As I prepare to move to Korea this summer, I was sorting through my old belonging and ran across two pins from Piedmont Airlines.
Piedmont Airlines was a “major airline in the United States which operated from 1948 until it merged into USAir in 1989.” (Wikipedia) I remember that Piedmont was a key player in the South before they merged with US Air. It is interesting to note that a new Piedmont Airways is emerging after the U.S. Air Merger with American Airlines.
As I found those pins, I realized how things change as you get older. The things that we once thought were common place becomes merged with something else later on down the road. I was happy to see that somewhere along the line I picked up a little treasure from the Piedmont days of major airlines. From what I remember, the round plastic button was given to children who were flying alone so that the flight attendants and other airline personnel could easily identify the children who may need extra assistance and care. The plastic wings, however, were souvenirs given to children who flew on their flights. This was actually a big deal to have ridden in an air plane, so the children were “awarded” these wings for flying. I wonder if they still give these pins at other airlines. They would actually be a nice thing to build a collection around.
If you are interested in learning more about the Piedmont Airlines of old, I found a historical website at his link that you may enjoy.