This is from the US Coast Guard bloLg,, way back in May 2010
Tjg La’Shanda Holmes
Post written by Jay Cope, NAS Whiting Field Public Affairs
Perseverance, dedication, grit, a desire to excel – these are all traits desired in a student aviator. Training in the aviation program for the maritime services is intentionally difficult to stress and push the students beyond their comfort zones so they can meet the hardships their service will entail. However, when that prospective pilot is slated to become a barrier breaker as well, those traits are not just desired, but necessary.
That Lt. j.g. La’Shanda Holmes had those traits was never in doubt. The humble, soft-spoken young woman had faced trials growing up in North Carolina that tested and tempered her desire to excel. When she walked across the stage April 9th to receive her wings as the first African-American female helicopter pilot in the U.S. Coast Guard, it was simply the next chapter of a proud story.
All Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard initial helicopter pilot training is performed at Naval Air Station Whiting Field through one of six squadrons attached to Training Air Wing FIVE. Holmes was attached to Helicopter Training Squadron EIGHTEEN for the final portion of her nearly two-year aviation training pipeline. She knew at the outset that she was the first black female to begin the training. While she admits to some periodic concerns about completing the program, there were really never any doubts harbored by the squadron commanding officer, Commander Mark Murray.
“I knew she would be successful. She had already overcome far greater challenges than flight school. I had the opportunity to do a familiarization flight with her, and where most folks might get a little frustrated, she drank it all in. She was eager to improve and I had no doubts she would do well,” he said.
Given her childhood, that might not normally be a safe assumption, but for Holmes, the hurdles she faced growing up drove her to try all that much harder.
“I was used to people telling me what I couldn’t do. We moved around a lot, and I think it fueled my ambition to live better and work harder. It just gave me more motivation to succeed,” she said.
Her trials started young. Holmes was just two when her mother committed suicide. She was adopted a short time later, but after her adoptive mother remarried, she states that she and her younger brother were placed in foster care due to abuse and were separated. She went through several homes until she landed with Linda and Edward Brown at 17. She still calls them her parents and they provided some necessary stability for her life.
Her hard work paid off even then graduating magna cum laude from high school and earning admission to Spelman College. Two years into her education there, she was assisting with a community service booth during a career day. Directly across from her was a Coast Guard recruiting booth. She wandered over after the event to speak with him conversation with Senior Chief Dexter Lindsey who inspired her to think about serving.
She applied for and was accepted into the College Student Pre-commissioning Initiative which financially enabled her to finish school. Prior to attending Officer Candidate School, she served on a Coast Guard cutter as an officer candidate and while near the bridge stuck up a conversation with the operations officer who advised her to consider aviation. It was then that she learned the Coast Guard had only one other black, female pilot, Lt. Jeanine Menze.
“It sounded challenging, but something I was up for,” Holmes said.
At that time, Menze was stationed at Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater flying the C-130 Hercules. Holmes was granted an opportunity to be temporarily stationed at Clearwater to learn about the aviation program, but it wasn’t until she was in the back seat of an SH-60 helicopter being flown by George Menze, Lt. Menze’s husband, that her future intentions kicked into place.
“We did hovering and flying low over the water. I was like a little kid. It was like nothing I had ever done or seen before. It was awesome,” she said. “Everyone in the aviation community was so close. There was a real sense of camaraderie that I wanted to be a part of. ”
That camaraderie certainly extends to the friendship between Menze and Holmes. They both share the same exuberant joy in flying and a similar appreciation for service in the Coast Guard. Menze called joining the Coast Guard the best decision she ever made, and sees a kindred spirit in Holmes.
“She’s so motivated to do well,” she said. “You put a thought into her head and she just runs with it. You tell her to work hard and study hard, and she goes and does it….I really expect big things from her.”
Menze is still a mentor to Holmes. She encouraged her through the process, gave her pep talks and let her know what to expect through flight training. The relationship is so close that Holmes asked Menze to present her pin during the winging ceremony.
