AIRWAYS HISTORY Northeast Airlines
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The Ludington Line struggled on until early 1933 , when it was sold to Eastern .
Which brings us to Amelia Earhart and the swimming pool . As The Ludington Line began its decline after losing the air mail contract to Eastern , Vidal and Collins looked for new ventures . At the time , the nation ’ s capital was served by Hoover Airport , a rather poor excuse for an air terminal for the seat of government . A major highway bisected one of the runways , and automobile traffic had to be stopped every time there was a takeoff or landing .
The novel idea to build a public swimming pool on the airport grounds came from Collins and Vidal and four friends , one of whom was the famous Amelia Earhart Putnam ( Amelia had wed publisher and explorer George Palmer Putnam in 1931 ). Apparently , none of them knew the first thing about operating a swimming pool . They decided to use saltwater to give swimmers the feel of an ocean . Unfortunately , the large amount
6 This route map from the May 1 , 1939 timetable shows both routes extending from Boston : northwestward to Montreal through the region served by the Central Vermont Railway , and northeastward through Boston & Maine and Maine Central territory . // DAVID H . STRINGER COLLECTION
7 Douglas DC-3s first flew for Northeast in 1941 . NC19942 entered the fleet in 1944 . // PHOTO : PAUL ZOGG COLLECTION ( ZOGGAVIA . COM )
8 9 A luggage label and timetable from the early 1940s . The complicated Boston-Maine Central Vermont name had been dropped in favor of a more straightforward title , Northeast Airlines , in November 1940 . // DAVID H . STRINGER COLLECTION
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