – but never flew.
A postcard promoting the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser then on order gives us an idea of what the proposed scheme would have looked like on an aircraft:
If the Stratocruiser had been delivered on its original 1947 schedule, it may well have left Seattle in this scheme. It’s understood company staff weren’t too enthusiastic about it, and from the 21st Century we can criticize it for being imbalanced and unimaginative. However, flip the blue stripe 180 degrees so it fully covers the lower rear of the fuselage, and it starts to become the classic 1950s scheme…
Another fun brochure encouraging us to get out and enjoy nature has just arrived, featuring ski pro Jake Hoeschler with 25 pages of tips for hitting the slopes and trails. Hoeschler was a collegiate and national star who made a lifelong career of his passion, even forming his own company, International Sports Management. He served on North Central’s advisory board in the 1970s and was the airline’s contact person to the ski resort industry – often promoting the MSP – Denver service in print and broadcast media.
Click this image to open the full PDF of the guide.
Another brochure we just received continues our “get outdoors and away from the crowd” series – this one an eight-panel listing of game hunting seasons and limits across the Fall 1946 Northwest network.
The line art of a DC-4 above a wooden sign pounded into the clouds would be re-used in many other brochures – a small but illustrative example of NWA’s corporate attitude of letting nothing go to waste that could be re-used. The pheasant linework is intricate but likely a readily-available die – in common parlance, “clip art.”
Of course, the phrasing “NORTHWEST Oriental AIRLINES” rings strangely to modern ears! This flyer comes at a very specific point in the timeline – after the route to New York City was awarded and begun, with routes awarded from Minneapolis and Seattle to Alaska awarded but not yet begun, and with authorities to Japan and beyond working their way through government review. NWA knew it wanted to enhance its branding, and this approach must have been the momentary consensus at the exact moment the flyer went to press. By year-end 1946 the service mark “Northwest Orient Airlines” had been conclusively decided upon.
“Relax in unspoiled wilderness areas. No telephones to annoy you. Crystal clear waters are everywhere… surrounded by towering trees reminiscent of days long past. You snake a lure out over the quiet water. Start to retrieve. Then bam! And your fun begins.”
Following on to our 1951 Northwest fishing brochure, here’s a North Central gem from 1978, listing packages in Western Ontario and Manitoba. Nearly all of the options included some bush flying out of International Falls, MN / Fort Frances, ON to remote lodges or even floating houseboat accommodations.
From the 1960s into the early 1980s, fishing trips into the remote Canadian wilderness were an affordable middle-class adventure, especially for folks in the Upper Midwest who would usually vacation in Minnesota, Wisconsin, or northern Michigan in the summer.
As higher-paying union jobs (with well-defined vacation benefits) declined in the 1980s, so too did multi-week family vacations to the Northland. Rising costs of fuel, interest, and insurance also made it more expensive to fly small aircraft in Canada, and these trends combined to make fly-in sport fishing a hobby only for the wealthy by the late 1980s.
North Central and Republic had been able to fly DC-9s into Hibbing/Chisholm as well as International Falls with decent loads of passengers destined for fishing trips into the wilderness, but as that type of tourism faded, those stations could only support Republic Express Saabs and Jetstreams by the mid-80s.
Having been a collector of airline ephemera for over forty years, it’s rare nowadays to come across something that I haven’t seen at a show, in an antique shop, or on eBay – but in December I did, and was able to purchase it at a reasonable price: a May 1951 “Northwest Airlines Fishing Guide” published in cooperation with the venerable Shakespeare Fishing Tackle Company of (at the time) Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Illustrator D. Owen created 12 pages of vivid artwork to bring this pamphlet co-created by the Shakespeare Fishing Tackle Company and Northwest Airlines to life. This May 1951 document was lithographed perfectly, allowing the Mid-Century era color and linework to shine.
From the collection of D. Scott Norris.
Northwest was eager to grow business in the early 1950s – and lacking any domestic warm-weather tourist destinations save Hawaii, played to its strength of Northern adventure – and appeal to the growing middle and executive classes to really “get away from it all” on a quiet lake or stream.
One wonders if fishing might make a comeback in post-pandemic times as an activity in nature that rewards not being in a large group and allows for self-contemplation and appreciation of the environment.
Interior page from the NWA-Shakespeare joint fishing promotion brochure from 1951. From the D. Scott Norris collection.
The brochure copy is certainly of its time, pitching exclusively to male stereotypes – but its selling points still remain evocative and effective!
Interior page from the NWA-Shakespeare joint fishing promotion brochure from 1951. From the D. Scott Norris collection.
The artwork by D. Owen is also very much of its time – outdoors magazines and catalogs provided steady work for many commercial illustrators, as the lithography process handled this kind of art better than color photography.
Interior page from the NWA-Shakespeare joint fishing promotion brochure from 1951. From the D. Scott Norris collection.
Wouldn’t these illustrations look amazing on the walls of a Mid-Century house? I’m ready to pack my bags for a North Woods trip already…
The Shakespeare company is part of a larger ownership group now, but it had a long history from the late 1800s. A corporate biography from the 1950s can be found at this link, and a more-recent document can be found here. I haven’t been able to uncover any information on the illustrator but would be happy to learn more.
