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The opening of the Women Pilots exhibit |
A Dual Celebration of the Spirit of Women Pilots
Hugs
were shared, smiles exchanged, and friendships renewed and made when
the Bay Cities Chapter recognized Women’s History month and the chapter’s
64th anniversary at the official opening of the chapter’s Women Pilots
exhibit at the Western Aerospace Museum at the Oakland Airport in
Oakland, California on March 23, 1996. |
Picture
from the opening One of the exhibit panels Bay Cities members Good friends |
The Women Pilots Exhibit is a chronicle of outstanding women aviators from 1928 to the present. The Bay Cities Ninety-Nines constructed the exhibit under the direction of Ninety-Nines member Beth Christian of Alameda, CA. The Western Aerospace Museum donated the use of the room to the Bay Cities Chapter for this permanent exhibit. Development of this exhibit required visits to the San Diego Aerospace Museum, the Smithsonian Archives, the Library of Congress, and the National Archives.
Beth Christian did an outstanding job of researching women for the exhibit, obtaining photos and reprint rights, developing an exhibit that is professionally presented and preserved, and guiding the chapter members and museum staff in the exhibit’s construction.
The Bay Cities Chapter had just recently completed the final exhibit wall that features women pilots from 1940 to today. Several Northern California women pilots are honored, including Julie Clark (Cameron Park), airshow performer; Joyce Wells (Larkspur), Ninety-Nines International President and air racer; Cecilia Aragon (Berkeley), member of the U.S. Aerobatics team; Patty Barrera (Livermore), United Airlines First Officer; Pat Chan (El Cerrito), pilot and skydiver; Pat Forbes (Atherton), runner-up to the U.S. Precision Flying Team; Jeanne McElhatton (Belmont), producer and instructor of the TV series Invitation to Fly; Amelia Reid (San Jose), airshow performer and instructor; and Jean Kaye Tinsley (Menlo Park), member of the 1993 U.S. Helicopter Team and executive director of the Whirlygirls.
Other areas of the Women Pilots exhibit focuses on women in the military and space, the Women Air Force Service Pilots of World War II (WASP), Jackie Cochrane, Amelia Earhart, and the first women pilots through the 1930’s.
In addition to celebrating the opening of the Women Pilots exhibit, Bay Cities members were also wishing themselves a happy 64th birthday. In 1932, Amelia Earhart, then president of the Ninety-Nines, and the Southwest Section governor Glady O’Donnell sent Margaret Perry Cooper to the Bay Area to suggest to the local Ninety-Nines members that two chapters be formed in the state.
The new chapters would allow members to work closely together to further aviation in California. With a majority approval, the Bay Cities Chapter was formed on March 2, 1932 at the Hotel Whitcomb in San Francisco to represent the women aviators in northern California. The other California Ninety-Nines chapter at the time was the Los Angeles Chapter. Bay Cities’ membership covered northern California, northern Nevada, and Utah.
The Bay Cities Chapter had nine charter members in 1932 and over the years has grown to its current membership of 33 members. And, the number of chapters in California has also grown. There are now 47 chapters in the state with a membership of over 1,200. Other nearby Ninety-Nines chapters are Alameda (Hayward), Golden West (San Carlos), Livermore, Marin, Mt. Diablo, Santa Clara, and Santa Rosa. The Bay Cities Chapter current membership includes the current Ninety-Nines International Past-President, Joyce Wells.
Charter Bay Cities Ninety-Nines members and where they learned to fly are listed below. It is interesting to note that Mills Field is now known as San Francisco International Airport. Miss Lilian Anderson learned to fly at Oakland and Stockton Airports; Miss Janet Zaph Briggs, Stanford Flying Club; Miss Lucy Brown, Stanford Flying Club; Mrs. Marguerette Gerry, Redwood City Airport; Miss Afton Lewis, Mills Field; Miss Ruth Marshall, Mills Field; Mrs. Thyra Merrill; Miss Phyllis Penfield, and Miss Marian Trace, Mills Field.
Being the first Ninety-Nines chapter in Northern California, Bay Cities sponsored most of the chapters that today ring the San Francisco Bay Area. Bay Cities Chapter was also host to three All Women Transcontinental Air Race Take-Off, two from San Carlos Airport in San Mateo country, CA, and one from the Oakland International Airport.
The Western Aerospace Museum itself has an interesting history. The museum is located on one of the world’s most historic airfields. The Oakland International Airport is the former home of Boeing Air Transport; Pacific Air Transport; Boeing School of Aeronautics; Transocean, World, and Transamerican Airlines; Oakland Naval Reserve Air Station; US Marine Corps and Army Air Corps Reserve Units. Oakland Airport has also served as the departure and arrival point for many historic flights including Hergenberger and Maitland, Smith and Bronte, the Dole Race, Kingsford Smith and crew, and Amelia Earhart. Currently, Oakland Airport is a very active airfield supporting private, business, and commercial propeller and jet aircraft, helicopters, and blimps, an aviation academy, a jet maintenance facilities, several flying clubs, and is a busy air cargo terminal.
Some of the aircrafts on exhibit at the museum are a Boeing Stearman PT-13, Funk Model B, Lockheed 10-A Electra, Lockheed Vega BL-1B, the Short Solent Mark 3 flying boat, A-7E Corsiar II, TBM-3 Avenger, A-4M Skyhawk, TAV-8 Harrier (a gift from NASA), and a Monocoupe 110. Other special museum exhibits include General James Doolittle, "Black Wings", Edward J. Daly--World Airways, Wings of Gold, 8th Air Force, and an refurbished Navy A36 simulator. A Lockheed 10-A, sistership of Amelia Earhart’s last airplane and owned by Fred Patterson III, was flown into Oakland’s North Field for museum display in January 1989.
The Western Aerospace Museum was incorporated in January 22, 1981. Contenders for the museum site were Crissy Field, Hamilton Field, Nut Tree, and Oakland Airport. In December 1986, the Western Aerospace Museum got their first space in Hanger 5 at the Oakland Airport. On November 1, 1988, the museum moved into historic building #621, a former Boeing School of Aeronautics training hangar.
Later, The Port of Oakland granted a lease for the use of an additional building, the former FAA Flight Service Station, adjacent to and in front of the hangar.
In all, the Women Pilots Exhibit opening was a warm and inspiring event for all who attended. And, for those of us who worked on the exhibit, the pictures, words, and memories will forever stay with us as a reminder of the spirit and courage that the women of yesterday and today have given us for our own adventures into the sky.
To visit the Women Pilots exhibit: The Western Aerospace Museum is located on North Field, Oakland Airport, 8260 Boeing Street off of Earhart Drive, Building 621, Oakland, CA. People who fly into Oakland Airport can park at KaiserAir and talk a short walk across the street to the museum. The museum requests a $3.00 donation for adults and children over 12 at the door to support its continued improvements. The museum’s hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 10:00am to 4:00pm. For museum information call: (510) 638-7100.
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