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The
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The beginnings that
led to the formation of our Chapter: At the end of the Women's Air Derby from Santa Monica CA to Cleveland OH in 1929, a group of women met to discuss formation of a women pilots organization. An open invitation was sent to all 117 licensed women pilots, and several weeks later, 99 charter members came together at Curtiss Field in Valley Stream, Long Island, NY. The Ninety-Nines organization was born. Fifteen charter members were from the North Central Section. One of these charter members was from Iowa - Ida Loetscher Fox.
Ellen Church (Cresco, IA) became the first airline stewardess in the country. She talked with the traffic manager of Boeing Air Transport (United Air Lines) about her idea of hiring nurses to serve passengers. Although skeptical of this plan, the board of directors hired Church as the chief stewardess. Church hired seven additional nurses and contributed to the design of their uniforms. These women began working May 15, 1930. Past Iowa Chapter
Chairs: Past Section Officers
from the Iowa Chapter: Past AE Scholarship winners
from the Iowa Chapter: |
Ila
Fox was the first woman born in Iowa to earn a pilot's license - private
pilot's license #7738 (September, 1929). She was one of twin girls
born in 1904 (Callender, IA) and moved to Pella. She later
attended Pella's Central College and graduated from the University of
Iowa.