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Did you ever feel you didn’t fit in? Did you care if you didn’t? You know if you would just conform, life would be so much easier, but it’s just not in you.
That’s how Amelia Earhart must have felt in Atchison, KS, especially since she grew up in the early 1900s. It’s people like Marie Curie, Osa Johnson, Eleanor Roosevelt and Amelia who stayed focused and true to themselves that changed the world.
Amelia Earhart was a handful at the get-go. In 1904 Amelia’s father took her and her sister Grace to the 1904 World's Fair in St Louis. There were many new sights to be seen but one truly intrigued Amelia, the world's first roller coaster.
Probably like most fathers of a 7- and 5-year-old, Amelia’s dad would not let them ride down the new “terrifying contraption.”
Not to be deterred, back in Atchison, Amelia, Grace and her favorite uncle secretly built their own roller coaster off the roof of the back shed. Once completed Amelia was the first down, crashing, ripping her pants and making a horrible ruckus that brought out her parents. That was the end of the roller coaster. It goes to show, however, Amelia loved thrills and challenges even as a child.
She attended her first airshow in 1920, at the age of 22. Amelia then knew what she wanted to become—an aviator.
Life in the early 20th century was difficult at best for women who challenged the norms. Once Amelia tasted success and her achievements were first accepted then acclaimed by a male-dominated society, she thirsted for more. Faster, higher and further she went as records were broken, accolades rolled in and dreams achieved.
One time Amelia did give into social mores by finally accepting one of George Putnam’s marriage proposals, but only under her terms. She wrote her future husband a letter outlining what she would not become — a traditional subservient wife. George agreed, Amelia kept on flying with the blessing and promotional help of her now husband.
No doubt, Amelia’s mysterious disappearance added to her legacy. It’s one of the great questions of the 20th century. What happened to Amelia? Amelia and her navigator Fred Noonan were trying to circumvent the globe when they lost radio contact over the South Pacific.
Amelia’s mother and others think they had been captured by the Japanese who in 1937 were on the move taking strategic islands as a precursor to World War ll. Treated as spies, questionable reports have it they were sent to Saipan and imprisoned until their death.
Others think they ran out of fuel, survived a crash on a deserted island, and lived a Robinson Caruso existence for a short period. The final theory is what probably happened, they veered off course, ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean.
The two great mysteries of the 20th century were what happened to Amelia’s plane and where was the Titanic? In 1985 famed treasure hunter Bob Ballard found the Titanic, and now with the help of The National Geographic Society would turn his attention to, “what happened to Amelia?”
After weeks of a multimillion-dollar South Pacific search, following all factual and rumored leads, Ballard gave up. “We know where the plane isn’t. It will be found; it’s not the Loch Ness Monster.”
With new technology, the hunt for answers continues to this day, but her accomplishments while alive inspired many young girls to dream, strive and succeed.
She was the only woman in history to have two ticker tape parades in New York City. One in 1928, which embarrassed her because she only rode and kept the log in an airplane crossing the Atlantic. The second, however, was in 1932. It was her claim to fame which catapulted her into mega stardom after being the first woman to solo across the Atlantic.
A visit to the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum in Atchison, Kansas, is a great escape for people of all ages. Each room is laden with Victorian furniture, Amelia memorabilia and stories of her adventures. You get the “feeling” in this quaint house, overlooking the Missouri River, that Amelia could walk into the room at any time wearing her signature leather jacket and cropped pants.
Knock on the solid cherry banister that I’m sure Amelia rode down most every morning getting her first thrill of the day and rankling her parents as she slid towards immortality.
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You can find more of Bob’s work including his Bob Ford’s History, Mystery and Lore podcast on his website bobfordshistory.com. Also check out his videos at YouTube.com/@ bobfordshistorymysterylore, they're good! Bob can be reached at robertmford@aol.com
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