Elizabeth (Boon) Hughey TWA Flight Attendant Collection
Contents of the Collection
The Elizabeth (Boon) Hughey TWA Flight Attendant Collection is a relatively small collection that pertains to Hughey's 1949 appearance on the Ralph Edwards radio program called "This Is Your Life," as well as her stewardess training and service with Trans World Airlines (TWA). Materials are dated from 1949 to 1952.
Textual materials in the collection include Hughey's 1949-1950 logbook, salary deduction receipts for her TWA uniform, loose clippings about Hughey, her appearance on the radio show, and her TWA training; and printed ephemera, such as a Republic Airlines luggage tag and "Welcome Aboard!" page from a brochure that has been signed, possibly by peers at TWA.
Visual materials in the collection include two loose photographs, one of which shows Hughey in her TWA uniform and the other features a house and porch. There are also several scrapbook pages which are comprised of nine black-and-white photographs and additional clippings. The photographs depict Hughey and her fellow flight attendant trainees, mostly identified by first name only, at the Marsha Toy Air Hostess Stewardess School (Academy Pacific Travel College) as well as Hughey during recording of "This if Your Life." The black-and-white photographs are a mix of casual snapshots and posed publicity shots and vary in size, but most are 8x10 inches. Some include brief captions with limited contextual information, such as names, date or location. Duplication occurs. A DVD of Hughey's appearance on "This is Your Life!" is also present.
Dates
- Creation: 1949-1952
Creator
- Hughey, Elizabeth (Boon), 1925-2020 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research and is accessible in the Dahlberg Research Center by appointment. The DVD is currently unavailable, pending digital preservation. For more information contact us.
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.
Biographical Note: Elizabeth Boon Hughey
Elizabeth (Boon) Hughey (1925-2020) was a nurse and a Trans World Airlines (TWA) stewardess from 1949-1952.
Elizabeth (Boon) Hughey was born on October 3, 1925 in Hartford, Michigan to Peter and Agnes Boon. The family later relocated to Grand Haven, Michigan. Hughey attended nursing school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and earned her RN degree in 1946. She worked as a nurse in Florida and Texas before relocating to Los Angeles, California. On a whim, Hughey and her friends attended a night-time Airline Hostess class, which led to her appearance on Ralph Edwards' "This Is Your Life" radio show in 1949 and a job with TWA. While with TWA, Hughey flew the Los Angeles to Chicago route and frequently flew on the Douglas DC-3, Douglas DC-4 and the Lockheed Constellation. She remained with TWA until December 1952.
She married J. Benedict Hughey (1906-1997) in 1952. The couple had two children. At different times, the family resided in Arizona, California, and Acapulco, Mexico. Hughey was a supporter of Casa Serena, a women's treatment center, in Santa Barbara, California and in 2010 was honored with their "Pillar of Strength" award. Elizabeth (Boon) Hughey died on September 10, 2020. She is buried at Santa Barbara Cemetery.
Biography derived from collection materials, donor information, and records on Ancestry.com.
Full Extent
0.25 Cubic Feet (1 2-inch legal-size document box and 1 DVD )
Language
English
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
Separated Materials
Some items have been separated from the archival component and are kept in Objects storage, including several TWA flight attendant uniform pieces and TWA food service plates and cups. Please inquire for more details.
Subject
- Trans World Airlines (Organization)
- Hughey, Elizabeth (Boon), 1925-2020 (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Elizabeth (Boon) Hughey TWA Flight Attendant Collection
- Author
- Jenn Parent
- Date
- 2025 August
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Edition statement
- 1st Edition
Repository Details
Part of the The Museum of Flight Archives Repository
9404 East Marginal Way South
Seattle Washington 98108-4097
206-764-5874
curator@museumofflight.org