National Buccaneers NewsletterNovember, 2019

Prez Captain Stan Sez

It’s That Time of Year

As the end of the year comes upon us at warp speed, it’s that time again to shake out

that dusty wallet or purse and forward the NAL Buccaneers 2020 dues of $15.

Please make it payable to the “The NAL Buccaneers Club” and forward to:

Stanley M. Barfield 8850 SE 7th Avenue Road Ocala, Florida 34480-7277

More on the 2020 Convention in Boca Raton over the next couple months.

Officers are:President: Capt. Stan Barfield

VP/Convention Chair: Bob Pierson

Bob Pierson

Past President:Capt. John Wentworth and

Linda Wentworth

Past Treasurer:Sharron and Bob Thrasher

Temporary Treasurer:Stan Barfield

Production by Beth Mauldin

November’s Mystery Airport November’s Mystery Airplane

Ok guys and gals, this is a little tougher... this picture does not give you all the little extra nuggets of information to locate and identify the aerodrome. When you eventually identify the airport, besides the name, send me the first year that NAL started service. You have the big hint that it was a NAL airport, so that narrows it down. If you get totally stumped, don’t give up, send me a note and I’ll “leak” you a hint….

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November’s Mystery Airplane

This aircraft was the last of Legend. Not going to give you too many hints, but if you get stuck send Captain Lovern a note and see if he’ll give you a hint. He is very familiar with this classic.

Going forward with the Mystery Section we need to have all the

“guesses” submitted by the 25th of each month. If we receive a guess after the 25th, I’ll give a shout out

the following month.

Email me with your answers!

Hart Kelley islandhartjune@aol.com

Airplane and Airport Mystery Guessers

The October mystery airplane and airport were again connected and also indirectly part of the history of NAL.The airplane, The Benoist XIV, also called the Lark of Duluth, was the first aircraft used for scheduled passenger service, and the airport from which it departed on the first passenger flight was Albert Whitted, in St. Petersburg, Florida. The home of NAL. The first scheduled passenger flight between St. Pete and Tampa departed shortly before 10:00 a.m. on January 1, 1914, piloted by Tony Jannus and carried former St. Petersburg mayor Abram C. Pheil as its passenger for the 22-mile, 23-minute flight.

For such a little airline with our only home in Miami, we were certainly blessed

with an outstanding cast of characters. This has certainly been demonstrated over the last 40 years since the hostile takeover, by the tenacity of our lasting friendships. It is unusual for a group to remain as close as

we have for such a long period of time and further demonstrates the depth of

quality of our Family.

We wish each of you and your families a wonderful Thanksgiving and hope we can

continue our journey together a little longer. Pass the mashed potatoes, please….

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F/E is John Hall, F/A Joanne Cann, Captain Wm. “Bucky” Smallwood, F/A Marti Hertner, 1st Officer Alan Bartol. The above photo and names of the crew members were provided by a wonderful friend of the NAL Buccaneers, Mary (Cahill) Daniel. Thank you, Mary

Lunchbox Memories

Central Florida Buccaneers Luncheon by John and Linda Wentworth

The initiation of the 2019–2020 luncheon season for the CFBs began October 9th when 19 of our compatriots convened to renew a tradition that has been going on for MANY, MANY years. I/we thank each of you for making the effort to join us and adding pleasure to the day! In addition to the normal din of conversation President Stan Barfield brought us up to date concerning the upcoming “Final Buccaneer Bash in Boca” convention event coming up in the spring of 2020. It’s going to be FUN so please watch for details as they emerge beginning soon. As it stands now it will be a three day event with a Saturday activity just like the “Old Days!” The more participation we have the more FUN it will be. Stay tuned!

A vote was also taken as to whether or not to do the “Yankee Trader” again in December and it passed easily, so we look forward to that as always. I’ll put a reminder in the November letter.

So, who was there? STAN BARFIELD, MARSHALL and LILIAN BURNETT, JOHN BARRY, RON CHATLOS, JOHN BOWLING, BILL STRELECKI, DAVID BLESSING, DAN PIERCE, NORTON and PAM ELDER, JOE FRICKS, KAY STRAUSS, STEVE MILLS, DON and DORIS MORGAN, CHUCK OLIVEROS, and LINDA and JOHN WENTWORTH.

The 50/50 riches went home with Kay Strauss and David Blessing who each won $25, I think. My memory is dubious, at best.

We will meet again on November 13th. It would make our day if YOU were there as well! Until then, BE WELL!

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Gone but not forgotten

George Pekari NAL/PAA Crew Scheduling Supervisor DOD Sep. 20, 2019

George had an early career in the grocery business but quickly moved on to aviation. He worked for National Air Lines, Pan American World Airways as a crew scheduler, New York Air, and finally Continental Air Lines. He filled many positions in the Flight Operations area with his final position as Director of Flight Operations Administration.

Captain Wallace S. Pawley NAL/PAA DOB Mar. 22, 1934 • DOH Mar. 15, 1965 • DOD Oct. 5, 2019

Wally was a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Following graduation, he joined the USAF where he became a flight instructor at Vance AFB. Later, he joined the Coast Guard Reserve in Miami where he also became a pilot with National Airlines, working his way up the seniority list to captain with NAL, and then moved on to Pan Am as captain via the merger in 1980. Wally was a lover of the water, had a boat, and loved to fish.

Kathryn A. “Kay” Eckles Early NAL Stewardess DOH 1944 • DOD Oct. 3, 2019

A Florida native, Kay began her career as a flight attendant for National Airlines in 1944. She moved to Washington, DC in 1947 to take a position as a market-ing representative for National Airlines, first on Capitol Hill, and then as the first female assigned to military accounts at the Pentagon. She retired in 1980 after Pan American Airlines acquired National.