East to the Dawn (91 page)
Authors: Susan Butler
page 232: She rounded up the four pilots ...: Fay Gillis Wells, interview with author.
page 233: “There is something ...”: Margery Brown, Ninety-Nine files, Will Rogers Airport, Oklahoma City, Okla.
page 233: Amelia helped defray ...: Wells interview.
page 233: There was one place, ...:
NYT,
Feb. 24, 1929.
NYT,
Feb. 24, 1929.
page 234: membership of more than three thousand ...: “Oak Trees from Acorns,” American Women's Association collection, SLRC.
page 234: Ten thousand women showed up ...:
NYT,
Apr. 13, 1929.
NYT,
Apr. 13, 1929.
page 236: “I don't know why ...”: Trout interview.
page 236: writing jubilantly in her logbook, ...: Richard S. Allen,
Revolution in the Sky,
p. 94.
Revolution in the Sky,
p. 94.
page 236: as she had mentioned ...: Bobbi Trout,
just Plane Crazy,
p. 87.
just Plane Crazy,
p. 87.
page 237: A knottier problem to solve, ...: AE, letter to Ruth Nichols, Apr. 18, 1930, IWASM.
page 238: As
The New York Times
reported, ...: NYT, Aug. 6, 1930.
The New York Times
reported, ...: NYT, Aug. 6, 1930.
page 238: by October 1930 ...: Davies,
Airlines of the United States,
p. 93.
Airlines of the United States,
p. 93.
page 238: The NYPWA flew between ...: Ibid., p. 154.
page 239: Amelia flew over the line ...: AE,
FOI,
p. 115.
FOI,
p. 115.
page 239: “and get along with men; ...”: JM,
LITHW,
XIII, SLRC.
LITHW,
XIII, SLRC.
page 239: On the last day of 1930 ...:
NYT,
Jan. 1, 1931.
NYT,
Jan. 1, 1931.
page 239: amusing old prints ...: Helen Ferris,
Five Girls Who Dared,
pp. 7â8.
Five Girls Who Dared,
pp. 7â8.
page 239: “It is the disgruntled one ...”: AE,
FOI,
p. 112.
FOI,
p. 112.
page 239: “If you have spent ...”: Eugene Vidal, letter to AE, University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center.
page 240: She started in Hamilton, ...: AE itinerary 1931, SLRC.
page 240: “almost inarticulate....”: AE, letter to AOE, SLRC.
page 240: just the day after ...:
NYT,
Apr. 30, 1931.
NYT,
Apr. 30, 1931.
page 240: “As a matter of fact, ...”:
NYT,
May 9, 1931.
Courtship and MarriageNYT,
May 9, 1931.
page 241: Not even Muriel ...: MEM interview, Aug. 7, 1988.
page 241: “I am no longer engaged ...”:
NYT,
Dec. 23, 1928.
NYT,
Dec. 23, 1928.
page 242: “The tapering loveliness ...”: GPP,
SW,
p. 215.
SW,
p. 215.
page 242: (Gordon Selfridge thought ...: JM,
LITHW,
XIV p. 7, SLRC.
LITHW,
XIV p. 7, SLRC.
page 242: George also wrote, ...: GPP,
SW
, pp. 91-92.
SW
, pp. 91-92.
page 243: “In this period when ...”: Ibid., p. 77.
page 243: “Your hats! ...”: Ibid., p. 78.
page 243: As George wryly admitted, ...: Ibid., p. 59.
page 244: “My interests are usually plural.”: GPP,
WM,
p. 288.
WM,
p. 288.
page 244: So that by the time ...: GPP,
SW,
pp. 58-59.
SW,
pp. 58-59.
page 244: In New York in November, ...:
NYT,
Dec. 2, 1928.
NYT,
Dec. 2, 1928.
page 244: George wrote a promotional article ...:
Sportsman Pilot,
July 1929.
Sportsman Pilot,
July 1929.
page 244: in an effort to impress Amelia, ...: GPP,
WM,
pp. 284-86.
WM,
pp. 284-86.
page 245: “You are apt to take less time ...”: GPP,
SW, p.
80.
SW, p.
80.
page 245: It was during a party ...: Mary Lovell,
The Sound of Wings,
p. 153.
The Sound of Wings,
p. 153.
page 245: “Of course everyone ...”: Stabler interview.
page 246: I am still unsold on marriage ...: GPP,
SW,
p. 74.
SW,
p. 74.
page 247: “To marry Miss Amelia Earhart ...”: BG, Feb. 8, 1931.
page 247: even the
New York Times
...
: NYT,
Dec. 20, 1930.
New York Times
...
