This year, I noticed that many of you became new parents. So, I promised that we would take the year out with two (2) Children's Features on "Friday Movie Suggestion Night", and so the boys are back. No, not The Beatles! I'm talking about the three cartoon chipmunk brothers: Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. The trio, as you may know, were adopted by Dave (a human). Here's the Plot: After giving his cherished harmonica to a sick child, trouble making chipmunk Alvin learns that he is scheduled to play a solo on the instrument during a Carnegie Hall Christmas concert. Thinking that Dave won't understand why he gave his prized possession away, he enlists the help of his brothers, Simon and Theodore to raise the money needed to buy another one. Also includes the holiday-themed episodes "Merry Christmas Mr. Carroll" and "Dave's Wonderful Life." If you're new to "The Chipmunks", here they are:
_____
ALVIN!
The middle chipmunk, he's responsible for all of the trouble. He is somewhat greedy and selfish, but loves his brothers. He'll even stick up for his little brother Theodore. Alvin's favorite things are his harmonica and his signature Red cap, which he always wears. He does not like anybody touching his cap, and often yells, “Don't...touch...the cap!”.
_____
SIMON!
Simon is the oldest brother that I described last Christmas as "having an IQ just north of Einstein". He has a dry sense of humor but a sharp wit. He's usually able to anticipate Alvin's "harebrained schemes" (Simon's words) to come up with a solution. Although Simon loves Alvin, Simon secretly worries about the fact that they share the same gene pool. HA! But Simon will drop whatever he's doing to help his brothers Alvin and Theodore whenever they need him (which is often). Oh, by the way: Simon's signature color is Blue. Last but certainly not least...
_____
THEODORE!
_____
He's the youngest, he's shy, loving, sensitive, gullible, trusting and naive. And easy prey for Alvin's manipulations. Often, Theodore has the "swing vote" between his two brothers' choices of action. Simon appeals to Theodore's better nature, while Alvin uses bribery (usually food since Theodore has a huge appetite). Little known facts I may have left out last year: Theodore is afraid of heights, hates roller coasters, and sometimes carries his teddy bear with him. Theodore's signature color is Green. How convenient and cool is that?
____
Some Trivia for Cool Parents: The Chipmunks were created by the late Ross Bagdasasarian back in 1958, as a fictional musical group of three harmonizing singing chipmunks (their "Christmas Song" is side-splitting for me). Ross' "stage name" was David "Dave" Seville, their Father and Manager. A little known fact is that The Chipmunks were actually named after the executives of their original record label, LIberty Records: Alvin Bennett (president), Simon Waronker (founder and owner) and Theodore Keep(chief engineer).
By the time you get to the line about "a Hula Hoop" you may just find yourself on the floor! This is the kind of tight harmony that reportedly drove Graham Nash to leave The Hollies. I'm serious! Go back and listen to "Carrie Ann". Ah, but this is different! This is after all, The Chipmunks! Now the lyrics:
Dave:"All right you Chipmunks! Ready to sing your song? I'll say we are! Yeah! Let's sing it now!Okay, Simon?-Okay! Okay, Theodore?-Okay! Okay, Alvin? Alvin? ALVIN!-(Alvin): OKAY!!!"
(The Boys break into song):
Christmas, Christmas time is near
Time for toys and time for cheer
We've been good, but we can't last
Hurry Christmas, hurry fast
Want a plane that loops the loop
Me, I want a hula hoop
We can hardly stand the wait
Please Christmas, don't be late.
Dave:Okay fellas get ready.That was very good, Simon.-Naturally.Very good Theodore.-Ahhh. Ah, Alvin, you were a little flat, watch it. Ah, Alvin. Alvin. ALVIN!-(Alvin):"OKAY!"
Want a plane that loops the loop
I still want a hula hoop
We can hardly stand the wait
Please Christmas, don't be late
We can hardly stand the wait
Please Christmas, don't be late.
Dave: (Very good, boys-Lets sing it again! Yeah, lets sing it again!No, That's enough, lets not overdo it-What do you mean overdo it?-We want to sing it again!Now wait a minute, boys-Why can't we sing it again?-[chipmunk chatter]Alvin, cut that out..Theodore, just a minute.Simon will you cut that out? Boys...)
200 Park Avenue: A Symbol of "The American Dream"! _____
My final Guest here on THE INTERVIEW is also a friend of mine. C.W. 'Pete' Runnette is President of The Pan Am Historical Foundation. Pete's a great guy and his role is to lead the Foundation to what Juan Trippe himself would refer to as "the next step" and under his guidance we are moving very deliberately to build out both our membership--and a Museum in Miami! Former Navy Aviatior Runnette is well qualified, having spent 21 years with Pan Am. He was managing director of Germany, and general manager of Pan Am's Berlin-based IGS (Internal German System) for five years. In addition, he served as vice president of Pan Am's Atlantic Division in London, comprising sales and services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, along with Pan Am's worldwide marketing and sales as senior vice president of marketing. I felt it was very appropriate to schedule my sit-down discussion with Pete last in this series celebrating the 15th Anniversary of Pan Am's shut-down because the airline is inextricably woven into the fabric of American Culture forever; it will never fade. And certainly a part of our collective efforts as volunteers is to make sure it never will. Accordingly, Pete's insight will leave all of you with a sense of where The Pan Am Historical Foundation is today. And that is a fitting place to wind up as we move forward!
_____
MM: Could you brief us on the goals of the Pan Am Historical Foundation?
_____
RUNNETTE: Our website is at www.PanAm.org. We have thousands of boxes materials (at The University of Miami RIchter Library). However, they don't have all the resources that they would like to be able to catalogue and make thos available toi reserchers and scholars. So, we'd like to be able to supplement their funding, whenever we can. And the Smithsonian has a lot of our stuff. That requires a little TLC. Quite clearly, what I think we have to work on is those who follo on after those of us who worked for the company for a large number of years, who are now in responsible positions with the organization. How do we get our children interested in it? That's what we're working on right now, trying to come up with more of a forward--looking agenda that has some appeal, not just historically to young people today, bit something that is related to the current environment. And I think there's a lot of different ways to do that. THe Dinner Key Idea was a good one. Apparently, at least two different times, the City of Miami designated Dinner Key as a museum site for Pan Am, or maybe for more than just Pan Am, maybe for other aviation entities in Miami. So, the committe is trying to come up with alternatives and possibilities.
