by Susan Butler
page 66: Blessings on thee ...: AE, letter to Virginia Park, Mar. 6, 1914, SLRC.
page 67: Her 91 grade point average ...: Transcript, St. Paul Central High School.
Teenage Years
page 68: Upon arrival Edwin went ...: MEM, CITP, p. 94.
page 69: The family rolled around ...: AE, FOI, pp. 17-18.
page 69: She arrived at the train station ...: Katch Challiss, diary, Aug. 6-Sept. 7, 1914.
page 71: over a glass of milk ...: GPP, SW, p. 26.
page 71: Its student body ...: All material on Hyde Park High School, including The Aitchpe, the yearbook, was provided by Tom Staniszewski.
page 71: Amelia participated in none ...: The Aitchpe, 1915. All school activities are noted beside each student’s picture; Amelia’s is blank.
page 72: In The Aitchpe, ...: Many books, starting in 1937 with George Palmer Putnam’s Soaring Wings, give the yearbook caption as “The girl in brown who walks alone.” Putnam presumably got it from Muriel; whether she made it up out of whole cloth is not known. But most biographies since have faithfully reprinted it, without ever seeing the yearbook.
page 72: She kept so much to herself ...: Hyde Park Weekly, vol. 25, no. 1 (Sept. 14, 1928).
page 73: (She laughingly remarked ...: Ibid.
page 73: attempted to resurrect his law practice ...: St. Paul city directory, 1915.
page 73: he moved to Kansas City ...: Kansas City directories, 1915-1918, in Kansas City, Missouri, Public Library.
page 73: Edwin joined them....: Address given on court documents, Atchison, Kansas.
page 73: Amy had never given up ...: Records of District Court, Atchison County, Kansas.
page 73: In September 1915 Amy ...: Petition #11220, District Court, Atchison, Kansas.
page 74: “a very silly place ...”: KCP interview.
page 74: Nor did Ogontz appeal ...: Morse interview.
page 75: she alone claimed the house ...: AOE quoted in Martin, Family Tree, p. 5. Philadelphia city directories for the years locate the house of Gebhard Harres, “cabinetmaker,” on South Third Street.
page 75: When Muriel wrote ...: MEM, CITP, p. 71.
page 75: she was almost totally deaf ...: Morse interview.
page 75: Margaret was undertaking ...: Starting in the fourth grade Nancy and Jane would go to Germantown Friends, as their elder brothers had. In later years Margaret would extend her hospitality to Charles Otis’s grandchildren.
page 76: “I remember Mother wearing...”: Morse interview.
page 76: Ogontz was a school ...: Abby Sutherland, 100 Years of Ogontz, p. 72.
page 78: I don’t have a minute ...: AE, letter to AOE, October 25, 1916, SLRC.
page 78: “I played hockey yesterday ...”: Ibid,
page 78: “Amelia was always pushing ...: GPP, SW, p. 34.
page 79: “Dearie, I don’t need ...”: AE, letter to AOE, March 1917, SLRC.
page 79: “Her style of dressing ... : GPP, SW, p. 35.
page 79: the Orpheus Club ...: AE, letter to AOE, March 1917, SLRC.
page 79: a scrapbook that she called “Activities of Women ...”: AE, scrapbook, SLRC.
page 80: “The boys have been lovely ... : AE, letter to AOE, postmarked August 14, 1917, SLRC.
page 80: “The general age ...”: AE, letter to AOE, October 3, 1917, SLRC.
page 81: “It is a sweeping blow ...”: Ibid.
page 81: “very few people understand ...”: AE, letter to AOE, November 1917, SLRC.
page 81: she was one of five ...: Ibid.
page 81: “It has been rather ...”: Ibid.
page 81: In a close-up picture ...: GPP, SW, p. 38.
A Life of Purpose and Action
page 82: The student body resolved ...: The Mosaic, the Ogontz school publication.
page 83: “Returning to school was impossible, ...”: AE, 20H, p. 31.
page 83: the St. Regis ...: JM, LITHW, V p. 2, SLRC.
page 83: “Muriel and I sent Miss Macdonald ...”: AE, letter to AOE, Feb. 21, 1918, SLRC.
page 84: I am a busy person ...: AE, letter to AOE, “a spring Sunday,” SLRC.
page 84: on her first day ...: JM, LITHW, SLRC.
page 84: staining germs ...: AE, letter to Edwin Earhart, SLRC.
page 84: “It was a thing of rusty wire ...”: AE, LF, p. 5.
page 85: “frankly unimpressed ...”: Clarence Chamberlin, Record Flights, p. 186.
page 85: “full sized birds ...”: AE, 20H, p. 37.
page 85: “the next best thing” Ibid., p. 38.
