Here is a great story from one of my favorite people, Donnie Martin!
Donnie wrote. . . .
I was the Chief agent of operations in Roanoke back in the 1960"s. One night a man was boarding a flight and had a large electrical instrument that he wanted to carry on board one of our Martin 404 flights. The flight attendant told him it was too large for our carry-on rack. The man asked to see a supervisor. So I, Don Martin, was summoned. I again told the man that the instrument was too large and also too heavy for the carry-on rack. At this the gentleman asked me to ask the captain if he would let him carry this item in the cabin. So I asked the captain and he said NO. I then relayed this information to the gentleman. At this he asked for my name. I replied Do Martin and he asked for the Captain's name and I replied Capt Bill Martin. The gentleman then deplaned and went to the ticket counter and asked to speak to a supervisor. When the supervisor told him the regulations - - the gentleman asked for his name. The supervisor said "Pete Martin" About this time this gentleman said "you guys are putting me on, there can"t be that many Martins here and besides you are flying Martin aircraft. So the man left, went to a hotel, came back the next morning, checked the box with the instrument and said nothing.
We just didn't have the heart to tell him to send his complaint to "TL" Martin in Winston-Salem.
Hi Don, That was a good one. Enjoy you week, and if I don't get back to you soon, Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year. See Ya, Robin P/S: A refresher on me, I worked for you at DCA ops Late 60s to early 70s. Also, wish we had these P/Cs back then, it would have been faster and easier to pass on the line info on flt after it left the gate and to the alts instead of that little paper tape.