_____
MM: Well, I know that we have had some fruitful discussions with the City of Miami for some real estate and have an architectural rendering. Will there be enough space?
_____
RUNNETTE: I'm not a hundred percent sure. I think probably that the archival material is not something that would be displayed in a museum. Within the archives is a wonderful trove of picture, which is something that could go up. The Miami Historical Society has a number of three-dimensional stuff of our models and things like that which could go into a museum. And we'd like to display the things that we have. The museum has promised to put up some of it at Washington Dulless. We have some things on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, and at the San Francisco International Airport. There is some benefit in having some of it spread around, so more people get to see it.
_____
MM: There are number of Pan Am-related organizations in existence today around the globe. Do these have a relationship with the Pan Am Historical Foundation?
_____
RUNNETE: Yes. One of the things that we have been working on is what we call a 'Family Tree Project'. Around the world in different countries there are all manner of Pan Am organizations. Now, whether it can be pulled together is open to question. But certainly what we want to be able to do is to establish some sort of loose link between thge Historical Foundation and all of the other Pan Am alumni organizations.
THE INTERVIEW: REMEMBERING PAN AM: MARY GOSHGARIAN!
New York Times, September 23, 1974
_____ Pan Am AWARE Airmen Worried About Remaining Employed
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FROM THE EMPLOYEES OF THE WORLD’S MOST EXPERIENCED AIRLINE Ask our own government why the Postal Department pays the foreign airlines as much as five times what it pay Pan Am for hauling the same U.S. Mail. Not receiving the same pay for the same work costs Pan Am forty million dollars a year. Ask our own government why the U.S. Export-Import Bank loans money to “underdeveloped” countries like France, Japan and Saudi Arabia at six percent interest while Pan Am pays twelve percent. Ask our own government why it is opposed to letting Pan Am fly passengers within our country…it just doesn’t make sense. The domestic airlines now have rights to international routes that we pioneered, and the foreign airlines now serve more cities in the United States than we do.
IF PAN AM WERE ALLOWED DOMESTIC ROUTES WITHIN THE UNITED STATES…OR TO BORROW FROM EXPORT-IMPORT BANK…OR TO PAY REASONABLE LANDING FEES OVERSEAS…OR TO RECEIVE EQUAL POSTAGE RATES FROM OUR OWN GOVERNMENT, WE WOULDN'T NEED ANY SUBSIDY AT ALL! In fact we wouldn’t need to have taken up a collection to run this is ad. The Employees of Pan Am
_________
(A Full Page Ad from the New York Times)
__________
AWARE is an acronym for Airmen Worried About Remaining Employed--a phrase coined in 1974 when Pan Am personnel sought help (in vain) from the United States Congress regarding the disparity between higher landing fees charged to Pan Am compared to foreign carriers; and, subsequently, higher postal rates paid to rival airlines and lower rates to Pan Am for carrying US Mail, while denying Pan Am domestic route authority. The Miami, Florida-based AWARE store is a must-see for anyone traveling to Miami. It is staffed by volunteers, including many fascinating ex Pan Am personalities. The Manager of AWARE is 83 year-young Mary Goshgarian whose smiling face and enthusiasm is simply contagious! Goshgarian oversees a collectors trove of items for sale including: authentic Pan Am sports wear, china, travel bags, photos, original travel agency-sized posters and desktop models of both piston and jet era aircraft flown by the airline, coats, sweaters, T-shirts, postcards, toys, games and in-flight service items. In a November, 2006 article in USA Today, Goshgarian was referred to as "the unofficial keeper of the Pan Am flame", and this is no exaggeration! This author met Goshgarian in the spring of 1991 over the telephone while Pan Am was still flying. Notorious corporate raider Carl Icahn was making a convoluted bid for Pan Am with American Airlines for $135 million. Goshgarian retired a short time later and we have remained fast friends ever since. Beginning her career as a front-line customer service agent in 1956 (and later a supervisor), Goshgarian spent 15 years as a 'Clipper Skipper' assigned to assist the many VIP's that flew aboard Pan Am. She continues to thrive on the excitement of overseeing the growth of the store under her leadership from 300 square feet to its present remodeled 900 square foot showroom located on the second floor of The Pan Am International Flight Academy at 5000 NW 36th Street on the outskirts of Miami International Airport. I caught up with her on the heels of last months newspaper article that was read worldwide.
_____
MM: Well, Mary first the Sun Sentinel article on your wonderful store this past summer, and now the USA Today article! Tell us how the store has evolved.
_____
GOSHGARIAN: Yes. When the Academy approached me and said "Mary, we need the space on the ground floor", I thought to myself, 'They are going to put me way in the back somewhere. Nobody will know where I am and that will be the end of the store!' Well, it's just the opposite. I had 300 square feet (28m) downstairs, and they gave me 900 square feet upstairs. When you enter, you can walk up the giant staircase to the second and third floor. We're right there at the landing. We have a cardboard cutout of a Pan Am flight attendant at the entrance and the Academy has students from all over the world. When the first group of Russians came to the store---they all had cameras, of course---one young man kept looking at her and I said, "Why don't you put your arm around her and take a picture?" Now every group does this.
_____
MM: Many people become quite emotional and I remember being there years ago on my first visit when people from German and Japan walked in and when they say that unmistakable blue globe (Pan Am's logo) they wept. And you said, "Please. Now you're going to get us all started". There really is a depth of emotion for this carrier.
_____
GOSHGARIAN:You'll never get on an airline that is as good as Pan Am was. We loved this company. This company was the best. We were family, still are.
_____
MM: tell us about some of the VIP's you remember?
_____
GOSHGARIAN:I met Sophia Loren, and once I was dispatched to meet a flight with her husband, Carlo Ponti. And I remember thinking, 'How did she ever marry that little guy?' I went to meet him, and by the time I walked him from Concourse D to E, I had fallen in love with him! He was so magnetic, he had so much charm you wouldn't believe it. I met Burt Reynolds once. I went down to the gate to meet the flight and he was the last one off. I said, "Burt Reynolds! My first cousin, Val Avery just made a movie with you". He said, "You know Val?" I said "Hes' my first cousin". A year later, I met him again at the gate and he said, "Oh, here's cousin Mary!" (Laughing) What kind of memory is that? Julio Iglesias would always give me a kiss on the cheek when he came off the plane and I'd go crazy.
