She was born into the family of an ordinary American farmer. And the most vivid impression for little Ellen was the airplanes that appeared in the sky during fair days. She would be gripped by an unusual feeling and longed so much to sit inside the cabin of one of them.
She became a nurse, but learned to fly
After finishing school, Ellen Church enrolls in nursing courses. And at the same time the young woman takes private flying lessons. The young nurse’s persistence would be crowned with success. But the pilot’s license she obtained in 1929 would bring Ellen nothing but disappointment. Airlines hired only men.
Photo: legion-media.ru
And yet Ellen had fabulous luck. One of the largest American companies engaged in air passenger transport ran into serious problems. The thing was that the planes were small, and only 12 passengers could be on board. At the same time one of the two pilots also had to serve hot coffee and soups. This had a negative effect on the crew’s work and was also very unsafe.
A tough casting and harsh requirements
After a thorough interview, Ellen Church was hired as a head flight attendant. And she was to find seven more young women with medical training. The selection was strict: age up to 25, weight no more than 52 kg, height no taller than 163 cm. Only unmarried women in excellent health and with a pleasant appearance were hired. Figure also mattered a great deal.
125 dollars a month – that was a decent sum. But for this money the first flight attendants had to repair passenger seats, serve hot meals during the flight, and provide medical assistance. Their duties also included refueling the planes. And pushing the aircraft into the hangar, helping the pilots.
And the flight attendants also had to be able to smile sweetly, winning over the passengers. And to instill in them confidence that the flight was going normally. The young women also vigilantly watched every move of the passengers. And there was a special reason for this: the lavatory and the emergency exit were right next to each other. A passenger could easily mistake the door – and tumble out of the aircraft.
On May 15, 1930, the first flight attendant in aviation history, Ellen Church, flies on the San Francisco–Cheyenne route. She is dressed in a nurse’s uniform. A strict double-breasted jacket with buttons, a moderately long skirt, stockings, black low-heeled shoes, a short hairstyle, a modest beret on her head – that is exactly the outfit in which Ellen Church appeared before the passengers.
She would work as a flight attendant for more than a year. A car accident, in which Ellen would sustain a serious injury, would cut short her career. But Church would become the real pride of her hometown of Cresco; an airfield in Cresco was even named in her honor.
By the way
It is curious that the oldest flight attendant in the world is considered to be the 84-year-old Bette Nash. She gave more than 60 years of her life to her beloved work.
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