With Val and Mom, ready to board my first ever transatlantic flight from Idlewild International. Destination, Heathrow in London, England. December 1962.
Here at Starr Style, we’re Mad Men about the new television series, PAN AM!
Growing up mid-century on Long Island, (I know, I know, it should be in Long Island…but it just doesn’t sound right to me) and for a while in Queens, ldlewild International Airport was a perfect example of all that was modern and glamorous in that Populuxe Age.
Not only was it the hub of air transportation, Idlewild became an entertainment venue for many families. Like a Sunday drive “out east,” a few hours in the terminals and on the open-air observation deck was both educational and fun for parents and kids alike. We spent an afternoon or summer evening there on numerous occasions when I was growing up.
The thrill of someone that you knew going on a trip in a jet plane was reason enough to join them at the airport to wish them a personal “Bon Voyage.” Friends and family alike would see one another off, waving goodbye until your jet airplane was just a speck in the distant sky. And they would return again in a weeks time to greet you as you arrived jet lagged and happy from your awesome travels.
All dressed up in our Sunday best,my Norwegian cousin, Andy, and his wife, Gail, came to see us off at Idlewild.
Now in those days, when immigrants like my mom and dad had established themselves in this country, they were given the privilege of sponsoring in other family members that wanted to come and work for the American Dream. This charge was taken very seriously and a sponsor could be held responsible for any misadventures of the younger family member. My parents sponsored at least a half dozen of my cousins immigrating from Norway. And this always included a trip to Idlewild to greet them as they came through customs! My cousin, Andy, (pictured above) was sponsored in by my parents.
Me, “Nannie” Elsie and Mom
Also present to see us off that day in December as we embarked on our Christmas Holiday trip to meet my mother’s family in England and with a side trip (via ocean liner across the North Sea – another first for me) to Norway to meet our Norwegian relations on my father’s side, was our “surrogate grandmother,” Nannie Elsie. A wonderful woman, she had also sponsored her share of young Norwegians.
Ready to go, Val and I were Happy Little Travelers! Note my carry on!
Come Fly With Me,
Starr
