It’s been nearly 14 years since American Airlines shut down the old TWA overhaul base in Kansas City and more than 23 years since the TWA name was removed but the people who worked there cherish their memories.
“We became a family,” said Don Sams, a retired TWA employee, at a gathering of former TWA employees at the North Platte Museum on Saturday, July 20.
One of the items on display at the special TWA exhibition at the North Platte Museum on Saturday, July 20, was a quilt with a square that commemorates the TWA day at then Royals Stadium in 1994.
Sams worked for TWA and American Airlines for 44 years and retired shortly before the overhaul base was closed. TWA was his first and only full-time job because it was a fun place to work.
“What was really amazing was how everyone worked together there,” Sams said. “The amazing part about working at TWA is the mechanics; if you didn’t know how to do it they’d show you how to do it. They trained you on the job. Everybody took me by the hand and taught me whatever I needed to do wherever I was at. I had a lot of fun. Good people, the best people in the world, worked for TWA.”
Belinda Hobbs worked at TWA for several years before moving to another company to finish her career. Hobbs said the atmosphere wasn’t even close to the same and she missed TWA. After retiring Hobbs and her husband moved back to the area and both have been volunteers at the TWA Museum at 10 Richards Road inside the Downtown Airport.
“It truly was a family,” Hobbs said about working at TWA.
There were plenty of stories like the visit from Pope John Paul II in 1979 and a pit stop to the overhaul base by the Space Shuttle. Many of the stories centered around Christmas time gatherings and company picnics which tens of thousands of TWA employees and their family members would attend. In 1994 about 26,000 TWA employees and family members attended a Kansas City Royals game.
One theme that emerged from the discussions and stories was the overwhelming pride and spirit the employees had for not only TWA but for each other.
“I was always so proud of the overhaul base because there were so many talented people. The people there could do anything with an aircraft,” said Lila Scrivener who worked at TWA for 30 years. Her husband also worked at TWA for several years and her father-in-law put in 35 years at the overhaul base. “There was always a lot of pride at TWA because of the overhaul base.”
Another point of topic was the benefits TWA provided for not only Kansas City but the North Platte region specifically.
“I always felt it was my home away from home,” Scrivener said. “I loved not only what it did for our family but also what it did for all of Platte County and especially Camden Point, Dearborn, and Edgerton. All of the people I went to school with just about worked down there.
“It broke my heart when American took over,” she later added.
When TWA started going through bankruptcy and things got tough there were employees like Sams who stepped up to get support from the public but also keep morale high inside the overhaul base. Employees held open houses with the public and at one such event, there were more than 60,000 hot dogs served according to an employee in the discussion. Employees also bought billboards to help educate the public.
“We tried everything possible to keep the public aware that we wanted to survive and we needed their help,” Sams said.
It was the second year in a row that the North Platte Museum hosted a TWA event. Lynn Cassity, a volunteer at the museum said it was one of the most highly attended events last year so it was a no-brainer to do it again. However, this year the discussion was video recorded. Cassity said she hopes to have the video available at the museum and possibly online in the future.
“We were told last year by some people that they wished somebody would record their stories for the grandkids so that they would know they worked for a great company, TWA,” Cassity said. “We’re attempting it.”
The North Platte Museum is open once a month during the spring through fall and has different events. For more information email TheOldSometimes@aol.com.