Airline Memorabilia Show @ LAX

Today I went to the LAX Airline Memorabilia show held at Embassy Suites, immediately south of the LAX runway. Watching the Jumbos take off from my car was quite fun! I was excited to see some vintage collectables and meet some new folks in the airline world, I was like a kid in a candy store, literally! What a great showing of all kinds of airline fruit such as pilots and stewardess wings, posters, photographs, baggage labels, the list goes on and on. The highlight of the show for me though was meeting some new people.

I had the privilege to meet a TWA original, Mr. Jon Proctor with whom we have corresponded with each other online. Jon traveled all the way from Idaho and is a wealth of historical information, and is completely up to date with all things airlines. His booth seemed to be packed all the time I was there, he's such a nice gentleman. We had a very nice conversation about Jack Frye and Jon's friend, Ed Betts for which I thanked Jon in person for the image he donated to the blog. Its people like Jon Procter that make hunting for vintage airline stuff and stories so enjoyable. Thanks Jon for taking the time to talk. I'm so glad we were finally able to meet handshake to handshake.

Secondly, I met a gentleman who seemed to attract a lot of attention either due to his magnetic personality, or from being the first big table one passed by when entering the venue, Mr. Marshall Pumphrey. Marshall is the President and Curator of the Long Beach Heritage Museum and is he full of stories. I introduced myself, gave him a Jack Frye blog card and he took a double take which is the usual response I enjoy seeing on folks faces lol. I told him who I was and we hit it right off venturing back to the old days of TWA, United and Pan AM. It was quite a pleasant introduction and it seems he is a very busy man traveling all over the country. Thanks Marshall.

I have attached the cards of these two gentleman should you wish to contact.

All in all I had a great time. I didn't find much of anything related to Jack Frye though there were many books that contained the old Western Air Express, Standard Airlines and Transcontinental & Western Air flight offerings in Almanacs etc. I was actually looking for a set of Standard Airlines pilots wings of which I walked away empty handed. I did see an original crewmember hat badge for T&WA that was quite impressive, but the price just didn't agree with my billfold today lol.

Everybody was very friendly, and eager to talk about the old days. I passed out a few more blog cards, so hopefully more folks will visit and enjoy the history about Jack Frye.

Frye Inspects New Stratoliners

I am pleased to present a brand new photo donated to the Jack Frye Aviation Pioneer blog by Mr. Jon Proctor, retired TWA employee. The photo is of superior quality and shows some interesting styling selections in the seat upholstery with stars embedded. Since this is the very first airliner with a pressurized cabin enabeling it to fly passengers safely and comfortably in the sub-stratosphere (closer to the stars), could it be the designers and Jack wished to help passengers grasp this subliminal "closer to the stars" idea? Who's to say. Also note it appears the gentleman are sitting in what might be the first class section. From what Jon mentions in his comments, one can surmise Jack was out on the west coast on business to inspect the brand new planes prior to their delivery to Kansas City.

(right click image to view full size in a new window)

Here are Jon's comments:

"I have attached a picture of Jack, sitting in a Stratoliner, that came to me from Ed Betts (mentioned on your site); he and I were great friends and corresponded frequently before his passing. I believe he got it from Boeing, which leads me to believe it was taken at Seattle before the first Stratoliner was delivered. Unfortunately there was no caption with the picture and I don't have a name for the other person. More than likely it was an Boeing official. I've put out some feelers and if I find the name I'll let you know. Jon Proctor".

Be sure to visit Jon Proctors website at http://jonproctor.net/. He has a very interesting and informative career history with TWA, Pan Am, and is an accomplished historian/journalist having written several airline books.

Thank you Jon!

The Jack Frye Aviation Pioneer blog always welcomes donated photographs and stories about our favorite airline president. As is always the case, we award full credits and attach links to your donated materials.