She agreed and even presented Holmes with the first set of wings she received in 2005, following the ceremony. Menze thought of it as a memento to let her see that “dreams do come true.”
Photo courtesy of the Holmes family.
The winging ceremony was the culmination of nearly two years of hard work, and a lifetime of overcoming obstacles. For Holmes, having Menze there to share the occasion meant a great deal.
“It was a really emotional experience. Both of our eyes were watering and she asked me ‘Are you ready for this?’ I can’t think of a more awesome moment in my life.”
Holmes says things haven’t really hit home with her yet. For that day, she was just one of 18 new aviators. At her next duty station, she wants to be just another rookie pilot. She knows she is breaking a barrier, but doesn’t seem to think it really says anything special about her. She is transferring to Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles and wants the same things any young officer wants.
“I know I’m the first, but nothing has sunk in yet. People may have expectations, but for me, mainly, it is about taking on responsibility and knowing I have something to prove [as a pilot]. I just want to keep flying well and working hard to make my community, family and sisters proud of me.”
Friday, March 11, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
12 March in Cleveland, OH at the International Women's Air and Space Museum
The International Women's Air and Space Museum is easily accessible in Cleveland, right on the main drag as you come into town.
The Museum is located in the terminal building at Burke Lakefront Airport right on Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. We are located near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, as well as the Great Lakes Science Center, the Steamship William G. Mather, and the U.S.S. Cod Submarine.
The Museum is located in the terminal building at Burke Lakefront Airport right on Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. We are located near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, as well as the Great Lakes Science Center, the Steamship William G. Mather, and the U.S.S. Cod Submarine.
From their website:
Family Day: This Saturday, March 12
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
We'll be celebrating the life & legacy of Bessie Coleman this Saturday through a variety of hands-on activities including:
*Bessie's Childhood Home - Explore a mini sharecroppers house & learn about Bessie's childhood.
*Learn French Station - Kids can decipher a code from Bessie written in French.
*Pilot License Photos - Find yourself in a pilot's license photo just like the one Bessie would have received.
*Barnstorming - Make & fly paper airplanes.
*Bessie Remembered - Make tissue paper flowers to remember Bessie.
And More!
We'll also be joined by the following organizations:
Bessie Coleman Foundation
Cleveland Public Library
NASA
Women in History
Karamu House
Read on to learn about some
We'll also be joined by the following organizations:
Bessie Coleman Foundation
Cleveland Public Library
NASA
Women in History
Karamu House
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Girls and WomenL: Go up for a plane ride - free! on March 12 in Maryland!
http://www.womenflyitforward.com/
This event is taking place in Maryland:
In 1910 the first woman pilot, Raymonde de Laroche, earned her pilot’s license. At that time, 3% of all pilots were women. Today, 101 years later, only 6% of all pilots are women. We're inviting all non-pilot women --young and old-- for a FREE FLIGHT to see all the amazing opportunities aviation has to offer!
Frederick Flight Center
330 Aviation Way
Frederick, MD 21701
This event is taking place in Maryland:
In 1910 the first woman pilot, Raymonde de Laroche, earned her pilot’s license. At that time, 3% of all pilots were women. Today, 101 years later, only 6% of all pilots are women. We're inviting all non-pilot women --young and old-- for a FREE FLIGHT to see all the amazing opportunities aviation has to offer!
Frederick Flight Center
330 Aviation Way
Frederick, MD 21701
Racing Aces Getting Set for 2011 Air Race Classic
http://theracingaces.com/
And read about the pilots at:
http://theracingaces.com/about-the-aces/
And read about the pilots at:
http://theracingaces.com/about-the-aces/
The Racing Aces are proudly racing the 2011 Air Race Classic for the nonprofit Girls With Wings, Inc [A 501(c)(3) public charity]. As female pilots, we are well aware of the obstacles that each of us has had to overcome and we are all working to encourage more girls with what has come to be a passion of ours: aviation! According to the Federal Aviation Administration, females comprise a mere six percent of all pilots, a percentage that has not increased in nearly a century of licensing pilots. This troubling statistic is one that we are going to personally combat during this race as we promote the Girls With Wings organization to the general public along our race route.