: NYT,
Dec. 20, 1930.
page 248: “I need advice badly ...”: Carl B. Allen manuscript draft of a review of
The True Amelia Earhart Story,
in NASM, courtesy of Doris Rich.
The True Amelia Earhart Story,
in NASM, courtesy of Doris Rich.
page 248: Swinburne's Atalanta ...: Charles Swinburne, “Atalanta in Calydon.”
page 248: A contemporary Radcliffe study of wives who worked ...: “The six requisites for the happy combination of a professional pursuit with married life are 1) a husband's active cooperation, 2) health to stand the strain of conflicting interests, 3) adequate household assistance, 4) training and experience before marriage, 5) work with short or adjustable hours, 6) complex arrangements for the children.” WEIU file, SLRC.
page 249: Both she and Lucy went to college ...: Antich interview.
page 250: “She wore something as simple...”: GPP,
SW,
p. 75.
SW,
p. 75.
page 250: “The ceremony itself, performed by ...”:
NYT,
Feb. 8, 1931.
NYT,
Feb. 8, 1931.
page 251: There are some things ...: GPP,
SW, p.
76.
SW, p.
76.
page 251: “a sad little letter, ...”: Ibid., p. 75.
page 253: “a curious mixture ...”: Carl Allen, “The Vindication of Amelia Earhart,” NASM.
page 253: share a meal ...: Once, to Katch's horror, she asked a reporter into Katch's house to have lunch with them; KCP interview.
page 253: “The candlesticks were sweet....”: Jean Backus,
Letters From Amelia,
p. 116.
Letters From Amelia,
p. 116.
page 254: be underwritten by 49.5 Club ...: AP news, Dec. 29, 1933.
page 255: “No client of any counselor ...”: GPP,
SW,
p. 88.
SW,
p. 88.
page 255: PLEASE TRY ...:
NYHT,
Mar. 19, 1937.
The Lindbergh TrailNYHT,
Mar. 19, 1937.
page 256: “follow the Lindbergh trail” ...:
Neu, York World Telegram,
Apr. 21, 1931.
Neu, York World Telegram,
Apr. 21, 1931.
page 257: “at Newfoundland I will await ...”:
NYT,
May 16, 1931.
NYT,
May 16, 1931.
page 258: on the Lindbergh trail ...: Clarence Young, letter to the secretary of state, Sept. 19, 1931, giving department approval “to Miss Elinor Smith's request for permission to make a flight to Newfoundland, Ireland and France,” NASM.
page 258: Her backer, ...: Don Dwiggins,
They Flew the Bendix Race,
p. 82.
They Flew the Bendix Race,
p. 82.
page 258: great publicity... : The
NYT
promptly ran an article, Dec. 20, 1930.
NYT
promptly ran an article, Dec. 20, 1930.
page 258: On a spring day in April, ...: There is some confusion about when Amelia soloed because she erroneously claimed in
The Fun of It
that she took that first flight “on a bright spring day” and soloed later the same day, making it all sound much easier than it was. Perhaps, given her marriage, she was uncharacteristically distracted and forgot about the December flights.
The Fun of It
that she took that first flight “on a bright spring day” and soloed later the same day, making it all sound much easier than it was. Perhaps, given her marriage, she was uncharacteristically distracted and forgot about the December flights.
page 258: not a “stunt altitude flight,” ...:
NYT,
Apr. 1, 1931.
NYT,
Apr. 1, 1931.
page 258: Shortly after noon ...: GPP,
SW,
p. 208;
NYT,
Apr. 9, 1931.
SW,
p. 208;
NYT,
Apr. 9, 1931.
page 259: a professional pilot ...: Frank Kingston Smith,
Legacy of Wings,
p. 188.
Legacy of Wings,
p. 188.
page 259: a windstorm ...:
NYT,
June 13, 1931.
NYT,
June 13, 1931.
page 260: the second accident....: Helen MacElwee, letter to author.
page 260: But writing to her mother ...: AE, letter to AOE, Sept. 17, 1931, SLRC.
page 260: within a few hours ...:
NYT,
Sept. 13, 1931.
NYT,
Sept. 13, 1931.
page 261: At the end of March she wrote ...: AE, letter to Helen Earhart, Mar. 26, 1932, SLRC.
page 261: The three of them ...: LC, diary, for Apr. 16 and the following days.
page 263: To increase the Vega's range, ...: Eddie Gorski, in
Spotlight,
July 1987; FAA records; Harvey H. Lippincott (corporate archivist, United Aircraft), letter to Richard S. Allen, Oct. 18, 1974; NASM files, original Department of Commerce documents.
