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WORK TITLE: Jump Seat: 1963-1976: A Stewardess’ Memoir
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PERSONAL
Born c. 1941; children: two sons.
EDUCATION:College graduate.
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CAREER
Writer and entrepreneur. Former flight attendant for Northwest Airlines; then built and operated a retail business.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Janet Angell is a former flight attendant for Northwest Airlines, where she worked for nearly thirteen years. In her memoir titled Jump Seat: 1963-1976: A Stewardess’ Memoir, Angell writes about her time on the job when flying was still considered a luxury for most people, smoking was allowed during flights, and free meals were served to people in coach. Angell recounts growing up on a farm in Minnesota and dreaming of seeing the world. After graduating from college, she joined the airline as a way to help make her dream come true. Although initially only planning a short stint working for the airline, after which she would become a teacher, Angell ended up loving the job and working as a flight attendant for thirteen years. She recounts her travels around the world and many of the famous people she met along the way, from the union boss Jimmy Hoffa and his nemesis Bobby Kennedy to Diana Ross of the Supremes and Sonny and Cher.
Highlighting how much things have changed in the world of flying, Angell notes that when she took the job she had to sign a contract that forbid her from marrying and included a clause that she had to retire at the age of thirty-two. Angell also writes about her personal life, including dating and her boyfriends. Angell decided to write the memoir after taking a memoir writing workshop through the YMCA. “Much like the friendly skies, this memoir is bright and breezy, with the occasional bit of turbulence,” wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, February 5, 2018, review of Jump Seat: 1963-1976: A Stewardess’ Memoir, p. 55.
ONLINE
Delano Herald Journal Online, http://www.herald-journal.com/ (June 30, 2017), Starrla Cray, “Lester Prairie High School Alumna Writes Book About Seeing the World from 1963-1976.”
Janet Angell was a flight attendant for Northwest Airlines nearly fifty years ago, when it was proper to be called a stewardess. Following her almost thirteen-year stint with Northwest, she helped build and operate a successful retail business while also raising two sons. Now retired, she spends half the year in Sarasota, Florida, and the other half between Maryland and Bethany Beach, Delaware. Jump Seat is her first book.
Lester Prairie High School alumna writes book about seeing the world from 1963-1976
June 30, 2017
By Starrla Cray
Associate Editor
LESTER PRAIRIE, MN – Picture arriving at the airport a few minutes before takeoff, and boarding the plane without going through security screening. No one has a cell phone, and some passengers are smoking cigarettes.
For those who flew during the 1960s and early 1970s, when Janet (Nawrocki) Angell was a flight attendant, this scene was commonplace.
Angell, a 1959 graduate of Lester Prairie High School, recently published a book about her experiences, called “Jump Seat.” In it, she covers everything from the job interview, to dating and boyfriends, to maternity uniforms and discrimination lawsuits.
The rules for becoming a flight attendant – then called a stewardess – were highly restrictive when Angell accepted her job with Northwest Airlines in 1963.
“Marriage was not allowed, and we had to agree to ‘retire’ when we reached the ripe old age of 32,” she wrote.
Angell’s book notes that a job posting might have looked like this: “Young, single girl (105 to 135 pounds) wanted for stewardess job. Bring your smile and bubbly personality. . . your pretty uniform is waiting.”
As a girl who grew up on a 130-acre farm between Lester Prairie and Silver Lake, Angell was looking for an opportunity just like this – a chance to see the world.
Initially, Angell had planned to become a teacher, like her mother. But, after graduating with a degree in elementary education in the spring of 1963, she decided to first take one year to work for the airline.
After six weeks of training at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, Angell and her three roommates were flown to the Washington, DC stewardess base to begin their careers.
Previously, Angell had only been out of Minnesota twice, including a trip to the border of Iowa.
“Arriving at the nation’s capitol, needless to say, was very exciting,” she wrote.
The base pay was $290 per month, plus a per diem based on flight time. Angell noted that “airlines didn’t have to pay us much for this experience.”
Although she only planned to be a stewardess for one year, Angell loved the job so much she stayed for 13 years.
Afterward, she helped build and operate a retail business while raising two sons. Now retired, Angell still enjoys traveling, and splits her time between Florida and the east coast.
The idea to write a book came to Angell in Florida, after taking a memoir writing workshop through the YMCA.
“I started writing my life story,” Angell said.
Others in the class seemed particularly intrigued by the airline part, so Angell continued to develop that piece.
“Once you start writing, you start remembering things,” she said, adding that brochures, memorabilia, and hearing bits of history have helped along the way.
After she had enough for several chapters, Angell worked with an online self-publishing firm to complete the book.
“They were great,” she said, explaining that she sent the editors her rough manuscript, and they worked with her to get the book ready for print.
“Jump Seat” was released May 5, and is now for sale on Amazon.com for $14.95. Copies can also be purchased by emailing Angell at jnangell@aol.com.
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Print Marked Items
Jump Seat: 1963-1976: A Stewardess'
Memoir
Publishers Weekly.
265.6 (Feb. 5, 2018): p55.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Jump Seat: 1963-1976: A Stewardess' Memoir
Janet Angell. CreateSpace, $14.95 trade paper
(154p) ISBN 978-1-5448-4568-5
This slim, upbeat debut memoir from former flight attendant Angell chronicles her 13 years with Northwest
Orient Airlines during the 1960s and '70s. As a "ticket to seeing the world," Minnesotan Angell applied for
a stewardess position rather than accept a teaching job after college. As the jet age arrived, she went from
commuter flights from Washington, D.C., to Detroit to longer flights to California, Alaska, and Japan.
Angell writes of meeting VIPs and celebrities on her flights--Sonny and Cher, Jimmy Dean, and Diana Ross
among them--but readers hoping for juicy gossip about bad in-flight behavior will be disappointed, as
everyone is on their best behavior here. The choppy-feeling narrative goes light on workplace politics and
focuses more on Angell's time off, the travel perks that came with the job, and the exotic places she visited.
Rounding out the tale are the head-shaking requirements of being a flight attendant in that era, such as
mandatory retirement at 32 and weight checks. Much like the friendly skies, this memoir is bright and
breezy, with the occasional bit of turbulence. (BookLife)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Jump Seat: 1963-1976: A Stewardess' Memoir." Publishers Weekly, 5 Feb. 2018, p. 55. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A526810437/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=44d2c76d.
Accessed 3 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A526810437