Girls With Wings founder, Lynda Meeks is in urgent need of funding to make dreams take flight and we could not be more proud to help. Single handedly, Lynda has been staying “in the air” with speaking engagements, community outreach and making her message that “Girls need Flight Plans, not Fairy Tales!”™ available to any young girl with an eye on the sky. Along with the volunteer female pilots she has trained to do her interactive presentation to girls groups, she has added a network of avid aviatrixes that are working to make sure the public is aware there are plenty of opportunities for girls in aviation. Take a moment and look at what she has accomplished on her site: www.girlswithwings.com.
As you follow along with our journey in this Women’s historic race, once known as the Powder Puff Derby, think of what it would mean to one child if you could promote women in aviation as role models to inspire her to reach her full potential. We have set up a donation site that can take your contribution, which may be tax exempt, and help Girls With Wings take flight to a higher level. Feel free to pay securely with PayPal in a single payment or do a per nautical mile in the race. Each mile we cover brings us closer to bringing the dream to many girls.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Pioneer World War II pilot Betty Wood forgotten in Auburn
Auburn Journal: Pioneer World War II pilot Betty Wood forgotten in Auburn
(This article from Feb 4)
From time to time, this reporter would bump into a sun-splashed photo of Betty Wood and her story – or at least the partial one that was available at the time.
It’s in a bound copy of Journals from 1943.
The page on which her photo reposes is burnished orange at its edges now. But the story of her death remains compelling. It was published on the front of the Sept. 30, 1943 edition of the Auburn Journal.
Under the headline “Air Crash Fatal to Local Girl,” the story detailed how Betty Louise Taylor Wood – a Ferry Command pilot – had died the week before in a plane crash at a North Carolina air base.
“Details of the accident are not known here other than the fact that she was killed as she came in to land her plane and something went wrong,” the report stated.
It went on to say Wood was an Auburn girl who graduated from Placer High School and Sierra Junior College. In the parlance of the day, it added that she was a “popular member of the student body at both schools.”
Wood first learned to fly as a member of the Civilian Pilot Training program at the junior college – whose buildings now make up part of Placer High. She was described by another trainee who went on to earn a Silver Star in the air war against Japan – Capt. Don Graham – as the most natural pilot enrolled in the class.
Rest of story
Looking through subsequent editions of the Journal, there appears to have been no follow-up on the reasons behind the crash. But the continued interest in women’s history over the ensuing 68 years had shed new and disturbing light on the circumstances that led to Wood’s death.
Perhaps Media Life can fill in the broad holes in a story left half-finished so long ago – and maybe give a brave woman her belated due in what was her home town.
“Free a man to fight” was the reason behind establishing the Women Airforce Service Pilots in 1942. They would be better-known as the WASPs.
Wood was one of 25,000 women who applied for a chance to train and was one of 1,830 accepted. A total of 1,074 woman pilots received their wings. Wood became one of the 38 American women who sacrificed their lives in the air in support of World War II.
As others who served as WASPs have since recounted, women pilots ran into heavy opposition – particularly at Camp Davis, N.C. That’s where Wood found herself in September 1943, flying targets in a beat-up A-24 that had been deemed no longer fit for combat. She had earned her wings in early August and married WASP instructor “Shorty” Wood the day of her graduation
Dangerous work
Up in the sky, anti-aircraft trainees shooting at the targets were using live ammunition at Camp Davis. The word when Wood reached camp was that the planes were expendable and so were the pilots.
On the ground, resistance was strong from male pilots. WASP Marion Hanrahan described in a 1990s interview how the Camp Davis commander advised female pilots to “go home and knit socks for the troops.”
Male pilots resented the intrusion because if women replaced them, they would be transferred to combat duty. But they would go as ground troops because they weren’t qualified for aerial combat, Hanrahan recalled.
Wood, 22, died while trying to land and the circumstances surrounding what was officially ruled an accident attributed to pilot error remain couched in mystery.