_____
MM: This really is a labor of love for you!
_____
GOSHGARIAN: You know, people say to me, "Why do you do this (as a volunteer)?" And I say, "First of all, Pan Am was the most wonderful job I ever had. I was with them 35 years. So I love to give back to the company whenever I can". Did I tell you what happened over the summer? I was about to close the store and go home for the day when the phone rang. The connection was scratchy and I was having a hard time making out what the man on the other end was saying. Finally it got a little better, and he was asking me if we had the Pan Am coffee mugs. I was curious and so I asked him "Where are you calling from?" He said "I'm in Iraq". He was a soldier in Iraq who remembered the Pan Am coffee mugs and when I told him I'd get one to him, he went wild! See? That's what I mean. People miss us.
_____
MM: Remember back in 1994 when I first stopped in?
_____
GOSHGARIAN:I do!
_____
MM: I was here for three hours and I felt like a kid in a candy store. I really loaded up on so many fun things. And all of a sudden a man with a flat-top style haircut walked in and stopped, looked over at the airplane models and pointed to the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser and started crying. He was so choked up. I remember trying to console the man. He said, "I'll take one of those (aircraft models) . I trained as a Flight Engineer with Pan Am on that aircraft".
_____
GOSHGARIAN: That happens--I won't say every week. But people do walk in from countries we served around the world and when they see something that brings back a memory like that, they sometimes get very emotional. Pan Am meant so much to so many people.
_____
MM: It touched their lives!
___
GOSHGARIAN: We touched many lives because we flew to all four corners of the globe. And you know what's funny? I couldn't tell you how to get from one place to another in Florida--from one city to another. But if you put me in Thailand, I know just who to call and I'll be offered a nice room for the night. When a Pan Am Flight Crew walked through an airport terminal, it was unbelievable. There was so much respect for the pilots and the flight attendants. They treated us like we were special. Today that's all gone. Even with the other airlines, I see the crews walking along to a gate and other Captains and Flight Crew members will see them but it's no big deal. And I think how so much has changed.
_____
MM: Every book I've read talks about how strict the requirements were for the girls that were Flight Attendants. Many were fluent in several languages. And God! Were they attractive!
_____
GOSHGARIAN:(laughing) You would notice that! But I remember when the girls wore the pill box hats, and white gloves and heels. Their uniforms were impeccable. But you know, when John Travolta--he's a certified commercial pilot--when he stops by the store it's so funny. Because he'll have his back to the door and he'll be reading a book and all the girls come by from throughout the building and peek in and just whisper, "Is that really him? Oh, my God." (laughing). And he's the nicest person you could ever meet! He's so down to earth. And he loves Pan Am and its history too!
_____
MM: Without you, we wouldn't have this magnificent store.
_____
GOSHGARIAN: Oh, come on. I mean really. Someone would have it.
_____
MM: But not like you. The way you interact with every single person who walks in. You make them feel like they are at home.
_____
GOSHGARIAN:Now you're embarrassing me. But you know something. I am so lucky. On the days I'm here, I can't wait to get to the store--I look forward to it so much. And I say I'm lucky. It was the best job I ever had. It was a wonderful company. I went around the world--I don't know how many times. We were just ordinary workers, but when you said you were with Pan Am, you were treated like royalty. As I say, I've made so many friends all over the world; I could go to Japan tomorrow and I'd know just who to call. I mean that's how close we were. We were a family.
_____
Author's Note: The Pan American AWARE store in Miami is open Monday through Friday 11 A.M. to 3 P.M. For information, call (305) 871-1028. When in Miami, you won't want to miss this destination. My thanks to Mary Goshgarian for sharing her time and memories with us!
_____
Post Script: Due to this special week and the necessary space requirements for my special Guests, the "Friday Movie Suggestion Night" feature was not discussed at length but I did want to mention this weeks' choice and it is certainly Pan Am-related: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams, James Brolin, Brian Howe, Frank John Hughes, Steve Eastin, and Directed by: Steven Spielberg
______________________________
Out final Guest tomorrow will be the President of The Pan Am Historical Foundation--and a wonderful fellow--PETE RUNNETTE joins us and I hope you will too!
Luxury with the "Spiral Staircase" & a Downstairs Lounge!
____________
Ed Trippe, son of Pan Am's visionary founder Juan Trippe, graduated from Harvard Business School in 1967. The Pan Am that Ed Trippe grew up around mirrored his father's creation of what could be arguably considered a masterpiece mosaic of businesses, including the Guided Missile Range Division (later renamed Pan Am World Services); a 50% stake in Falcon Jet (a Business Jet Sales Division, which starting in 1963 placed substantial orders for the Dassault Mystere' 20. This biz-jet was distributed in the Western Hemisphere as the 'Fan Jet Falcon'-- a name later altered to 'Falcon 20' by Falcon Jet Corporation); Pan Am also provided airport maintenance and fuel services to its customers; the 60-story Pan Am Building in New York; the Atlantic, Pacific, Latin American and Caribbean route systems; equity positions in over 30 airline companies worldwide; an equity stake in New York Airways helicopter service (which ferried Pan Am passengers from the helipad on Pan Am's New York building, in downtown Manhattan, to JFK International Airport,(from 1965-1977); and Pan Am's Inter-Continental Hotel chain subsidiary that spanned 37 countries on five continents!
_____
MM: Ed, can you describe what it was like for you growing up around Pan Am?
_____
TRIPPE:In hindsight, it was sort of always there. It was such an enormous institution. For the country, it was always such a constant factor in life, part of the fabric of this country. The fact that it isn't here today is just incredible because it seemed at the time that it would be there as long as the US government was there. And very much part of our family too.
_____
MM: Are you able to share some memories of your father, Juan Trippe with us?
_____
TRIPPE: He was obviously very forceful, very quiet and very shy. But a presence in a strong but quiet way. Charles Lindbergh was often a guest in the house, at dinner. With people like that, stories of the old days were constantly there, and many dinner conversations discussed the Twenties and Thirties. The flying boats and those stories were intriguing. And the photographs and the movies. My mother (Betty Stettinius Trippe; 1904-1982) was an avid photographer and she made really wonderful movies and stills (and wrote Pan Am's First Lady: The Diary of Betty Stettinius Trippe, republished by Paladwr Press, 1997).
