Contemporary newspaper articles about the 1929 Powder Puff Derby

The man who put together the documentary on Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club had done much research, including acquiring newspapers from the Bellingham Herald for the entire month of August, 1929, the month the first Powder Puff Derby took place in which Amelia Earhart, Louise Thaden, Pancho Barnes, Marvel Crosson and many other women participated.

He offered it on Ebay and I bought it.

I'm actually not sure what I'm getting but if I understood it right, it's a big old binder full of the complete sets of newspapers for those months. 

*I* think that these things are collectors items that should go into a museum, and my intention - if they are what I think they are - is to frame them under archival glass and see if I can't get my local airport to create a display space for them.

Ultimately, however, I do intend to donate them to the International Women's Air and Space Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

Also apparently included are several cut-out articles (rather than complete newspapers) of the women pilots in that same time frame.

The guy lives in California and sent the box to me media mail (I hope it's in a box, double boxed and waterproofed!) so instead of heading directly for Cheyenne where I live - and it could have been here in 3 days if the USPS had done that.... media mail apparently necessitates going from California to Texas and then up here to Cheyenne. Ebay finally updated the tracking of it and it is now in Denver...but it's not going to show up on my doorstep until Wednesday!

So, four more days of suspense until I see these things for real. I hope I can do with them what I want to do with them...

(And if any of my readers know anything about proper archiving of almost 90 year old newspapers, please drop me a line!)