Aviatrix Amelia Earhart was the Taylor Swift of the 1920s and 30s. It was not music but her accomplishments in flying and her charm that made her so famous. She visited Parkersburg, WV, to give a speech at Parkersburg High School on October 30, 1936. That was just months before she and co-pilot Fred Noonan disappeared on July 2, 1937, in the Pacific Ocean on her around-the-world flight attempt.
The Parkersburg Sentinel headline announced “Amelia Earhart, First Lady of Aviation, Here Tonight.” Tickets were $1.00 for adults, $.25 for students. The article also assured readers that cars parked at the high school for the event “will have adequate police protection from Halloween revelers.”
Earhart visited Stewart Air Park in Parkersburg which was on the site now occupied by Grand Central Mall. “You really have a wonderful field,” she told owner Wayde Stewart and Chief Pilot Jay Sodowski. “You and your board of commerce should be complimented on pioneering aviation in Parkersburg. The future has great possibilities.” She declared that the field was one of the finest she had seen for a city of comparable size.
However, Stewart Air Park had a turf runway which she pointed out was a limitation, “All transportation line stops are fields equipped with hard-surfaced runways. Year-round service must be available for the large (planes) and such is not possible on a turf field. If Parkersburg desires (commercial service) …, it would be advisable to secure…. adequate runways.”
She expressed interest in an aircraft design of Jay Sodowski. She encouraged him to submit the design to the U. S. Department of Commerce with her recommendation.
She was driving her personal automobile on that lecture tour. Next stop was Fairmont WV. I was surprised that with her celebrity status she lectured at smaller towns. She also visited Glenville State College and Bluefield WV on other trips.
Earhart had many firsts as a female pilot: first to fly across the Atlantic Ocean - landed in an Irish farmer’s field, first to fly coast to coast in the U.S., woman’s high altitude record of 14,000 ft. in 1922, and many more. Hundreds of books, movies, and tributes have been made about her life and accomplishments.
Amelia Earhart was married to publisher George P. Putnam. Together they maintained a masterful publicity effort, featuring books she wrote, speaking tours, and celebrity endorsements. There was a line of clothing in her name, with her initials “AE” as the logo, patterned after her signature “active living” and flying outfits. Earhart was coached to smile with her mouth closed to cover what was described as a tooth-gapped grin. Nothing was overlooked. She was a celebrity phenom in an era before 24-hour news and social media. Amelia promoted women’s causes and was a charter member and first President of “The Ninety Nines,” an organization of female pilots.
Stewart Air Park, known early on as “Parkersburg Municipal Airport,” was a busy airport facility for over 30 years. Its location was described as “Maplewood” in one publication. Students ran a food concession there. Hundreds learned to fly at the field. An air ambulance service was started in 1947 by Shaver and Co. Funeral Home. There was a pilot training school during World War II. It also was the primary training center for South American pilots who volunteered for war service. The facility became less relevant after the Wood County Airport was built with paved runways in 1946. Stewart Air Park closed in the early 1970’s when the mall was built.