_____
MM: Your brother Charles Trippe had a management role at Pan Am overseeing the helicopter service. Were you involved with Pan Am yourself?
_____
TRIPPE: I went to business school and got out of Harvard in '67. I got a job with Pan Am as Military Traffic Manager in Saigon and worked for the company there in '67 and '68. Then I joined Inter-Continental.
_____
MM: Pan Am provided so many of the R&R (Rest and Relaxation) flights for American troops station in Vietnam?
_____
TRIPPE: (For) Pan Am, Tan Son Nhut (in Saigon) was the second busiest airport outside JFK at the time, often having ten Boeing 707's on the ground simultaneously. There were two passenger flights coming eastbound and something else coming south and west.
_____
MM: What fond memories of Pan Am stand out for you?
_____
TRIPPE: Some early memories of taking a delivery flight of a (Boeing) Stratocruiser to Bermuda and having the whole plane to ourselves. The Stratocruiser sticks out, because at the time it was such an enormous, beautiful plane. My first ride on the 747 was an absolutely memorable experience. Just the size of that airplane lumbering down the runway, and wondering 'Is this going to lift off or what?' I wasn't on the inaugural flight, but I was on one of the early ones. Just so exciting, and the first jets were...well, the pride in Dad's voice when he told me the night before... the announcement of the first jet order because he wanted me to hear about it rather than read about it in the paper the next day, because it was obviously a huge announcement.
_____
MM: Do you ever wonder what your father would have thought about today's deregulated environment, which started towards the end of his life?
_____
TRIPPE:He grew Pan Amat a time when the relationship with government was basically good---to a point. But deregulation wasn't a part of his life. Obviously I think the timing of the acquisition of National Airlines could not have been worse. Pan Am paid a fortune and went through an enormous digestion of National that it didn't need to. If deregulation would have happened earlier, Pan Am would have been much better off. All the domestic services would have been available.
_____
MM: Are you pleased with The Pan Am Historical Foundation?
_____
TRIPPE:We founded it at the time because the archives and memorabilia were about to be lost.It was absolutely criticalthat we salvaged it. The purpose of the Foundation is to perpetuate the legacy of the company. We have been unable to complete a documentary film and that, I guess is the biggest frustration we've had. There's a wonderful story to be told on a number of levels.
_____
Author's note: My personal thanks to Ed Trippe for taking time from his hectic schedule to sit down with me.
THE INTERVIEW: REMEMBERING PAN AM: KATHLEEN CLAIR!
The Majestic Boeing 707-121 launched the "Jet Age"! _______________________
Kathleen Clair was Juan Trippe's personal secretary for 32 years; from Pan Am's Flying Boast days well into the "Jet Age". Described by the late Betty Trippe, Juan's wife as "one of the most important members of the team" who "executed innumerable tasks with outstanding ability---always with a fair sense of esprit de corps--and was of inestimable assistance to him", Clair at 87 is herself a "Living Legend".
_____
MM: What are your fondest recollections of Juan Trippe?
_____
CLAIR: Number one, he never took 'no' for an answer. Even if it took him twenty-five years. If the government turned him down, he'd just turn around and take a different tack and do it another way. And his integrity! Especially compared to today. He was a great patriot. A lot of people don't know that because he was very quiet about what he did. The government often called on him for jobs that they couldn't do politically. And he always did them immediately better than they ever dreamed could have been done. For one, it was the Africa service during World War II when Churchill and Roosevelt asked him to establish a route--this was all secret at the time--across the South Atlantic and across Africa to get supplies to Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery in the desert in Egypt. They gave him ninety days and he did it in sixty. Of course, we also did a lot of evacuations of American citizens out of Tehran, Pakistan and God knows where.
_____
Trippe started our Inter-Continental Hotels company at President Roosevelt's request because it was his 'Good neighbor Policy' at the time, and he wanted hotels in Latin America, so that when people went by air they had some place to stay.
_____
One of the most exciting stories---I think---is from 1940. There was a German controlled airline in Columbia called SCADTA (Sociedad Columbo-Alemana de Transportes Aeros). The government got a little nervous that they were too near the Panama Canal. So, they came to Trippe because they didn't want to get involved. We weren't in the war yet. Trippe trained an entire staff here in New York secretly and on the appointed day, he sent them down to Columbia in a (Boeing 307) Stratoliner, to look like tourists on their first flight. While (it was) in the air, all of the employees were called into a hangar--they were all German employees---(and) told that they were fired, that they got their severance pay and were sent back to Germany. And they weren't even allowed to go back to their desks. They were immediately sent to Germany. They had Army stationed at all the airports. Our plane landed. The new staff took over and Pan Am never missed a flight.
_____
MM: Very efficient!
_____
CLAIR:Efficient, yes. Everyday Trippe was doing something. The big thing of course was ordering the jets (on October 15, 1955). He and Bill Allen of Boeing, they each bet the existence of the company on the success of the deal. And Trippe went ahead. He couldn't get the manufacturers to make a jet. So, he ordered the engines before he even had an airplane to hang them on! And even Pratt & Whitney---it was torturous what he had to go through to get them to make the engines. And he and Bill Allen just shook hands on the deal because they trusted each other. Businessmen were different then.
_____
I'm certainly glad (Trippe) didn't see the bankruptcy (in 1991). He didn't live to see that. He saw the National buyout though (on January 8, 1980).
_____
The Author is greatly indebted to Kathleen Clair for her time and consideration in sitting down with me for this conversation.
THE INTERVIEW: REMEMBERING PAN AM: JEFF KRIENDLER (PART 2)
Pan Am's Trippe and Boeing's Allen: Making History One Last Time!
____________________
MM: Jeff, what are your memories of the various U.S. Presidents Pan Am carried?
_____
KRIENDLER:Oh! So many of them, as I had the opportunity to travel on the White House charters. I flew with Jimmy Carter, with President Reagan, with George Bush (Sr.). I flew with George Bush to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield. I flew with George Bush on Thanksgiving Day to Dhahran. I flew on a number of international trips, and on presidential campaigns. I had the occasion to fly with heads of state, presidents, kings, many inaugurals---so many exciting things that occurred in my life because of my association with Pan Am, including the great honor of traveling with Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
_____
MM: And you knew Charles Lindbergh, right?