page 85: “He was bored ...”: AE, LF, p. 6.
page 85: reached Canada in June....: Eileen Pettigrew, The Silent Enemy: Canada and the Deadly Flu of 1918.
page 86: She went on the night shift ...: AE, FOI, p. 20.
page 86: a long, debilitating course of treatment ...: Ibid., p. 21
page 86: “the lovely country roads ...”: MEM, CITP, p. 106.
page 86: “If only I were over there ...”: AE, letter to Kenneth Merrill, in SLRC, quoted in Mary Lovell, The Sound of Wings, p. 28.
page 86: Charlesbois taught the girls ...: A Smith College publication in Smith College Archives, p. 12; given to author by MEM.
page 87: “The life of the mind, ... : Louise de Schweinitz, interview by JM, 1945; quoted in LITHW, SLRC.
page 87: “very poetic, ... : Marian Stabler, interview with author.
page 88: She could, according to Marian, ...: Ibid.
page 88: “to afford extraordinary educational opportunities ...”: John Burrell, A History of Adult Education at Columbia University, p. 19.
page 88: In the fall of 1919 ...: Columbia University Annual Report for 1919-1920, p. 183.
page 88: Among the famous professors ...: Burrell, History of Adult Education, p. 72.
page 89: “some dump,” ...: AE to AOE, datelined “Saturday, NY,” SLRC.
page 89: She then signed up ...: Records Division, Columbia University.
page 89: Louise, three weeks younger ...: Louise de Schweinitz, letter to author.
page 89: This interest, he recalled, ...: Dr. James McGregor, interview by JM; quoted in LITHW, VI p. 6, SLRC.
page 89: “so capable she could have done anything” ...: Louise de Schweinitz, interview with JM, quoted in LITHW, VI p. 5, SLRC.
page 90: on a mild May afternoon, ...: JM, LITHW, VI p. 9, SLRC.
page 90: slippery leather soles ...: Louise de Schweinitz, letter to author.
page 90: At the end of spring term, ...: Columbia University records.
page 90: “after a year of study ... : AE, 20H, p. 44.
page 90: “It took me only a few months .. :”: AE, FOI, p. 23.
page 90: Amelia was on the receiving end ...: Ibid., p. 24.
page 91: “aviation caught me.”: Ibid., p. 24.
California
page 92: “for several reasons ...”: Donald Glassman, Jump, p. 1.
page 92: “never forget ...”: The Curtis Standard JN4-D Military Tractor Handbook, Aviation Publications, p. 48
page 93: “like a falling leaf,”: NYT, June 6, 1920.
page 93: “greatest of all daredevil fliers,”: Ace, Sept. 1920.
page 93: Of the first forty: Paul Collins, Tales of an Old Air-Faring Man, pp. 88-90.
page 93: “I stopped counting ... : George Vecsey and George Dade, Getting Off the Ground, p. 255.
page 93: “In those days ...”: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand and Stars, p. 13.
page 94: “It’s the fashion ...”: Ace, Dec. 1920.
page 94: 500 feet wide and 4,000 feet long ...: Ibid.
page 94: It was there that Amelia ...: AE, 20H, p. 44.
page 94: The meet featured ...: Ace, Dec. 1920.
page 94: “characteristically fair,”: AE, 20H, p. 46.
page 95: “local air thrill maker”: Frank Hawks, Speed, p. 125.
page 95: she “knew” she had to learn ...: AE, FOI, p. 25. Amelia’s diff
idence ...: AE, 20H, p. 70. She would admit as late as 1928, “If it be car or plane, my inclination is to be absolutely sure of myself before I whisk anybody else’s body around in it.... As a matter of fact, I have never asked any men to take a ride. I think I have always feared that some sense of gallantry would make them accept, even though they did not trust me. So my male passengers have always had to do the asking.”
page 95: That fall she had leased ...: Ace, Dec. 1920.
page 95: She was wearing a brown suit ...: Snook, I Taught Amelia, p. 1.
page 96: “so in a few days ...”: AE, 20H, p. 49.
page 96: “I knew I could fiy.”: Snook, I Taught Amelia, p. 81.
page 97: “Wilshire Gasoline” ...: Ibid., p. 95.
page 97: “a beautifully tailored outfit,”: Ibid., p. 104.
page 97: That book and the many others that followed ...: Ibid., p. 105.
page 97: her fat ankles....: KCP interview; Nancy Balis Morse interview.
page 98: “We were not quite sure ...”: GP, SW, p. 39.
page 98: “looked thoroughly feminine.”: Quoted by Doris Rich, Amelia Earhart, p. 31.
page 98: what always stuck in Amelia’s mind ...: AE, FOI, p. 33.
