When Harry Jackson and Thomas Glenn took over World Travel in Santa Ana, the company had two phone numbers: 2818 and 3956. That was it. Just four digits for each line. The year was 1938, and the city only had about 7,200 telephones, so there was no need for three-digit prefixes or area codes.

In those days, a travel agent working on the phone faced a dilemma when the other line rang. To answer the second line, the employee had to physically go into the office where the other phone was located. There were no extra buttons for extensions.

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It takes a certain attitude and nimbleness to stay in business 75 years. Here are some of the lessons Tom Jackson learned heading World Travel:

Run a business like a business, not a hobby, so you can make sure to pay the bills.

Have a clear understanding of what your business is and stick to it.

Meet challenges like Internet competition head on.

Change with the times.

Now, 75 years later, World Travel has a 10-digit toll-free number used by customers around the world. While travel has evolved from the steamship to the spaceship, one thing remains the same: The company is still being run by a Jackson Harry's son, Tom, who is the 73-year-old president.

Ed Hart, director of the Center for Family Business at Cal State Fullerton, calls the travel agency's 75 years in business a remarkable run, especially considering the upheavals in the travel industry over the past seven decades.

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Navigating 75 years of World Travel