_____
KRIENDLER: Yes I did. He was on our board of directors and he religiously attended meetings. Typically he would come early to our offices in the public relations department, and he would visit with one of Pan Am's earliest employees--a lady named Gerry Lister. At the time, in the PR department, she was the historian, she kept all the company historical files. He was certainly just as described: a gentleman, very quiet, very unassuming, a wonderful guy. He was not a fan of the SST (Supersonic Transport) for environmental reasons. I must say that I helped him achieve one of his last wishes, which was to die and be buried in Maui (Hawaii). I worked with United Airlines to set up a stretcher so he could travel out to Maui. I've stayed in touch with his family through the years. His grandchildren have attended Pan Am events. We had a very large event celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the China Clipper in 1985 where we took a 747 over the original routing: San Francisco--Honolulu--Midway--Wake--Guam--Manila. We invited the Lindberghs and all four of his grandsons came aboard. It was a wonderful, tremendous event. We had James Michener on board too, along with a number of other celebrities.
_____
MM: For the benefit of my readers here Jeff, let's talk about how the Pan Am Historical Foundation had to acquire through a bankruptcy auction what was literally the employee's birthright?
_____
KRIENDLER: Without going into all of the historic firsts, Pan Am was a pioneer. Pan Am also had the good sense, as it was making history, to make sure that all of the documentation of the historical events were saved. There was a big collection of materials---objects, artifacts, and archival paperwork. And these items were spread all over the place. They were partly in The Pan Am Building (at 200 Park Avenue, New York), there were some items in New Jersey, some of them had been loaned out, and there were small exhibits through the years in different terminals. In the mid Eighties the Mayor of Miami wrote to Ed Acker (ex-chairman of Pan Am) and said, "As you know, our City Hall that we're occupying space that used to be the Pan Am Terminal at Dinner Key. We are planning to move out and we were thinking that it would be great to create an aviation museum right here". Well, of course we all brightened to that prospect. Ed asked me to deal with the City of Miami and we began to move items down to Miami for safe-keeping, for the eventuality that they would create a museum there for us. There was no Pan Am Historical Foundation at the time. The company just started to pull materials together and sent them to Miami for safe-keeping. Now, some were sent down there, and toward the end of summer 1991, when it looked like we were moving Pan Am II to Miami and moving out of the Pan Am Building (Delta agreed to finance a scaled down Pan Am--referenced earlier--owning 55% with creditors owning the remaining 45%). Right up until the fall of 1991, we sent truckloads to Miami. What happened? We were in Chapter 11 bankruptcy Reorganization and then we shut down on December 4. Literally, there were trucks en route to Miami with company materials, including historical material---and they were stopped. There was a concern about payment and, of course a lot of material was in effect--frozen. In 1992, there were auctions for the name of the company, for the routes, for property and so on. That was when we created The Pan Am Historical Foundation. We didn't have the resources to bid, so we joined with the University of Miai Library Archives Division. We were very concerned that all the historical memorabilia collection would fall into commercial hands, be split up, sold, and that would be the end of it. Trustee of the company, Peter McHugh, had the obligation to maximize the value of the assets that were left. So he could not give these items away to us, and we had to go into the public forum of an auction of what was really our birthright. But that was not the view of the trustee. And I think that people understood that as much as we hated to buy our own items, they were not really ours. They belonged to our creditors.
____
MM: Yeah, heartbreaking. How did we ultimately prevail?
_____
KRIENDLER:Ultimately, we were the winning bid, I think it was $137,000 (US). Now what did we get? We got original Lindbergh letters, aircraft models, aircraft parts, menus, cigarette lighters, chinaware, uniforms, hundreds of thousands of photos, film, incredible first-day stamp collections, all the archives---the history of the company. We are still meticulously combing through all of that. (Note: Only 30 boxes remain to be catalogued at the Otto G. Richter Library in Miami as of this writing). Artifacts are with another partner, The Historical Association of Southern Florida. Ed Trippe (son of founder Juan Trippe) was the president right from the beginning, and it was a labor of love for him, of course it was really in his blood. As he has become increasingly busy with projects, he has handed over the reigns of the presidency to Pete Runnette. But Paul Roitsch (Pan Am's SST test pilot who passed away in 2005) should also be credited for making this happen along with Kathleen Clair (Juan Trippe's secretary--we will hear from both Kathleen, Ed and Pete later in this week-long salute). The Foundation is one organization. However The Foundation has 'Clipper Pioneers' (the Clipper Pilots), former Chinese pilots (from CNAC--China National Aviation Corporation), and pilots in Argentina. We have Pan Am Africa, and an Alaska Corporation. There are 30 to 40 individual groups. We also have a Miami group (to which this author belongs), a National Airlines retiree group, a group in the U.K., Japan and in Germany. (All: Pan Am once owned equity stakes in 33 airlines worldwide). The Foundation certainly would love to have more members. But we have more than 2,000 people actively involved in the preservation of the history of Pan Am.
_____
My sincere thanks to a mentor and my friend --Jeff Kriendler--a true Legend in Corporate Communications and Public Relations who is beloved and highly respected worldwide--for taking time to share his memories here with us!
THE INTERVIEW: REMEMBERING PAN AM: JEFF KRIENDLER (PART 1 OF 2)
Pan Am and Boeing created the Boeing 747
____________________
NOTE FROM MICHAEL: Hard as it is to believe, on December 4th the 15th anniversary of the shut-down of Pan American World Airways came and went. The news media--from CNN to USA Today and others have taken note. And with my involvement as a 14-year member of The Pan Am Historical Foundation, I am really very lucky to call the people featutured in this special week-long tribute onTHE INTERVIEW my friends. I have edited 37 single-spaced pages down to a readable (and hopefully eye-opening) look at an American institution whose logo was once the second-most recognized symbol of American culture worldwide next to that of Coca-Cola. Pan Am's story is very complex. But a brief explanation about Pan Am's problems would be helpful here before I introduce our first Guest, Jeff Kriendler.