Spotlight,
July 1987; FAA records; Harvey H. Lippincott (corporate archivist, United Aircraft), letter to Richard S. Allen, Oct. 18, 1974; NASM files, original Department of Commerce documents.
page 263: “dropping bombs,”: Gorski, in
Spotlight,
July 1987.
Spotlight,
July 1987.
page 265: knocked unconscious....: Richard S. Allen,
Revolution in the Sky,
pp. 61-62.
Revolution in the Sky,
pp. 61-62.
page 266: “across the South Atlantic.”: C. B. Allen, “The Vindication of Amelia Earhart,” NASM.
page 267: talked the townspeople ...: Bill Parsons,
The Challenge of the Atlan
tic, p. 14.
The Challenge of the Atlan
tic, p. 14.
page 268: Twenty-four miles away ...:
NYT,
May 22, 1932.
NYT,
May 22, 1932.
page 268: made the opposite decision ...:
NYT,
May 22, 1932.
NYT,
May 22, 1932.
page 268: “it just oozed.”: Bill Parsons, letter to author.
page 268: WESTERN FLYING WANTS ...: telegram from AE to Mrs. H. V Thaden, sent on May 20, 1932; Ninety-Nine files.
page 269: weather began to deteriorate; ...: Stuart Porter (scientific services meteorologist, St. John's), letter to author, Sept. 3, 1987: “It is not surprising that she would pick up icing in this cloud at 12,000 feet.”
page 269: (When Ben Howard ...: Ben Howard, Columbia OH.
page 269: As dawn broke, ...: GPP,
SW,
p. 108. Her barograph showed an almost vertical drop of three thousand feet, marking the moment her plane iced up and went into a spin.
SW,
p. 108. Her barograph showed an almost vertical drop of three thousand feet, marking the moment her plane iced up and went into a spin.
page 269: fuel line was defective ...:
NYT,
May 22, 1932.
NYT,
May 22, 1932.
page 270: “Tell my friends ...”: Ibid.
page 271: Wrote American columnist ...: GPP,
WM,
p. 295.
WM,
p. 295.
page 271: A while later ...:
Literary Digest,
June 4, 1932.
Literary Digest,
June 4, 1932.
page 271: Finally she asked ...: LC, diary, 1932.
page 272: “My first impression ...”: Gordon Selfridge, interview by JM, SLRC.
page 273: She had entered a realm beyond stardom.: Gore Vidal.
page 273: Haveyou everlonged ...: AE, “Flying the Atlantic,”
American Magazine,
Aug. 1932.
American Magazine,
Aug. 1932.
page 273: “Miss Earhart has ...”:
NYHT,
Nov. 7, 1932. Elinor Smith never forgave Amelia for beating her out, and from then on she tried to smear Amelia's reputation. In fact, she denied there had ever been a race to be the first woman to fly the Atlantic. She may have been unaware that her request to the State Department for permission to fly to Newfoundland, Ireland, and France had been filed with other information about the Vega, which had indeed been hers. She claimed her plan had been to fly to Rome across the Alps and that it hadn't come off because her backer didn't have sufficient funds to buy the latest instruments. “The odds against making a safe crossing of the Alps at night
without an earth inductor compass were just too great in my mind,” she wrote in her book Aviatrix, which wasn't trueâwhen she bought the plane, one of its unusual pieces of equipment had been an earth inductor compass. She also claimed she had sold the plane to Amelia, which was also not true: a month after Amelia's flight, she sold the plane, by then in her husband's name, to William W Harts, Jr. He sold it to Amelia, after she sold her own Vega to the Franklin Institute, FAA Registry files, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Having Her CakeNYHT,
Nov. 7, 1932. Elinor Smith never forgave Amelia for beating her out, and from then on she tried to smear Amelia's reputation. In fact, she denied there had ever been a race to be the first woman to fly the Atlantic. She may have been unaware that her request to the State Department for permission to fly to Newfoundland, Ireland, and France had been filed with other information about the Vega, which had indeed been hers. She claimed her plan had been to fly to Rome across the Alps and that it hadn't come off because her backer didn't have sufficient funds to buy the latest instruments. “The odds against making a safe crossing of the Alps at night
without an earth inductor compass were just too great in my mind,” she wrote in her book Aviatrix, which wasn't trueâwhen she bought the plane, one of its unusual pieces of equipment had been an earth inductor compass. She also claimed she had sold the plane to Amelia, which was also not true: a month after Amelia's flight, she sold the plane, by then in her husband's name, to William W Harts, Jr. He sold it to Amelia, after she sold her own Vega to the Franklin Institute, FAA Registry files, Oklahoma City, Okla.
page 275: “I thought ...”: Jean Backus,
Letters from Amelia,
p. 128.
