Fantastic post and peek into the past! I cannot wait to see more.

It is interesting that in the first year Employees were already demonstrating industry leading productivity and being rewarded for that even in the absence of profits. Lamar Muse wrote the following in a June 1972 memo:

"In a recent issue of the Aviation Daily there was a short article attributing Continental Airlines' success to employee motivation. There is no question whatsoever that Continental Airlines is generally regarded by both other airlines and airline passengers as being the best of the CAB certificated carriers from the standpoint of service to the passenger and productivity of its employees. Therefore, I am sure you will be pleased to know that during Southwest Airlines' first year of operation, we provided our customers with a substantially more reliable service than Continental, and the productivity of each of our employees was, practically speaking, 100% better than that of Continental's [...]

Even though our passenger loads are not yet sufficient to produce a profit from our operation, our 195 employees have performed much better than any other airline in the world, and it is for this reason you will receive substantial increases in take-home pay effective July 1, 1972.

If each of you continues to perform in our second year the way you have in our first, and I know you will, no one including 'Brand X' will be able to stop us, and you may be assured that you will share in the rewards!"

I remember those days! Man we were "cool" -- I had both a baby blue and lime green leisure suit -- photos of which my kids swiped and remind me of from time to time.

I still regularly fly SW for both work and pleasure. And while the planes have changed a little, the service has not!

Thanks Southwest for all the years past and many more to come!

Seeing this has brought me to my knees in tears. Thank you, Nancy Keene for sending this to me. The beautiful woman standing next to my father and presenting the ""#1 Lover" award is my mother, Juanice Muse. Mom died 2 years after this photo was taken of lung cancer. Most of you do not know that it was my mother who designed the first hostess uniform, with the help of Randy Randazzo, and Lorch of Dallas made them. I was in the first Hostess Class, and was at the first birthday. When the ad folks wanted the neckline of our sweater to be about an inch lower, my mom put her foot down, and said "No, my 20 year old daughter will be wearing that! The Hotpants are sufficient!". What's really cool is that my mom had such great legs, she could have easily worn that uniform and would have looked great in it. Only a few of you will remember Juanice, but those who knew her were blessed by her involvement in the early days. I was 23 when she died, and am now 58, but not a day goes by that I don't think of her. As for my dad, Lamar, he left this world to be with the Lord on 2-5-07, just two years ago. With the country in the mess it is in today, and the airlines in the dumps, I wish I could ask him, Lamar, what would you do if you were still running Southwest? I shutter to think what he would say. Again, many of you know exactly what I am talking about. He was a man of words.

These days, every time I board a SWA flight to SAT or AUS, I remember my days there as a Hostess, and the legacy that my mom and dad created for me there. I will always hold SWA and its employees in my heart because you are a link to my past. Love to you all!!!

Debbie Muse, Class of June, 1971

Brian,
These are GREAT pictures and wonderfully nostalgic! I very well remember the early days of that little upstart company down at Love Field while I was in high school. Several of us discussed how well they'd do against those "big" airlines whose planes we were used to seeing at DAL back then. I clearly recall the day I was reading the afternoon edition of The Dallas Times Herald (for you youngsters, that was the other newspaper in town that competed with The Dallas Morning News) and saw a large ad that caught my attention with the large bold font mentioning Raquel Welch. It was at that moment that I realized the new airline was not only an upstart, it was a fiesty upstart with a lot of Spirit!

As to your question about the location of the picnic pictures, I think that is Turtle Creek (a small branch of the Trinity River) here in Dallas. It is NOT Bachman Lake -- the trees are too close together and the body of water is too narrow, but it does remind me of some of the area around Lee Park, down near the intersection of Lemmon and Oak Lawn. Just a guess...

Oh, and by the way, maybe this afternoon's Deck Party would be the perfect time to bring back the Charleston? LOL

Kim, Fresh From His Journey in the Wayback Machine :-)

It definitely was Bachman Lake. It was lunchtime, and the employees came over from the office which was on the airport side of the lake. This was before Bachman was renovated and improved. Those of you who were not with SWA in the first 5 years probably don't remember that Bachman does not look today like it did then. Turtle Creek would have been way too far to go, and Dad would not have wanted to take that long for lunch! I sent this to Camille Keith and she will be able to fill in the blanks for everyone.
Debbie Muse

Hi Debbie,
Thanks for the additional info (fyi, CJ is still flying). I've been around Dallas since 1967 (you and I are almost the exact age), and I didn't remember Bachman Lake as being that narrow or overgrown. However, its proximity to the first Headquarters makes it a logical spot. Thanks too for identifying some of your Coworkers. Stay tuned, we have a lot of interesting historical stuff planned.
Brian