Elkins

The Beginning

This web site has been on my mind for quite a while and it's a work in progress. I always wanted to write a book, but it just never seemed to fall in place for me. Information in books gets dated before it ever goes to press anyway. Web pages are very fluid and I can update it at my leisure. Any pictures you see may be seen enlarged just by clicking on them. Try that in a book! Do be careful if you're still using a modem though, because you may find some of them download very slowly.

This story is dedicated to the flying mechanic who reeled in the first bag of mail ever snatched in a demonstration at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1934. It is dedicated to him and all AM 49er’s whether living or gone West. (I’m honored to have been friends with many of these pioneers). Here are the names of those people including the ones I didn't know:

Airline histories are usually full of factual and monotonous information. I hope this one will be different because my intentions are to make the story as enlightening and pleasurable as possible. This is a story of ideas, inventions, dreams and schemes that evolved into the sixth largest passenger carrying airline in the United States and eighth largest in the free world. This is the story of my career and USAIRWAYS, Inc.

My name is Marion Charles Pyles, but I've been known as 'Gomer' pretty much as long as Jim Nabors has been portraying the character. In my Business (Air Pix Aviation Photos), I've been using my middle name for several years. It seemed that folks had a hard time understanding when I introduced myself as Marion.

This site is about my career with Lake Central Airlines (Shakylake) and my consequent career after Allegheny took us and became USAir then USAIRWAYS. That's Joe Kanatzer left, Ed Shirley and me around 1965 on a Lake Central Hough (we called them hogs) tug.

I was born and raised in Elkins, WV where I learned to identify military aircraft at a very early age (5) because my parents belonged to the Ground Observer Corps. There were always books with silhouettes of aircraft around my house. I couldn't read yet, but my parents would show me the pictures and tell me what they were. Elkins was a crossroads for airways in those days of the early 50's and I had the opportunity to not only see the airplanes, but to hear and feel the rumble. It was the rumble of the B-36 Peacemaker Bomber that stayed with me all those years. Squadrons of them would fly over and the rumble would shake my Mother's knick-knacks off the shelf at times. You can share the B-36's sound by clicking here.

My parents had bought a set of encyclopedias the year I was born (1944) that updated quarterly each year until it filled a cover. Those encyclopedias increased my knowledge each quarter. I would always turn to the Aviation section to see what was new. There always seemed to be some new airplane being built and there in the book was a picture of it. I can still remember at age 5 taking my little brother (age 4) for a walk with me. We followed the Western Maryland Railroad tracks from our lower yard in Highland Park to Elkins which was a distance of about 2 miles and then followed US 219 to the Elkins Airport where an air show was going on.

At the air show, we were recognized by a family cousin who took us home (after the show). I was afraid my parents would beat the stuff out of me. They were so glad to see us returned home they just kept a better eye on us from that point on.

I continued this interest throughout my school days. When I was a Sophomore, I had a job as stock boy for W. T. Grant Company after a brief stint as bellhop/elevator operator in the Tygart Hotel. At this point I was in the future mode of deciding what to do about college. I had written to National School of Aeronautics in Kansas City for information. They offered a correspondence course which would culminate in resident training at Kansas City and hopefully employment with an airline. In the meantime, I had put down a deposit to attend the West Virginia Business School at Parkersburg which would help me advance with W. T. Grant. My business school registration money was lost. I'm not sorry.

I graduated from Elkins High School in 1962 and worked at Grants saving money until I was ready for Resident training at NSA. I left for Kansas City during the summer of 1963. While I was there, I filled out applications for several airlines because during that period, they hired lots of Airline Schooled kids. I was lucky. Lake Central called me to Pittsburgh for an interview that resulted in my being hired and starting a friendship with Palmer Holiday who hired me that day. The first thing Palmer did after he hired me and shook my hand was to say, "By the way, we don't wear white socks in the airline industry." I had worn a gabardine olive colored suit and white socks. For a hill jack like me; I was dressed to the nines.

Palmer and I were friends until the day he passed away through good and bad times. He was always management and I was always an advocate for employees which resulted in our meeting in several grievance hearing situations while I was a union representative. I always seemed to be in the middle of grievances, but I can say to this day that I never really lost a grievance. That's Palmer on the left and me on the right at the 1992 Lake Central Reunion.

Only one was in question where the grievant failed to appear. Palmer even let me call the guy (you know who you are) and gave him an hour to show up. In those days we had a lot of late nights carousing and getting plastered. All the guy had to do was show up and he would have won. Turned out this guy just couldn't get it together. It was while we were waiting that Palmer related to me that maybe he shouldn't have hired me but fired me instead. He was being facetious, but I didn't know it at the time. Anyway, we stayed friends and through him, I was introduced to many other officers of the Company. I never really knew the President of Lake Central, but he knew me because of my protesting being transferred from Portsmouth to Cincinnati.

This story will include some of the friends I've made and still have after all these years. Sections will deal with personal accounts, history and photos. I will tell you the history of predecessor airlines of modern day USAIRWAYS and maybe get out the ol' crystal ball for a look to the future. If you have a story or remembrance that you'd like me to include, please let me know. Chances are that your memory may be my memory as well or at least a memory for more of my visitors. Stick with me as I begin this journey through the past. I'll have links to various sections as I complete them.

Next PMH_CVG