Letters from Amelia,
p. 128.
page 275: “most treasured” ...: GPP,
SW,
p. 115.
SW,
p. 115.
page 276: stufloflegend: ...: Obituary, Eugene Luther Vidal, Class of November 1918, West Point, West Point alumni publication.
page 277: their marriage was on the rocks.: Gore Vidal,
Palimpsest,
pp. 67-71.
Palimpsest,
pp. 67-71.
page 278: “When you see a pilot dance ...”: JM,
LITHW,
VI p. 8, SLRC.
LITHW,
VI p. 8, SLRC.
page 278: She had blossomed, ...: KCP interview.
page 278: Amelia drove ...: LC, diary, July 15, 1932.
page 278: By the time they arrived, ...: LC, diary July 23-Aug. 1, 1932.
page 279: Her hair blew ...:
New York World Telegram,
Aug. 25, 1932; photo just after landing in Newark.
New York World Telegram,
Aug. 25, 1932; photo just after landing in Newark.
page 280: “The impossible ...”: Joseph Corn,
Winged Gospel,
p. 14.
Winged Gospel,
p. 14.
page 280: “George low.”: LC, diary, Oct. 16, 1932.
page 280: notes the historian ...: Doris Kearns Goodwin,
No Ordinary Time,
pp. 89-90.
No Ordinary Time,
pp. 89-90.
page 280: “I think that every woman ...”:
Cosmopolitan,
Apr. 1933.
Cosmopolitan,
Apr. 1933.
page 280: Her closest friend ...: Doris Faber,
The Life of Lorena Hickok.
The Life of Lorena Hickok.
page 281: (They would be limited to women ...: Hickok,
Reluctant First Lady,
p. 108.
Reluctant First Lady,
p. 108.
page 281: “Thank you very much ...”: Papers of Eleanor Roosevelt, FDRL.
page 281: “I hope to know ...”:
Poughkeepsie Eagle-News,
Nov. 20, 1932;
Sunday Courier,
Nov. 20, 1932.
Poughkeepsie Eagle-News,
Nov. 20, 1932;
Sunday Courier,
Nov. 20, 1932.
page 282: rode the bobsled ...: Faber,
Life of Lorena Hickok.
Life of Lorena Hickok.
page 282: taught to shoot ...:
NYT,
Feb. 21, 1934.
NYT,
Feb. 21, 1934.
page 282: “The question now ...”: GPP,
SW,
p. 132.
SW,
p. 132.
page 282: “My husband convinced me ...”: Eleanor Roosevelt, letter to AE, April 4, 1933.
page 282: “But I always fly ...”:
PA,
Apr. 1934.
PA,
Apr. 1934.
page 283: “Amelia, lets see ...”: GPP,
SW,
p. 130.
SW,
p. 130.
page 283: “The example set ...”: AE, speech before the Daughters of the American Revolution, April 21, 1933.
page 283: Eleanor thought so much ...: JM,
LITHW,
XVI p. 6, SLRC.
LITHW,
XVI p. 6, SLRC.
page 283: it
was
arranged ...: AE, telegram to Louis Howe, Apr. 5, 1933, asking for a three-minute interview with the president “TOMORROW, THURSDAY, OR FRIDAY” and arranged for Wednesday, Apr. 12, at three thirty; FDRL. George did not have the same access; he had to write to
Basil O'Connor and ask him to put his ideas before FDR (as he did May 19, 1933).
was
arranged ...: AE, telegram to Louis Howe, Apr. 5, 1933, asking for a three-minute interview with the president “TOMORROW, THURSDAY, OR FRIDAY” and arranged for Wednesday, Apr. 12, at three thirty; FDRL. George did not have the same access; he had to write to
Basil O'Connor and ask him to put his ideas before FDR (as he did May 19, 1933).
page 284: “force airplane designers ...”: Don Dwiggins,
They Flew the Bendix,
p. 16.
They Flew the Bendix,
p. 16.
page 284: named for Vincent Bendix, ...: Ibid.
page 284: languishing in dead storage ...: FAA Aircraft Registry files, every change of ownership, noted as well as other detailed information.
page 285: The men waited longer, ...:
NYT,
July 2, 1933.
NYT,
July 2, 1933.
page 286: The only pilot ...: Ibid.
page 286: Florence Klingensmith, ...:
PA,
Nov. 1933.
PA,
Nov. 1933.
page 286: known to be dangerous planes.: Only seven were built. When Don Dwiggins wrote his history of the Bendix races,
They Flew the Bendix,
he titled one chapter, “Gee BeesâBorn to Kill.”
They Flew the Bendix,
he titled one chapter, “Gee BeesâBorn to Kill.”
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