January 1, 1966

We are completing last minute packing. Leave SBM (Saginaw, Bay City, Midland) at 2:50. Madhouse at airport. From there things got worse. Mike Quill and the transit strike. It took us two and one half hours to travel 2/3rds of the way around the airport. All of this after the 1 ½ hours circling waiting to land at JFK (Landed at 7:30, arrived downtown NYC at 11:30. Saw old friends and drank a few at Hotel Wellington then to bed (Five hours of sleep). Tomorrow off. (Louis A. Picard (LAP).

January 2, 1966

We traveled via Frankfurt on Ethiopian Airways (Boeing 707); Great excitement out to JFK at 7:00 pm. Three and ½ hour delay in flight. Finally set off at about 1:30 PM. Many from Teachers College to see us off. Bomana George. Perhaps they’ll be in Tanzania sometime in July, a date if so. Caroline, Dr. Meder, John Fanselou and Joe Durham as well as Chuck Wozall and Rich Abrams all out to see us off. [We had great affection for the training staff; of course we never saw them again. One exception was the course coordinator, Marie Gadsden, who I later interacted with on a project in Botswana] with the Phelps Stokes Fund. Click here to read her obituary.

There were about 100 of us going to Kenya and Uganda. It was exciting to be on the plane; there was a lot of noise and a lot of alcohol and a lot of nervous laughter. We were all in our early 20’s; Fione and I were 22 years old [too young to be married. Most were in their mid-twenties and a few were older. The oldest were in their late 20;’s and they seemed ancient. They were friends we had made just for the Peace Corps training and they were really no more than cquaintances. I had lasting contact with few of them.

I don’t think we were afraid; we were just excited and more than a little nervous. I knew we were nervous, demonstrably nervous, talking out loud, laughing out loud. Most of them on the plane had never left the US before. We had been on Ethiopian Airlines since New York. I think most of us knew that Ethiopian was a subsidiary of TWA.

We stopped in Frankfurt and refueled. The Plane ride was long, 6 hours, and landed at 7:00 pm (1:30 AM) German time. Thus very little to see. Looks much the same as any other airport, cameras, tape recorders, radios, booze etc. on sale at deal prices. Only difference noticeably is language as they really do speak another language. (From now on all entries will be East African Time. LAP).

In Frankfurt there was nothing significant though I remember that I was impressed that we rode buses to the terminal. It was common for planes to refuel there in Frankfurt. I don’t remember what I drank; I didn’t drink a lot of whiskey at that time so probably a lot of beer. I do not remember us talking about very much (Fione and me). She was excited about the trip and she had made more friends during training than I had. I had a reputation as a bit of a loner. We had a group we started to hang out with in NY. Some went to Kenya and some to Uganda.

There was always the distinction between the Kenyan and Ugandan volunteers; what about I don’t remember. It was a typical charter flight where everyone was taking pictures; trying to memorialize of the event. I did not take pictures but Fione probably took some since we have a few pictures of the flight. I had bought a new Miranda camera in NYC that I took with me. We also had a half frame camera that Fione used. I remember that I kept thinking that there is not much you can see from an airplane. It was a long, long flight.