Astroworld - Photos

Name		Connie Hanna(strMaiden)
Nickname
Address		,
Phone		N/A
Email		N/A
Birthday		9/29/????
Gender		Female

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Start Date	End Date	Department	Position	Full / Part Time
		Retail		Full Time
			Hostess	Full Time

What I did at Astroworld

Worked as sales hostess in various stores at the entrance to the park

What I want to share with you.

I was a "hostess" at Astroworld that first summer it opened in 1968. It was my very first job and I made $1.35/hr. They wanted their young employees to portray a certain image -- fresh-faced Americans, I guess. I had sun bleached hair from surfing at Galveston. When I went to the job interview, the interviewer lady told me to bend my head down so she could see the part in my hair and asked me if I bleached my hair!! I guess a bleached blonde didn't exude the proper image. But I passed. I worked as cashier in several shops, including an art gallery, at the entrance to the park, so I got to see all the "guests" come and go. I worked the second shift from afternoon to closing. Houston is SO HOT -- right??!! The shops were air conditioned but with doors left open! I'd stay inside the cool shop til the sun went down. Then it would be cool enough to stand outside the shop and chat with the barber next door. Who would buy an original oil painting or get a haircut at an amusement park? But some did! It was fun to stand outside the shop at night, watch the people go by while the lights twinkled. Our colorful costumes were made of tough polished cotton. I wore a blouse with short puffy sleeves and a dirndl skirt. We were given a new outfit every day and turned in the "used" ones at end of shift to be washed. We had to buy our own black Mary Jane shoes though. At the end of the summer, my shoes were absolutely worn out and I ceremoniously threw them in the trash can the very last night. Celebrities came to Astroworld that summer. Word got around, but we were told not to stare at them or ask for autographs. I remember seeing Paul Newman and Joan Woodward and the Johnson girls. And when visitors from Disney came we had to be on our very best behavior. One night a toddler got lost in the park and I remember his frantic mother. All the "Streetsweepers" were called in to help search for him. Never did hear what happened, but I guess they did find him. And speaking of Streetsweepers -- they vied for the territory around the octopus ride which circled over a little pond. People would lose money and things out of their pockets on that ride. A little dip in the pond was often fruitful for the Streetsweepers. Roy Hofheinz (the dad) told us all that, if we worked the entire summer, he would throw us a "bash" -- and he did. It was in the Astrodome and I'd never seen so much food! That party was worth all those hot afternoons and dealing with the crazy general public.