_____
When the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was phased out after President Carter signed the Airline Deregulaction Act in 1978, there were two clauses. "Clause A" allowed all domestic carriers (such as American, United, Eastern, Delta, Continental and Northwest) to fly International routes. Up to this point, Pan Am was the only International carrier (although in the 1940's TWA was given some overseas routes). Curiously, Pan Am for decades was prevented from developing a Domestic Route System that would provide a logical "feed" into it's tremendous International route network. This bi-partisan effort amounted to a virulent hostile government action undertaken by the U.S. Government preventing Pan Am from flying within the United States! "Clause B" was the second of the two clauses drafted specifically to allow Pan Am to fly domestically. "Clause A" was energized. However, "Clause B" was never activated. When the remaining 17 U.S. airlines banded against Pan Am, they lobbied the U.S. Congress stating that Pan Am would monopolize the airways. While the legislation existed, Pan Am never benefited from it, and this ultimately led to the agonizing and lengthy demise of Pan Am. Nor would Washington policymakers permit a merger for Pan Am. There is but little doubt today that had Pan Am and a number of suitors (from TWA, Eastern and American Airlines--to cite a few) been allowed to merge years ago, Pan Am would still be flying today! Despite Pan Am's many sacrifices that paralleled the industrial growth of the United States from the airline's humble beginnings in 1927, Washington Democrats and Republicans alike permitted only two mergers for Pan Am: 1950's absorbtion of American Overseas Airways from American Airlines, and in 1980, the ill-fated acquisition of National Airlines--a medium sized carrier that flew basically three corners of the United States---California, Florida and New York. In a desperate to acquire a domestic route system, Pan Am purchased National Airlines just as the old CAB was being phased out. It proved to be a billion dollar disaster that Pan Am never really seemed to recover from. Now onto our next Guest!
___
With the decision of Delta Air Lines in late 1991 to withhold the final installment of $25 million of the $140 million that was pledged to capitalize a scaled-down Pan American World Airways serving the Latin American market from Miami, the company collapsed at 9:00 a.m. E/T on December 4, 1991. Immediate action was required to rescue the airline's archives and memorabilia from a bankruptcy court-imposed deadline to auction off Pan Am's assets. A group of concerned employees realized that their very birthright was imperiled. So, a working committee composed of Kathleen Clair (personal secretary to Pan Am Founder and Chief Juan Trippe), Paul Roitsch, Jeffrey Kriendler, Norman Blake, Everett Goulard, Jim Leet, Jim Montgomery, Jerry O'Donnell and Charles and Edward Trippe (sons of Juan Trippe) was assembled to develop a daring rescue plan. However, the group soon realized that they lacked the legal structure to move forward.
_____
Eventually, the Pan Am Historical Foundation was created thorough a merger of interests with Flight Spectrum, a Florida-based non-profit organization established by a group of 'Clipper Pioneers' led by George Price, Eugene Banning, Dave Abrams, Howard Ashcraft, Kevin Keith and W.L. Witherspoon.
_____
As the deadline for acquiring the voluminous amount of artifacts and materials (including but not limited to 11,000 boxes of documents) neared, the new board identified those who shared their common vision to preserve these precious items. Among them, Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, and Al Uelchi, chairman of Flight Safety, provided immediate financial support as did the University of Miami's Otto G. Richter Library, and the Historical Association of Southern Florida. As we have just recently passed the 15th Anniversary date of the Pan Am shutdown, "THE INTERVIEW" gathered together five original members of Pan American World Airways for a remarkable glimpse into the many historical events of yesteryear and modern day alike. What follows is a story from those who were not merely inside Pan Am during the beginning of the "Jet Age", but remained to the darkest hours of its heartbreaking demise. It is also the story of how those precious documents and artifacts were salvaged, and the challenge facing the Foundation to inspire younger members to carry forth the beacon of Pan Am's legacy today. This author joined the Foundation in 1992.
_____
JEFF KRIENDLER
Vice President of Corporate Communications
_____
Throughout the 1980's, Jeff Kriendler was the public's impression of Pan Am. From 1968 to 1991, Kriendler lived through every highpoint and tragic blow visited upon "The World's Most Experienced Airline". From a front-line in-flight supervisor, Kriendler worked his way to become a director and vice president of corporate communications. Kriendler shares his 'behind the scenes' story surrounding the birth of an institution whose mission is to preserve the legacy of Pan Am for future generations: The Pan Am Historical Foundation.
_____
MM: Your mission today on the board of The Pan Am Historical Foundation is as compelling as your career at the airline. Let's work backwards a bit.
_____
KRIENDLER:I was one of only many driving forces behind the creation of the foundation, although I am the one person who transitioned from the living Pan Am to the Pan Am as post-,mortem. I was the vice president of corporate communications from early in the Eighties. But for the last ten years, I was the public face and voice of the company; I was the spokesman. I entered Pan Am on July 1, 1968. It was right after Juan Trippe retired. But of course Juan Trippe left his legacy and Trippe was Pan Am and was such a pivotal force in the industry. Pan Am, driven by Juan Trippe, shrunk the globe. Their boldness---their pioneering spirit, really, brought the world together. The reason that I joined Pan Am, and the reason so many other people wished to join Pan Am was that Pan Am was the leader. Pan Am was the 'Queen of Aviation and it enjoyed financial success in the Sixties. And that period was, ironically, when it was at the zenith--the point at which it ordered the 747, which of course gave birth to a totally new era of aviation. But it was also one of the reasons, with other factors, that Pan Am began its slide. So, by the time I joined, Pan Am was beginning a very gradual slide to its ultimate demise.
_____
MM: How did a company like Pan Am that owned its famous New York Building at 200 Park Avenue, the Inter-Continental Hotel chain, Pan Am World Services (that conducted launches at Cape Canaveral), the insurance company, a 50 percent stake in Falcon Jet (the private executive jet builder), the Atlantic Division, the Pacific Division, the Latin American Division, the Internal German Services (Pan Am was the only U.S. airline to fly the IGS with Lufthansa between a divided East and West Germany during the existence of the Berlin Wall), and later the East Coast Shuttle (flown between New York-Boston-and Washington's "power corridor"), Pan Am Express (the commuter airline feeder) simply fall into the abyss?
