TOMS RIVER, N.J. -- Robert Long, the founder of Travelong, died
here of pneumonia. He was 90.
Travelong opened in Elizabeth, N.J., in 1933 and sold seven-day
tours to the Chicago World's Fair for $49, including roundtrip
train travel and hotel.
The agency closed during World War II and reopened in Elizabeth
in the late 1940s, where it remained in business until the 1970s.
Travelong later opened branches in Union and Westfield, N.J.
For many years, Travelong specialized in leisure travel, tour
groups and extended cruises on ships such as the Caronia,
Stockholm, Brazil and Santa Paula. Long also escorted numerous tour
groups to Europe, Africa, South America, the Orient and all over
the U.S.
Travelong handled corporate travel in the days when the
telephone and Official Airline Guide were used heavily. But the
agency also was the first to install Sabre in New Jersey.
Ultimately, the Union and Westfield branches were closed, and
the agency shifted operations to Morristown and Summit, N.J. These
offices are run today by Long's sons, Robert Long Jr., and Walter
Long.
Long was elected president of the New Jersey ASTA chapter in
1953 and president of the Skal Club of New Jersey in 1977.
In addition to his two sons, Long is survived by his wife,
Miriam Halpin Long of Toms River, and two daughters, Nathalie
Ehlert of Westfield and Jean Ostrow of New York.