Roy and Margaret Thrush Commercial Airlines Collection

Collection

Identifier: 2019-09-10

The Roy and Margaret Thrush Commercial Aviation Collection is a small collection that focuses mainly on Roy Thrush's 20-year career as a commercial pilot for TWA with a much smaller focus on his brief time at Lufthansa. The bulk of the collection is textual documents, including pilot logs; employee documents, including correspondence, memos, and schedules; membership cards; and a partial TWA pilot's manual. There are also 16 photographs, most of which depict aircraft. Identified aircraft include the Douglas DC-2 and DC-3 in TWA livery. A few images feature Roy Thrush in his pilot uniform and with aircraft. One photocopy of a photograph shows Thrush with a TWA stewardess, likely his wife Margaret. There is also one 10x12 inch lithograph of a Boeing 307 Stratoliner. Two items pertain to Margaret Thrush, including an undated TWA stewardess recruitment brochure and a photocopy of a retrospective article about Thrush and her experience as a flight attendant with TWA from 1937-1944.

Dates

1937-1970
Majority of material found within 1940s-1950s

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research and is accessible in the Dahlberg Research Center by appointment.

Conditions Governing Use

The Museum of Flight (TMOF) Archives is the owner of the physical materials in the archives and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from TMOF archives before any publication use. TMOF does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners. Consult repository for more details.

Extent

.80 Cubic Feet (1 full-width legal size document box, 1 half-width legal size document box, 1 20 x 24 inch folder)

Additional Description

Biographical Note: Roy L. Thrush

Roy Leo Thrush (1910-1972) was a commercial pilot for TWA and Lufthansa, circa 1940-1970.

Roy Leo Thrush was born on July 22, 1910 in Putnam, Oklahoma to Alma Glenn and Minerva (Hardin) Thrush. He began flight training in 1929 with a Swallow aircraft. He flew a variety of aircraft, including the Boeing 307, Douglas DC-2, Douglas DC-3, Douglas DC-4, Lockheed L-049 Constellation, Martin 2-0-2, and the Martin 4-0-4. He joined Trans World Airlines (TWA) in early 1940 and remained there through the late 1960s, starting as an officer and eventually earning Captain status. Circa 1955-1960, Thrush also worked for Lufthansa, likely as a pilot.

Thrush married Margaret Vantricia Clark (1914-2003), a TWA stewardess, on November 4, 1944 in Missouri. The couple had four sons. He was a member of the Air Line Pilots Association and the Quiet Birdmen. Roy Thrush died on December 18, 1971 in Santa Clara, California.

Source:

Biography derived from collection materials, donor information and records on Ancestry.com.

Biographical Note: Margaret V. Thrush Margaret Vantricia (Clark) Thrush (1914-2003) was a Trans World Airlines (TWA) stewardess from 1937-1945.

Margaret V. Clark was born on December 24, 1914 in Gilmore, Ohio to Charles M. and Mary B. (Pettit) Clark. She joined TWA as a stewardess (flight attendant) in 1937, serving aboard the Douglas DC-2 and DC-3. She remained there until 1944, eventually becoming Chief Hostess.

Clark married Roy L. Thrush (1910-1972), a TWA pilot, on November 4, 1944 in Missouri. The couple had four sons. Margaret (Clark) Thrush died on September 16, 2003 in Mountain View, California.

Source:

Biography derived from donor information and records on Ancestry.com.

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

Separated Materials

The following items were separated from the archival component and are kept in the Library:

Jet Pilot Training Guide by TWA Training Center, February 1962
TWA Boeing 707 Flight Handbook, 1969
TWA Flight Operations Manual, 1969

There are also a variety of items kept in Objects storage, including ball caps, a personalized leather binder cover, keepsake boxes, a briefcase, pins, playing cards and nameplates, among other items. For more information contact us.