_____
KRIENDLER: The company was absolutely number one worldwide in commercial aviation. Now, in the late ixities and in 1970 there was a slowing down of the world's economies and for the first time, a drop in international travel. Pan Am suffered greatly, because just at that time along came all those (Boeing) 747's. Pan Am ordered the first 25 and they arrived in 1970 and 1971. The company then faced the energy crisis and the Yom Kippur War in 1973. And although a short-lived war, the effect was that the oil embargo sent fuel prices from 13 cents a gallon to 34 cents a gallon, and that alone cost around $200 million. Then there was the matter of trying to cut routes, do route swaps (notably with TWA) and try and counter this great crisis. And by the mid-Seventies the company was starting to come back together. Then in 1978, of course, we had deregulation. Pan Am's response to deregulation was --rather than build a domestic network--to acquire National Airlines and this was another big mistake.
_____
MM: How did Pan Am survive so many tragedies such as Tenerife, or the helicopter accident on the rooftop of The Pan Am Building (both in 1977), and Lockerbie Flight 103 (December 21, 1988) and live as long as it did, Jeff?
_____
KRIENDLER: First, obviously it was able to survive because of the tremendous base of assets that the company collected through its growth to power and prominence. But during this period it was able to survive---unfortunately---by having to parcel out those assets to raise cash. The sale of the Pacific routes (23% of Pan Am) to United Airlines was incredibly close to the vest. There was definitely a need to do it. Pan Am didn't have the money and had suffered tremendous losses ($281 million in 1981). It had to sell the Inter-Continental hotel company (to Britain's Grand metropolitan Corporation for $500 million) in 1981. The airline suffered huge losses in 1982, although 1983 was a better year. But then in 1984 and 1985 the company suffered terribly and then was stuck with the beginning of terrorism. Europe was struck by the terrible events of 1985 and 1986 with the bombing of airports in Rome and Vienna. Then in 1986 President Reagan retaliated with the bombing of Libya. The summer of 86' was a complete disaster. Terrorism certainly was the end of Pan Am starting in the mid-Eighties. All the eggs were in the Atlantic basket and when the Atlantic went into a deep funk we had to lower fares again to get passengers back. Then Tom Plaskett came aboard. Don't forget that we did make a bid to acquire Northwest. (Pan Am lost a bidding war with ex-oil billionaire Marvin Davis and Marriott financier Al Chechhi). Business began to turn around. What happened? Lockerbie (a bomb planted aboard a Boeing 747 en route from London to New York exploded over Scotland killing 270 people) along with the Gulf War.
___
Tomorrow Jeff Kriendler refelcts back on the many good times at Pan Am.
THE INTERVIEW: REMEMBERING PAN AM: CAPTAIN MARK PYLE!
The Majestic Boeing 727-100 and later the -200 was flown by Pan Am
__________
Captain Mark Pyle flew Pan Am's last revenue scheduled flight in a Boeing 727-200 dubbed "Clipper Goodwill" (N368PA). I had a special travel agency desktop model of this plane created for my extensive Pan Am collection. Captain Pyle began the morning of December 4, 1991 with a departure from JFK Airport in New York to Miami and onto Barbados. Upon his arrival in Barbados, he observed the Pan Am Station Manager walking toward the plane and sensed the news was bad. Rumors were heavy in those final days that Delta Air Lines might be pulling out of a commitment made to help finance what was being termed "Pan Am II"--a scaled down Miami-based airline serving the Latin American market only. The night before, during a tense bankruptcy hearing in Judge Cornelius Blackshear's Bankruptcy Courtroom, Lawrence Handlesman, attorney for Delta Air Lines, stood up and announced that his client had decided not to commit further financing to Pan Am. "The world has changed" said Handlesman. He intoned this three times, by one account. With the stroke of a pen from Judge Blackshear, the end of Pan Am arrived with a devastating blow to more than 9,000 remaining employees. Captain Pyle was handed a Western Union message by his Station Manager. The message was from Pan Am's new CEO Russell Ray, Jr. stating that Pan Am's Plan of Reorganization was withdrawn and that all actions should be undertaken to minimize customer inconvenience and to secure the company's assets. It was all over. The issue of refueling "Clipper Goodwill" delayed the return flight to Miami by three hours. All Pan Am personnel stationed at Barbados boarded the last flight home to Miami to avoid being abandoned. The passengers on board passed a hat to take up a collection for the flight crew recognizing that the festive holidays would not be pleasant at all for the Pan Am employees.
_____
Captain Mark Pyle flew with National Airlines and served as a Check Pilot when Pan Am acquired National in 1980. He just recently retired from flying with Delta Air Lines.The crew for this flight was Captain Mark Pyle, First Officer Bob Knox and Flight Engineer Chuck Freeman.I'd like to quote from Captain Pyle's recollection to Miami Television Reporter Rob Fuller of that fateful day:
__________
CAPTAIN PYLE:"When they said it's over, this was something that we had prepared for years at Pan Am. Anyway, in my case it had been eleven years that my family had wondered from month to month how long the airline would last (after the merger with National Airlines). And even though I was mentally prepared, I found myself emotionally unprepared as I'm sure everybody else did. But we were overwhelmed with the sense of loss, and the ladies on the flight--the Flight Attendants were overwhelmed with a sense of grief--almost immediately tearful. Everyone with their own thoughts--private thoughts. Mine of course, ran the full gamut from 'Wow! It really happened', even though we knew that it would and finally did to 'Where do you go?', 'What do you do?'---and all the way to the sense of enormous loss and a historical airline like Pan American was allowed to fall into the abyss. And then as we approached Miami of course we were told by the company radio frequency that we used ---"PAN OP"--we called it--our operations people told us that we were the last ones. And at first I thought 'They must be joking'! Someone, one of my friends had landed before I did--just making some kind of a joke of the day. And then my (Flight) Engineer assured me, and with tears in his eyes that we were the last flight. And the tower said 'Could you do a low pass?' Well, I haven't done that since the Navy, so to me this was fun if nothing else--one last fun with the airplane. So, having briefed the passengers so they would know what to expect we flew down Runway 12--Runway One-Two at about a hundred feet and with flaps at 15 (degrees) and about a hundred and eighty knots, nothing too spectacular. I would have liked to come in at two-hundred and fifty and smoked the other side of the runway. But I didn't want any fear amongst the people--any more than they would have to have. So, we just did a very easy non-chalant low pass and over the field, pulled up and came back around for a landing. And I think that all of us in the cockpit were doing fairly well with our emotions until we saw the fire trucks lined up and the Emergency vehicles and the Pan Am ground crew people and the airport personnel and policemen and everyone else lined up to greet the airplane. And in my own case, I had no tears, although certainly emotionally shell-shocked. No tears, until they fired the water canons over the airplane in a final salute to everyone that had ever flown in a Pan Am airplane as far as I was concerned. At that moment, our crew represented everybody who had ever flown in this uniform, and in these "Clipper Ships". And I don't mind telling you, at that moment it was difficult to get to the gate --and everybody in the cockpit had 'smoke in our eyes'--I guess that's a macho term for what happened and I said 'Guys, just don't let me ding the wing tip, help me get this thing to the gate' because I couldn't see very well. Quite emotional. And probably will remain etched in my memory for a long time I would think".
