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Archives at The Museum of Flight


Eileen (Baker) Kraft United Airlines Flight Attendant Collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 2013-03-18

Contents of the Collection

The Eileen (Baker) Kraft United Airlines Flight Attendant Collection is comprised of three black-and-white photographs and a certificate related to Eileen (Baker) Kraft and her graduation as a United Airlines (UAL) flight attendant in 1953. Two of the photographs are posed group portraits of Baker and her fellow UAL flight attendant classmates. One depicts the women in their UAL uniforms and the other features the women outside of the Broadmoor Hotel in Glendale Springs, Colorado in day-to-day apparel. The remaining photograph depicts Baker in her UAL uniform as she exits a building in East Orange, New Jersey in 1953. Captions are included and provide identification of some of the women. Also present is Baker's "Mainliner Stewardess Diploma" earned on September 9, 1953.

Dates

  • Creation: 1953

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research and is accessible in the Dahlberg Research Center by appointment. 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: Eileen (Baker) Kraft

Eileen (Baker) Kraft (1929-2009) was a United Airlines flight attendant from 1953-circa 1955.

Eileen Baker was born October 19, 1929 in Somerville, Texas to Eleanor and Nathan Baker. Baker spent most of her childhood in Bryan, Texas where she attended high school. She graduated from Sam Houston State Teachers College with a BS in Art Education in 1949. Baker relocated to Pasadena, California where she studied art before becoming a United Airlines (UAL) flight attendant in 1953. She remained with UAL until circa 1955.

Baker married Gene Kraft in December 1955. The couple had three children. At various times the family lived in Marietta, Ohio; South Charleston, West Virginia; and Redding, Conecticut. After her divorce, Kraft relocated to her home town of Bryan, Texas to be closer to family. Kraft was a proficient seamstress, played piano, sang in the Methodist choir, created pottery, and enjoyed oil painting. In 2007 Kraft suffered a stroke and relocated to Olympia, Washington for hospice care. Eileen (Baker) Kraft died on September 9, 2009 in Olympia, Washington.

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

Full Extent

0.05 Cubic Feet (1 letter-size file folder, 1 oversize folder (16x20"))

Language

English

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

Separated Materials

The following items have been separated from the archival component and are kept in Objects storage:

  • United Airlines flight attendant uniform, including jacket, skirt, shoes, hat, and wings
  • Children's wings pin
  • An oil painting of a United Airlines Convair aircraft at Newark Airport, undated

Title
Guide to the Eileen (Baker) Kraft United Airlines Flight Attendant Collection
Author
Jenn Parent
Date
2025 September
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

Contact:
9404 East Marginal Way South
Seattle Washington 98108-4097
206-764-5874


The Museum of Flight | 9404 E. Marginal Way South | Seattle WA 98108-4097 | 206-764-5874
Contact us with a research request
curator@museumofflight.org