Anita Stewart Brown papers

Anita Stewart Brown was born October 11, 1916 in Charlotte, NC, daughter of Eli Clifford Stewart and Ella Griffin Stewart Rhyne, she was a direct descendant of Hezekiah Alexander and Matthew Stewart, 18th-century early settlers of Mecklenburg County. She was married to Jennings L. Brown. She was employed in the first group of "Lady Agents" of Eastern Air Lines during WWII, retiring in 1981 as an account executive. During her many years with Eastern, she enjoyed the benefits of traveling and meeting many interesting people. She became a long-time, close friend of Harry Golden, one of the many people she was able to assist with travel plans, etc. while an employee at Eastern. Anita died at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, NC on October 23, 2003. All of the items in this collection were part of the belongings of a home purchased in 1973 by Mrs. Brown in the Elizabeth neighborhood in Charlotte. Harry Golden, Mrs. Brown's friend, had become internationally known as an author, journalist and humorist after his book "Only in America" became a best-seller in 1958. He had been living in the same neighborhood since 1952. When his home on Elizabeth Avenue was slated for demolition in 1973 to make way for a parking lot for Central Piedmont Community College, Mrs. Brown suggested that he consider moving to the house she had just recently purchased at 1701 East Eighth Street. As a devoted friend of Mr. Golden's for many years, she was aware of his fondness for the Elizabeth neighborhood and of his need for space and privacy. Although he had already purchased a house on Kenilworth Avenue, he decided to accept the offer. He moved into the house in July 1973 and lived there until his death in October 1981. After Mr. Golden died, Mrs. Brown moved into the house in order to protect it from vandals. She tried to keep the house as it was when he was living there. Except for his personal papers, which had been donated to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, all of Mr. Golden's belongings, including furnishings, books, numerous framed photographs, scrapbooks, and memorabilia, were as they were when he was living there.

Eastern Air Lines was a major American airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was one of the "Big Four" domestic airlines created by the Spoils Conferences of 1930, and was headed by World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker in its early years. It had a near monopoly in air travel between New York and Florida from the 1930s until the 1950s and dominated this market for decades afterward. Labor disputes and high debt loads strained the company in the late 1970s and early 1980s under the leadership of former astronaut Frank Borman. Frank Lorenzo acquired Eastern in 1985 and moved many of its assets to his other airlines, including Continental Airlines and Texas Air. After continued labor disputes and a crippling strike in 1989, Eastern ran out of money and was liquidated in 1991. Eastern Air Lines had a major hub at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.