When I said I was sharing a "small relic" of Southern Airways, you probably thought I was going to show you a piece of an old airplane. No, I don't have one of those in the Lauderdale Library — well, not yet anyway. I wasn't kidding about the item being small, though. Tucked away in a book, apparently used as a bookmark, was this old, somewhat chewed-upon luggage tag for the defunct airline.
I like the bold graphics: the impressive DC-3, which was the main aircraft used by Southern over the years, and the swooping white bird with the gold "Southern Airways" script.
What's really interesting, at least to me, is the fragile string attached to this tag. You filled out the back with a pen or pencil (no computer registration in those days), tied this on to your precious belongings, and that was all you needed to keep track of your luggage, cameras, and whatever you wanted to carry aboard the rather small planes of the day.
On the back was this notation: "This tag is not a check, but merely authorization for personal items to be carried in the cabin. Please call the Stewardess if you need to locate them."
Good luck, Stewardess, if that string has broken.
I won't bore anyone with a long history of Southern. Just the basics: It was founded by a fellow named Frank W. Hulse in 1949 in Augusta, Georgia. In the early days, the company used a fleet of DC-3 twin-engine aircraft purchased from the military. As the name implies, Southern covered the South, with terminals located in Memphis, Jacksonville, New Orleans, and Atlanta.
In 1979, Southern merged with Republic, and in 1986 Republic merged with Northwest, and in 2010, Northwest merged with Delta. Got that?
I wonder why someone carried a blank luggage tag home with them? Were they planning a flight, and changed their mind?