page 98: “to nose down on a right-hand turn ...”: Curtiss Aeroplane, The Curtiss Standard JN4-D Military Tractor Handbook, p. 52.
page 99: It rained mightily ...: Los Angeles Examiner, Feb. 16, 1921.
page 99: By the end of February ...: Snook, I Taught Amelia, p. 106.
page 99: The first prototype, ...: Ace, June 1920.
page 99: By June ...: Ibid.
page 99: “Speed kings of the board bowl ...”: Los Angeles Examiner, Feb. 27, 1921.
page 99: The Washington’s Birthday extravaganza ...: Ace, Feb. 1921.
page 100: Bert dropped out ...: Ibid.
page 100: going against the advice ...: AE, 20H, p. 62.
page 100: “It was like a favorite pony....”: AOE, AOE papers, SLRC.
page 100: a job she kept for several years....: Los Angeles city directory, 1921 and 1922, “Earhart, Amelia M. clerk.”
page 100: “wiped out my indebtedness, ...”: AE, 20H, p. 67.
page 101: Charles Lawrance, ...: Who Was Who in America, vol. 3, 1951-1960, Chicago: C. N. Marquis, 1963, p. 503.
page 102: “the prettiest plane ...”: Neta Snook, interview with author.
page 102: “I remember thinking, ... : Snook, I Taught Amelia, p. 138.
page 102: “a few times.”: Ibid., p. 121.
page 102: “periodically became clogged.”: Ibid., p. 122.
page 102: So scary did Neta find the plane ...: Ibid., p. 122.
page 102: Will Rogers’s definition ...: Collins, Old Air-Faring Man, p. 23.
page 102: Amelia gave her some soothing explanation ...: Snook, I TaughtAmelia, p. 122.
page 103: “She’d look at me with her winsome half smile, ... : Ibid., p. 125.
page 103: “We have to look nice ...”: Ibid., p. 126.
page 103: “Crashes were frequent...”: AE, 20H, p. 82.
page 103: “I was almost angry ...”: Snook, I Taught Amelia, p. 124.
page 104: Amelia, whose loyalty to friends ...: “The visit in 1924 was the last time I saw Amelia.” Snook, I Taught Amelia, p. 158.
page 104: Amelia thought dating ... : Ibid., p. 110.
page 104: “Sowing wild oats ...”: AE, black book, SLRC.
page 105: I refused to fly alone ...: AE, 20H, p. 54.
page 105: he had as well become financially involved ...: “W B. Kinner and J. G. Montijo are making a number of improvements on their Long Beach Boulevard Field and report business good.” Ace, Nov. 1921.
page 105: Under John’s instruction, ...: AE, FOI, p. 35.
page 105: “thoroughly rotten landing.”: AE, 20H, p. 56.
page 106: On November 3 ...: Ace, Dec. 1921.
page 106: “The Pacific Coast Ladies Derby ...”: Ibid.
page 106: It was at this first rodeo ...: Ibid.
page 107: In reporting the fatal accident, ...: Ibid.
page 107: On December 17 ...: Ace, Dec. 1921; Los Angeles Examiner, Dec. 18, 1921.
page 107: During the afternoon ...: Los Angeles Examiner, Dec. 11, 1921.
page 107: Amelia had turned up ...: AE, 20H, p. 75.
page 107: At that stage ...: Los Angeles Examiner, Dec. 4, 1921.
page 108: “the chatterers never knew ...”: AE, 20H, p. 75.
page 108: She was full of plans ...: Ace, Dec. 1921: “Miss Earhart has placed an order for one of the new 1922 model Kinner Airsters and will fly to New York in the spring to compete in the eastern events during the 1922 flying season.”
page 109: “I lingered on ...”: AE, 20H, p. 86.
page 109: “I am sure ...”: Letter, June 23, 1920, SLRC.
page 109: In 1921 they had moved ...: Los Angeles city directory, 1921, Los Angeles Public Library.
page 109: On her suggestion ...: MEM, CITP, pp. 119-21.
page 109: “Peter is drowned, ... : MEM, CITP, p. 121. Sometime in February 1922 Muriel was informed by letter by Amelia while she was at Smith that all was lost. She never went back after finishing the term, according to Smith College records.
page 110: Amelia began dropping his name ...: MEM, CITP, p. 117.
page 110: keep a belaying pin ...: AE, FOI p. 176.
page 110: Amelia had been investigating ...: Snook I Taught Amelia, p. 105.
page 111: “I can’t name all the moods ...”: AE, FOI, p. 48; AE, black book, SLRC; notes on color negatives. Amelia wrote in FOI (p. 48) that she took a photography course at the University of Southern California, but no courses in photography were given at USC in the years 1920-24, according to the registrar’s office, neither in summer, undergraduate, nor graduate school, nor was she listed as a student.
