DONNA MANS GENS 1950 - 1960 FLIGHT ATTENDANT, CHIEF FLIGHT ATTENDANT DEN SLC Send the Frontier News to Donna. She started as a "stew" before me! So she will remember some of the original people. If you have anymore pics of me burn them please! DONNA M. GENS -Marg Bussell (4/14/10) I can't begin to tell you how thrilled I was to receive the gift of Frontier News from Marg Bussell. Especially happy that you have undertaken the job of keeping us "oldies" informed about past employees and happenings. My start with Frontier as a stewardess with Frontier began in July of 1950 shortly after the merger of Monarch and Challenger. At that time there was still a few pursers flying out of DEN. About 1957 I was promoted to Div. Chief Stew at SLC. About a year later I returned to DEN as training instructor for the "new" Convair 340 and the DC-3. I have a number of pictures you might be interested in using. Best regards, -Donna Mans Gens (5/22/10) Packet of pix and articles and this note: I am finally getting around to sending a few of the pictures I told you I had! Hope you find some of them suitable for publication. They are copies so there is no need to return them. Can send more if you would like them. I'm putting a post-it note on the back to tell you what I know about them. I loved the DC3. -Donna Mans Gens (7/29/10) The May 1959 article says she started as a DEN stew in Aug 1950. She is not on the 11/18/61 stew seniority list or the 9/15/63 stewardess roster. -Jake Lamkins (7/29/10) Phoned Donna about her packet: She has many other stories & pix which encouraged her to send me. She started in Aug 1950 fresh out of a commercial modeling and stewardess school FL put her on the line without any company school training which did not exist then. She quit in Jun 1960 to get married - she was DEN chief stew at the time. Had to quit because stews weren't allowed to be married then. -Jake Lamkins (7/29/10) Posted at FLacebook: Donna Mans Gen was one of the first FL stewardesses. She started in August, 1950 before FL had its own stewardess school. She had graduated from a commercial modeling and stewardess course. FL put her on the line without additional training. She joined the Challenger Airlines stewardesses and the Monarch Airlines stewards who came with the June 1, 1950 merger forming FL. The stewards were replaced by females in Dec, 1950. The first FL stewardess class did not graduate until Nov 3, 1952. Donna was DEN Chief Stewardess in Jun 1960 when she got married and was forced to quit. She sent this pic of her in DRO around Xmas 1956. (7/29/10) Letter from Donna dated Sep 6, 2010. Accompanied with undated newspaper clipping of FL stewardesses. Dear Jake, I want Frontier News to continue. I am having a great time with it. I'm enclosing a picture similar to the one I think I sent you. This one appeared in the Cheyenne Intelligence and was sent to me by an ex-stew in Sheridan, Wyo, arriving 2 days before my 81st birthday. It was great to hear from her after about 6 yrs. She is Bess Cousins & she didn't fly very long (opted to get married instead) The picture is similar to the one I sent you, but I can't identify them. Irene Replogle was chief stewardess & Ellie Bastar was #1 in seniority. I promised I'd send you a story or two. I'll repeat the one I told you over the phone. At least one pilot (I think ex-Navy) did not believe that women or ladies should be allowed to work on an airplane. So we had to slide the flight papers under the bulkhead door. We were not allowed in the cockpit except to access the commissary. We felt lucky if we were allowed to ride into town with him. He was an excellent pilot. This next one is "Old Joke True Story". We had a 3 day over-night trip - DEN ABQ, ABQ - SLC & SLC - DEN. The captain brought along his wife. The hotel in ABQ had an elevator and operator. When we got on the elevator, the captain told the e. operator, "This is my wife." The elevator operator answered, "That isn't the same one you had here last week!" -Donna Mans Gens (9/10/10) Gone West Marg Bussell, Selma, AL, passed away from a fatal heart attack Nov 18, 2010. I don't have many details about her life. I do know she had been in the military before coming to Frontier. I had a short note from her sister just yesterday. It was a shock to me and a terrible loss. I had a very short note from her sister, -Donna Mans Gens (1/7/11) DONNA M MANS DEN chief stewardess DOB 8/29/29 DOH 8/17/50 per the Feb 1960 Frontier Roster. -Jake Lamkins (10/25/16) FLacebook - FL Club FLight West: Donna Mans Gens DEN flight attendant Donna Mans Gens' memorial webpage is posted: http://FAL-1.tripod.com/Donna_Mans_Gens.html Donna was one of the first female flight attendants hired after the merger in Jun 1950 that created Frontier. She flew for ten years and left when she married. -Jake Lamkins (10/26/16)