We attended high school in a jet-age town. Spokane had two Air Force bases and one Naval Air Station residing at Farichild AFB and Geiger Field. During our careers at Rogers we heard the roar of jet fighters and B52 bombers. Geiger also hosted commerical flights, but those were piston-driven propeller aircraft. The jet age for commerical travel didn't descend on Spokane until the end of our Rogers tenure.
The Boeing 707 was not the first commerical jetliner, but it is is often mentioned as ushering in the commerical jet age because of its relative success. "Smaller" markets such as Spokane didn't initially get jet service, however.
In September of 1960, I emigrated to Michigan on a Northwest Orient Airlines DC 6, a large, noisy four-engine piston-driven propeller plane. It took me five deafening non-stop hours to reach Chicago's Midway Field. My next hop, to Lansing, was on a more modern tubro-prop that impressed me. The stewardess was impressive too.
It was several years before I flew the route between Spokane and Lansing again. My infreguent trips between those regions were either on a Greyhound Bus (once -- what a life's experience!) , or by train. The Vista Dome Empire Builder train was actually cheaper than flying. The bus? Dirt cheap, but with a an accordian stack of tickets that unfolded to three feet in length.
After about three years, I saved enough money to take a round-trip plane to Spokane. This time, the short hop was on the noisy DC 6. The long hop, from new Chicago O'Hare to Spokane, was on a Boeing 720B, a shortened version of the Boeing 707. That flight took three hours compared to the five that the DC 6 used to require. It was compartively quiet. The food was great. I thought I died and went to heaven. The round-trip cost was $120. Spokane was solidy in the jet-age.
Afterword
In this decade I've come to loath flying. I was a roadie consultant while the airlines became airborne busses. TSA came into being to make me safe by watching me schelp through security checks barefoot. How would I rather travel? That Vista Dome Empire Builder looks good. The price is way up, now, compared to flying. Worth it.