The Career of Capt. A. J. High, Pilot for Trans-Texas Airways

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By Mary Alys Cherry

We drive in and out of Hobby Airport, hardly giving a thought to its history.Yet tucked away on the west side of the massive complex , the original 1940 Air Terminal still stands. A rare example of classic art deco airport architecture from what is called “the golden age of flight” it not only still stands but is getting a facelift.

“The terminal served Houston during the years when air travelers dressed in their finest and embarked for exotic destinations aboard roaring prop liners like the DC-3 and the Lockheed Constellations.” A. J. High told Bay Area Museum Guild members when they toured the facility.

PART OF HISTORY
While he is a dedicated volunteer at the museum , he also is a part of its history. A World War II veteran who flew B-25s, High was the commander of the first group of pilots hired by the Trans Texas Airways, which later became Continental Airlines, and later became its vice president.

Now 85, High, not only flew the first flight for Trans Texas but the last flight before it changed its name.

After its closing in 1954, the terminal building sat forgotten for a number of years. Today, Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society volunteers work diligently to restore the city’s early history of flight, while they turn the building back into the showcase it was.

Sitting about the facility are mannequins showing pilot and stewardess uniforms of another time, airlines counters and baggage checks of another day, plus showcases filled with memorabilia, sure to stir the hearts of aviation buffs.

ONE PHASE DONE
The first phase of the project, completed in 2003, was the exterior restoration of the terminal, construction of new utility services for the entire terminal and restoration of the north wing.

The second phase, started in January 2008, includes the re-plastering of the ground and second floors and restoration of the atrium travelers enjoyed back in the 1930s and 1940s.

The museum, located just east of Telephone Road at 8325 Travelair, is open from 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday-Saturday and from 1 to 5 pm Sundays.

Admission is $1 for adults and $1 for children and free to museum members, law enforcements, fire fighters, military and their families. They are also looking for volunteers.

The Extra, Febuary 26, 2009

A new look for a native elderly lady

Pat Biddle, Martha Ferebee and Emmeline Dodd, from left check out a mannequin showing a 1940s -era pilot iniform in the lod Hobby Airport Terminal.

Sue Broughton, Barbara Dicky and Janet Greenwood, from left, share a light moment as they tour 1940 Hobby Airport Terminal. At left is a mannequin showing off a stewardess uniform from an earlier era.

Badiha Nassar, center,calls attention to work on the ceiling of the 1940 Hobby Airport Terminal to Emmeline Dodd, left, and Diana Dornak.

A. J. High shows off a model of an early airplane to Bay Area Museum Guild members from left, Bidiha Nassar, Jan Larson, Martha Ferebee, Mary Williams, and Mary Ellen Turberville

Museum Guild president Annette Dwyer stops to look at framed newspaper at the 1940 Hobby Airport Terminal announcing the bombing of Pearl harbor.