Sugar in tank?
But some clues have come out in the accident report now in Texas Woman’s University files that preserve the WASP war effort papers. According to one researcher, the report includes the statement that sugar was found in the fuel tank. But it was also discovered that not much was left of the report after it was heavily blacked out and censored.
Another possible explanation revolves around the airworthiness of the A-24. Wood went in for a landing with a male chaplain aboard but aborted and gave the plane full throttle to make another pass. The plane rolled and went to the ground. Wood and the chaplain were crushed between the canopy and the plane.
Some surmise the throttle stuck and that caused the plane to roll when Wood pulled up on the stick to gain altitude.
Adding to the danger, replacement parts were hard to come by for A-24s and the gas being used was lower in octane than required.
Questions remain
A careless mechanic? Wornout parts? Pilot error? Or the unthinkable – a practical joke gone awry or even sabotage by another pilot or crewmember?
Nearly 70 years later, Betty Wood’s death remains clouded but hopefully now a little clearer in the town she grew up in.
Oddly enough, while she made the supreme sacrifice, Wood’s name doesn’t appear on the memorial honoring local war dead at the Auburn Cemetery. There are 42 dead from World War II enshrined on the wall to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. But no women. And, in particular, no Betty Wood.
(This article from Feb 4)
From time to time, this reporter would bump into a sun-splashed photo of Betty Wood and her story – or at least the partial one that was available at the time.
It’s in a bound copy of Journals from 1943.
The page on which her photo reposes is burnished orange at its edges now. But the story of her death remains compelling. It was published on the front of the Sept. 30, 1943 edition of the Auburn Journal.
Under the headline “Air Crash Fatal to Local Girl,” the story detailed how Betty Louise Taylor Wood – a Ferry Command pilot – had died the week before in a plane crash at a North Carolina air base.
“Details of the accident are not known here other than the fact that she was killed as she came in to land her plane and something went wrong,” the report stated.
It went on to say Wood was an Auburn girl who graduated from Placer High School and Sierra Junior College. In the parlance of the day, it added that she was a “popular member of the student body at both schools.”
Wood first learned to fly as a member of the Civilian Pilot Training program at the junior college – whose buildings now make up part of Placer High. She was described by another trainee who went on to earn a Silver Star in the air war against Japan – Capt. Don Graham – as the most natural pilot enrolled in the class.
Rest of story
Looking through subsequent editions of the Journal, there appears to have been no follow-up on the reasons behind the crash. But the continued interest in women’s history over the ensuing 68 years had shed new and disturbing light on the circumstances that led to Wood’s death.
Perhaps Media Life can fill in the broad holes in a story left half-finished so long ago – and maybe give a brave woman her belated due in what was her home town.
“Free a man to fight” was the reason behind establishing the Women Airforce Service Pilots in 1942. They would be better-known as the WASPs.
Wood was one of 25,000 women who applied for a chance to train and was one of 1,830 accepted. A total of 1,074 woman pilots received their wings. Wood became one of the 38 American women who sacrificed their lives in the air in support of World War II.
As others who served as WASPs have since recounted, women pilots ran into heavy opposition – particularly at Camp Davis, N.C. That’s where Wood found herself in September 1943, flying targets in a beat-up A-24 that had been deemed no longer fit for combat. She had earned her wings in early August and married WASP instructor “Shorty” Wood the day of her graduation
Dangerous work
Up in the sky, anti-aircraft trainees shooting at the targets were using live ammunition at Camp Davis. The word when Wood reached camp was that the planes were expendable and so were the pilots.
On the ground, resistance was strong from male pilots. WASP Marion Hanrahan described in a 1990s interview how the Camp Davis commander advised female pilots to “go home and knit socks for the troops.”
Male pilots resented the intrusion because if women replaced them, they would be transferred to combat duty. But they would go as ground troops because they weren’t qualified for aerial combat, Hanrahan recalled.
Wood, 22, died while trying to land and the circumstances surrounding what was officially ruled an accident attributed to pilot error remain couched in mystery.