________________________
The author is most grateful to Captain Pyle and broadcaster Rob Fuller in Miami for this post.
Hello, Everyone! We decided it was safer to spend an extra night and take the Tour Bus back to Cincinnati the following morning. This trip was one of the most positive emotional experiences of my life! The lobby of the Drury Lodge resembled an Aspen, Colorado ski resort--just beautiful--and I removed one of the two custom panels I designed for our "Sahara Express" Tour Bus measuring 34" X 60" so everyone could sign it with a black Sharpie Marker. I met Bloggers who--literally--flew in from Coast-to-Coast on their own nickel. Their dedication was a beautiful display of Love for Sahara! And we all just fell in love with precious Sahara Aldridge! Rick's love and generosity to all of us was truly amazing. And so the "Quality Time" we Bloggers had before a roaring fireplace was so filled with Love and Laughter and Fun, I don't think any of us ever wanted it to end! Rick's Manager Rob and I met where he accepted the Proclamation from Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory designating December 8, 2006 as "Sahara Aldridge Day" to be given to The Aldridge Family. The atmosphere was "Magic"!
___
Earlier, I met with Amy and Shannon--Sahara's parents and her Grandma Dooley for hugs and kisses. When I was introduced to Sahara, I briefly told her about our bus trip and that we had filled the bus with 63 fans with our Love and Support for her from the hotel. This special little girl wearing a knitted cap put her arm around me for two photos and said "Thank you so much". As I walked to my seat I knew that I would never be the same person again. What an Angel!
_____
Before I sign off, I'd like to thank a few more people who treated me like I was someone special: Grandma Dooley, The Media in Cape Girardeau: Crystal Britt of KFVS Channel 12 CBS, Tyler Morrison of KMIS Radio, Matt Sanders from the Southeast Missourian,Bud Buckley--thank you, for interviewing me on your own BLOG!; Belizegial-a woman with so much love, she donated her entire BLOG Page to my write up, featured 24/7 music from Rick and promoted the event hard. Please remember that even $10 will help take unnecessary pressure off The Aldridges at this time, so they can focus ALL of their attention on keeping Sahara well. I will be Guesting on Sarasota, Florida's WIBQ "Sunny" News/Talk 1220AM's "Suncoast Magazine" with Host Doug Milesin the days ahead for an update on the Tour Bus project. Thank You!
Hello All: The WCPO TV 9 Broadcast ran this afternoon at 5:00 P.M. throughout the "Tri-State" of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky points served by the Station. The cut-off date for booking the 50 hotel room's I'm holding at the DRURY LODGE in Cape Girardeau, Missouri is 12 Midnight tonight. I have secured a Tour Bus that holds 55 passengers and myself. We still have limited seating available. THERE IS NO CHARGE FOR THE BUS. I know that sounds crazy, but I cannot bring myself to charge people for the transportation when they are purchasing a concert ticket and a hotel room---both are at modest prices. So, here's how you can participate:
_____
Step 1: Telephone Ticketmaster at (573) 651-5000 and mention the Code Word "BUS" to the operator taking your Credit Card Ticket order. This is for the Rick Springfield Benefit Concert for Sahara Aldridge, 7:30 P.M. December 8th at The Show-Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. I have 55 seats reserved in Section 103 Rows J-M. Tickets are $25 and $35. This is a steal! Rick and the band are donating their talent fee to benefit medical expenses for 12 year old Sahara Aldridge.
______
Step 2:Grab your hotel room at the DRURY LODGE at the discounted rate of just $69 plus tax by going online at www.druryhotels.com and Click-On "Book It Fast". Use this Code #: 262455 and proceed to book your room.
Step 3: Here's the Last Step: E-mail me at: michaelmanninginfo@GMail.com and provide me with your First and Last Name, Area Code and Telephone Number and your Confirmation Code from the hotel. If you were traveling on Greyhound Bus Lines and not a $400,000 Custom Tour Bus, you would be charged $161.00 for the round trip! Our Bus is FREE! Earlier today, when I spoke with Greg Talbott of The Show-Me Center where the concert is going to be held, he summed it up "You know, Michael, I just can't imagine anyone in Cincinnati who is a Rick Springfield Fan NOT getting on that bus". One more time...
DATE AND PLACE OF DEPARTURE & MORE: Tomorrow (Thursday) morning, be at 5th & Vine Streets in downtown Cincinnati in front of The Westin Hotel. Be there at 8:30 A.M.NOTE: We are departing promptly at 9:00 A.M. for the 7-hour trip to Cape Girardeau, Missouri. We will roll into Missouri at 4:00 P.M. to beat the traffic and will be met by a local Television crew on hand to interview us! I will announce our Itinerary on the bus. There is also a FREE Breakfast Buffet from 6:30 A.M. to 9:30 A.M. at the hotel just for us! On Friday night the show begins at 7:30 P.M. Many of us, including me, have Premium Tickets ($200) to visit with Rick Springfield in-person for an hour after the show. Compassion knows no State Lines, but you must act now!
Basically, I'm a Public Relations Consultant with a background in Broadcast News. I've worked as a Reporter and Anchor with PBS, ABC, CBS & NBC affiliates and in Cable Television. I'm active in Radio & Television Commercials, Guest Speaking engagements and I enjoy writing, music and sports.
