1936 – Aviatrix Amelia Earhart Comes To Iowa City.

A truly inspiring American figure, Amelia Earhart – like no one before her – accomplished admirable feats that were previously deemed impossible. An aviation pioneer, Earhart was the first female aviator – an aviatrix – to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. As a speaker and author, she was one of the first aviators to promote commercial air travel, writing best-selling books about her flying experiences, and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots.

Amelia Mary Earhart was born on July 24,1897 in Atchison, Kansas, and from an early age, Earhart was the ringleader while her younger sister, Grace Muriel – nicknamed Pidge – acted as the dutiful follower. According to one biographer, a spirit of adventure seemed to abide in the Earhart children, as the girls would spend countless hours climbing trees, hunting rats with a rifle, while keeping “worms, moths, katydids and a tree toad” in a growing collection gathered from their neighborhood outings. In 1904, with the help of her uncle, Amelia cobbled together a home-made roller coaster and ramp, fashioned after a coaster she had seen on a trip to St. Louis. Earhart’s well-documented “first flight” from the roof of the family tool shed ended dramatically as she emerged from the broken wooden box with a bruised lip, torn dress and a “sensation of exhilaration”, exclaiming…

“Oh, Pidge, it’s just like flying!”

Amelia’s father – Edwin Earhart – worked as a lawyer for the Rock Island Railroad in Kansas City, and in 1907, was transferred to Des Moines. Over a five-year period (1907-1912), the Earhart family lived in five different homes there (see list above), and it was in Des Moines where Amelia got her first glimpse at her future…

According to Amelia, it was in Des Moines – at the Iowa State Fair – where she saw her very first aircraft as the family was attending the fair. Apparently, her father tried to interest Amelia and Grace in taking a flight in the areoplane, but after one look at the rickety “flivver”, the girls promptly asked if they could go back to the merry-go-round. Years later, Amelia described the biplane she saw at the fair that day as…

“a thing of rusty wire and wood, and not at all interesting.”

According to Iowa State Fair records, the Wright Brothers were scheduled to appear at the fair in 1911 – and based on the dates of other areoplane daredevils in Iowa, that 1911 date would seem appropriate for when stunt pilots like Orville & Wilber Wright might be offering rides to spectators at events like a state fair. Read more here.

On December 28, 1920, Earhart and her father attended an “aerial meet” at Daugherty Field in Long Beach, California. She asked her father, Edwin, to ask about passenger flights and flying lessons. She was booked for a passenger flight the following day at Emory Roger’s Field, at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. The cost was $10 for a 10 minute flight with Frank Hawks (who later gained fame as an air racer). Hawks gave her a ride that would forever change Earhart’s life. “By the time I had got two or three hundred feet off the ground,” she said, “I knew I had to fly.” *The next month, Earhart recruited Neta Snook to be her flying instructor. The initial contract was for 12 hours of instruction, for $500.*

By 1912, the Earhart family had left Des Moines, eventually moving on to Chicago by 1915. After many tumultuous years – with Amelia’s father struggling with alcoholism and related job issues – the family scattered, but by 1920, Amelia had reunited with her father In California. It was here where she learned to fly, taking flight lessons from Ames, Iowa, native Neta Snook. Earhart went on from there to become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic (June 1928), and made the first solo flight from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast in September 1928. Now – in the 1930’s – known internationally for her aviation feats, Amelia, began traveling across the U.S. on a series of lecture tours. It’s here, we pick up our Amelia Earhart in Iowa City story…

The January 20, 1936 edition (above) of The Iowa City Press-Citizen announces the big news – Amelia Earhart is coming to Iowa City…

The 1,800 tickets for Amelia Earhart’s March 31st SUI lecture – to be held in the Main Ballroom of the Memorial Union – were snapped up quickly by students and others wanting to see and hear America’s celebrity aviator.

Both The Press-Citizen (above right) and The Daily Iowan (below) printed glowing reviews of Earhart’s SUI lecture…

Read about the fascinating history of the Iowa City Airport and the number of well-known aviators who came in and out of the airport in its early years.

The newspapers of America kept Amelia Earhart and her aviation adventures on the front page. Serving as an instructor at Purdue University, Earhart enjoyed being on the cutting edge of aviation science. A Press-Citizen article in March 1937 (below) offered readers the details of her plan to circle the world at the “waistline”. This attempt – flying from the U.S. mainland westward to Hawaii – had to be aborted when Amelia’s plane developed mechanical problems there.

Less than 3 months later – on June 1, 1937 – the engines roared as Amelia Earhart – and her navigator – Fred Noonan – climbed into the Miami skies to undertake, once more, her personal challenge – becoming the first woman to fly around the world – this time traveling west to east…

After numerous stops in South America, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, Earhart and Noonan arrived at Lae, New Guinea on June 29, 1937. At this stage, about 22,000 miles of the journey had been completed, with only 7,000 miles – over the Pacific – remaining. On July 2, 1937, at 10 am, Earhart and Noonan took off from Lae Airfield with their intended destination – Howland Island – 2,556 miles away. The expected flying time was about 20 hours, so, accounting for the 2-hour time-zone difference between Lae and Howland, and the crossing of the International Dateline, the team was expected to arrive at Howland the morning of the next day, July 2.

As Earhart and Noonan neared Howland Island, radio communication with the U.S. Coast Guard ship, Itasca – which had been sent into the area as a support vehicle – became spotty. It was believed that the radio transmission equipment in Earhart’s plane had developed problems, and at 7:42 am, one of the final messages from Amelia came in…

“KHAQQ calling Itasca. We must be on you, but cannot see you…gas is running low…”

By the next day – **July 3rd, 1937** – the news had spread world-wide…

Sadly, America’s star aviator – Amelia Earhart – her plane, and her navigator – Paul Noonan – were never found.

Above left – Amelia Earhart walking with another Iowan – President Herbert Hoover – on the grounds of the White House on January 2, 1932. Above right – In 1963, the USPS honored Amelia Earhart with an 8-cent airmail commemorative stamp issued in her hometown of Atchison, Kansas.

Amelia Earhart’s aviation records and achievements:

Woman’s world altitude record: 14,000 ft (1922)
First woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean (1928)
Speed records for 100 km (1931)
First woman to fly an autogyro (1931)
Altitude record for autogyros: 18,415 ft (1931)
First woman to cross the United States in an autogyro (1931)
First woman to fly the Atlantic solo (1932)
First person to fly the Atlantic twice (1932)
First woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross (1932)
First woman to fly nonstop, coast-to-coast across the U.S. (1932)
Women’s speed transcontinental record (1933)
First person to fly solo between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Oakland, California (1935)
First person to fly solo from Los Angeles to Mexico City (1935)
First person to fly solo nonstop from Mexico City to Newark, New Jersey (1935)
Speed record for east-to-west flight from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii (1937)
First person to fly solo from the Red Sea to Karachi (1937)

The lesser-known Amelia—role model, author, designer, celebrity, icon:

She used her fame to play an important role in the women’s rights movement, lecturing around the country
She published many newspaper and magazine articles, and several books
For a time, Amelia designed clothing, which was sold exclusively at 30 departments stores throughout the U.S.
She endorsed several products, including Lucky Strike cigarettes, malted milk, and luggage
She was a career advisor for women students at Purdue University

One amazing person – and to think that it all started with a home-made roller coaster and a trip to the Iowa State Fair!