page 111: “nearly became bankrupt.”: AE’s WEIU job application.
page 111: She began driving ...: AE, FOI, p. 49; American Magazine, Aug. 1932.
page 111: was famous for ...: Advertisement in Los Angeles Examiner, Feb. 20, 1921.
page 112: 5314 Sunset Boulevard, ...: Los Angeles city directory, 1923.
page 112: putting money aside ...: GPP, SW, p. 43.
page 112: The prototype engine, only 50 horsepower, ...: Ace, Apr. 1922.
page 112: “The greatest pleasure ...”: AE, 20H, p. 88.
page 113: It too was none too safe; ...: John Underwood, Madcaps, Millionaires, and “Mose,” p. 32.
page 113: As The Ace somewhat pompously ...: Ace, Apr. 1923.
page 113: On September 1, 1927 ...: NYT, Sept. 1, 1927.
page 113: marked by an air rodeo ...: Ace, Mar. 1923.
page 113: just taken delivery ...: Ibid.
page 114: “If weather conditions ...: Ace, Mar. 1923.
page 114: lose it in July to Bertha Horchem ...: Aeronautical Digest, Aug. 1923.
page 114: The day before ...: photocopy of AE’s license from NASM.
page 114: The test, under the aegis of the Aero Club of America, ...: Adopted Oct. 13, 1919; 1922 Aero Club of America Rule Book, chap. 4, p. 176.
page 114: In June Amelia ...: Aeronautical Digest, July 1923.
page 115: “has declared its intention ...”: Ibid.
page 115: Tis a wonderful thing ...: Fragment of unidentified newspaper.
page 115: Bert Kinner was so successful ...: Ace, Feb. 1924.
page 115: When her old friend ...: Ibid.
page 115: had agreed to be engaged.: AE quoted in NYT, June 8, 1928: “We have been engaged for four years.”
Breaking Through
page 117: Three days after their arrival ...: AE, 20H, p. 89.
page 117: It was not until the spring term, ...: Columbia University records.
page 117: so severely debilitated ...: Stabler interview.
page 118: “It seems odd that a family ... : Ibid.
page 118: to watch the eclipse of the sun ...: The eclipse was Janua
ry 25.
page 118: Now Amelia enrolled in only two, ...: Columbia University records.
page 119: she had received a letter ...: AE, letter to Lloyd Royer; given to author by Vivian Smedad; the date AE received it is noted on envelope.
page 119: she knew he was equally strapped, ...: John Underwood, Madcaps, Millionaires and “Mose,” p. 31.
page 119: “I inserted a little French poetry.”: AE, FOI, p. 22.
page 119: “conditional on ...”: Columbia University records.
page 120: earning three credits ...: Harvard University records.
page 120: the pioneer investigator ...: Barbara Sicherman and Carol Hurd Green, eds. Notable American Women, pp. 303-306.
page 121: “No, I did not get into M.I.T ...”: AE, letter to Marian Stabler, IWASML
page 122: 27,759 foreigners ...: Massachusetts Department ofEducation. AE was employed by the Educational Service Bureau, at 100 Boyston Street, according to WEIU files, SLRC.
page 122: “an office class ...: WEIU collection, SLRC.
page 122: That month Amelia began working ...: Ibid.
page 122: Lucy Challiss passed through Boston ...: LC, diary, June 1926.
page 122: founded in 1884 by Dr. Henry R. Stedman, ...: Obituary, Dr. H. R. Stedman, May 29, 1909, unidentified newspaper, Bournewood files.
page 122: “Personal attention and influence suitably directed ...”: Dr. Henry R. Stedman, “The Art of Companionship in Mental Nursing,” paper presented at the Boston Psychopathic Hospital, Bournewood files.
page 122: sugar pellets to a patient ...: AE, FOI, p. 23.
page 123: “I did not see then ...”: Ibid.
page 123: “Work too confining ...”: WEIU files, SLRC.
page 123: “She leaves to increase her salary, ...:” Ibid.
page 123: history of the WEIU: Ibid.
page 123: “to increase fellowship among women ...”: history of the WEIU by Diane Goldman and Mary Hilderbrand who assembled the collection for the SLRC.
page 123: “to be as competent ...”: WEIU files, SLRC.
page 123: still gamely pasting ...: AE scrapbook. Two articles dated 1925, SLRC.
page 124: “Teaching English to Foreigners, ...”: AE’s registration card, WEIU.
page 124: “A remarkable man ...”: AE, black book, SLRC.
page 124: I have had five years... ”: AE’s registration card, in WEIU.
page 125: she gave only her two most recent jobs ...: Letter dated Aug. 10, 1926, from Biddle and Smart to the WEIU, SLRC.
