Retired flight attendant celebrating 100th birthday
You could say that Eva Mossop is about to fly into her second century.
For 70 years, Mossop has been involved with the airline industry. She saw propeller planes being replaced by jet planes and her job as a stewardess renamed to flight attendant.
After the Second World War, she started out working on a 21-seat Douglas DC-3 from Winnipeg to Toronto.
By the 1980s, she was on a 244-seat Lockheed L-1011 Tristar flying from Western Canada to London.
Mossop turns 100 on Saturday, and enjoys walks around her West End neighbourhood.
She also enjoys doing her own cooking.
She'll be celebrating her birthday in style with her nieces and nephews at a downtown restaurant thanks to a $460 cheque from the government.
“I'm blowing it on my family,” she said.
“I'm taking them all out.” Born in Grace Hospital in Winnipeg, Mossop started working for Trans-Canada Air Lines, which later became Air Canada, on May 1, 1947.
At the time, she had been working at various jobs as a registered nurse.
When air travel started in Canada, stewardesses had to be RNs and unmarried.
She knew a couple of friends who were already stewardesses.
“Every time they saw me, they said, `Eva, come on. You'll be able to talk to people who are well,'” Mossop recalled. “You'll love it.” Eventually, she did.
But Mossop's first flight was a rough one. As she served passengers a boxed lunch and hot drinks from a Thermos, she was so stressed she kept returning to the galley to be sick. She remembers her sister questioning her about working on an airplane.
“`There's no parachutes, Eva, what are you doing?'” she recalled her sister saying to her.
“That was the least of my worries. I was busy with passengers.”
Stewardesses were often forced into retirement. At first, it was at 32 years of age, then 50, and then 60. Eventually, Mossop and her union came up against mandatory retirement when she turned 65.
She told the Toronto Star in 1986 that she felt horrible she was being forced out of her job after 39 years. “I feel the same as when I was 50 … even better,” she said.
“It is very demanding, but it's a job I love.”
After working for Air Canada, Mossop wasn't finished with the airline industry.
She joined the Green Coat volunteers, the customer service ambassadors at Vancouver International Airport.
She spent 31 years helping travellers at the airport until the pandemic or, as she said, “the bug took us off.”
Mossop has lived in the West End since 1953. Her niece regularly stops by to help her shop for groceries and the building manager helps with her garbage.
She has already had one birthday party.
On Tuesday, Mossop met at a local restaurant with retired cabin crew members including fellow West End resident Monika Hilson and her husband Wayne.
For Mossop's 100th birthday, she already had stacks of about 80 cards from well wishers.
“Every day is different,” Mossop said.
“I've been very, very fortunate.”