Here at Delta we’re very proud of our 78 year history. Our Archives hold a treasure trove of interesting images and photos from almost 80 years of passenger service so I’ll start regularly sharing some with you that catch my eye. Who knows — you might recognize yourself or someone you know! If you do, let me know, and I’ll add that name to our image records.
The photo below makes me think of Spring. Four Delta flight attendants, sometime in 1970-1973, are putting kites together at Stone Mountain Park, a favorite leisure destination here in Atlanta.
A piece of paper, glued to the back of the original photo, reads: “The Western Hemisphere’s largest exposed mass of granite is Georgia’s Stone Mountain. Standing some 600 feet above the surrounding terrain, the mountain recently attracted teams of kite flyers who had a try at breaking the world’s endurance record for keeping a kite in the air. No records were broken as the strong winds soon smashed the kites against the mountain. But far below, at the mountain base, the winds were kinder and four Delta stewardesses assembled kites they later used to publicize the event. From left to right: Evelyn Lee, Donna Wilkinson, Susan Williams, Vivian Herren.”
I don’t have an exact date for the photo, but the flight attendants’ uniforms were worn 1970-1973. Isn’t this a memorable uniform with those tunics and Delta logo belts? You can see why we’ve nicknamed it the “Star Trek” uniform. This was Delta’s first mix-and-match uniform. It came in shades of navy blue, orange and white–all 100% polyester double-knit pieces. It was also the first to offer a pants option and not require a hat.
April is National Kite Month in the U.S. - so let’s celebrate and go fly a kite! Hopefully, we’ll have better luck than those endurance kite fliers did.
Hope you enjoy our historical photos as much as I do!
Marie Force
Archives Manager