Sugar in tank?
But some clues have come out in the accident report now in Texas Woman’s University files that preserve the WASP war effort papers. According to one researcher, the report includes the statement that sugar was found in the fuel tank. But it was also discovered that not much was left of the report after it was heavily blacked out and censored.
Another possible explanation revolves around the airworthiness of the A-24. Wood went in for a landing with a male chaplain aboard but aborted and gave the plane full throttle to make another pass. The plane rolled and went to the ground. Wood and the chaplain were crushed between the canopy and the plane.
Some surmise the throttle stuck and that caused the plane to roll when Wood pulled up on the stick to gain altitude.
Adding to the danger, replacement parts were hard to come by for A-24s and the gas being used was lower in octane than required.
Questions remain
A careless mechanic? Wornout parts? Pilot error? Or the unthinkable – a practical joke gone awry or even sabotage by another pilot or crewmember?
Nearly 70 years later, Betty Wood’s death remains clouded but hopefully now a little clearer in the town she grew up in.
Oddly enough, while she made the supreme sacrifice, Wood’s name doesn’t appear on the memorial honoring local war dead at the Auburn Cemetery. There are 42 dead from World War II enshrined on the wall to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. But no women. And, in particular, no Betty Wood.
Friday, March 4, 2011
All female pilot group encourages women to take to the sky
KTRE ABC Ch 9: All female pilot group encourages women to take to the sky
(This story is from Feb 12, 2011)
By Whitney Grunder - bio | email
LUFKIN, TX (KTRE) - In 1929 men told them they could never be pilots.
With the help of pioneers like Amelia Earhart, women from around the world formed their own group- the Ninety-Nines, Inc. Their mission is to mentor other female pilots. They hope high flying inspires more women to take to the sky.
Elizabeth Frankowski is a retired architect. Linda Street- Ely is a paralegal for an engineering firm. They share a special bond. Both are licensed pilots.
"I love to do cool tricks in the sky, the flips, the loops," said Street-Ely.
And both are members of the Houston Ninety-Nines Chapter.
"We hope that our organization can be a part of mentoring and supporting those women who are interested in pursuing aviation careers and pilot careers," said Frankowski, Chapter Chairman.
Their goal is to provide scholarships to other women pilots. Street-Ely received one for aerobatic training. She participates in the annual air race classic.
"That is a four day air race across the country, women only," she explained.
In 1929 this race was for men only.
"The men wouldn't allow the women to participate so at that time 20 chick pilots got together and said we'll have our own air race and we'll land in Cleveland," said Street-Ely.
The times have changed, as there are a number of growing opportunities for women in aviation.
"More and more women are becoming pilots, flying for the military and our armed services and this was all because of some of the pioneering women like Amelia Earhart, and the WASPs during World War II that have paved the way," said Frankowski.
Still, they say there is a need for more female pilots.
"There are about 598,000 U.S. licensed pilots and six percent of that is women," said Street-Ely. "Women seem intimidated maybe like well I can't do that. Well yeah you can. I'm a grandmother of five. I can do it."
They say all it takes is confidence and the willingness to learn.
The Houston Chapter consists of about 56 members. Saturday, they ended their annual treasure hunt at the Angelina County Airport, after a five stop competition that began in Liberty. The big prize was a free flight in a B-17 bomber plane.
Following the treasure hunt, the East Texas Chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association hosted lunch and gave free plane rides to kids to educate them about aviation.
(This story is from Feb 12, 2011)
By Whitney Grunder - bio | email
LUFKIN, TX (KTRE) - In 1929 men told them they could never be pilots.
With the help of pioneers like Amelia Earhart, women from around the world formed their own group- the Ninety-Nines, Inc. Their mission is to mentor other female pilots. They hope high flying inspires more women to take to the sky.
Elizabeth Frankowski is a retired architect. Linda Street- Ely is a paralegal for an engineering firm. They share a special bond. Both are licensed pilots.
"I love to do cool tricks in the sky, the flips, the loops," said Street-Ely.
And both are members of the Houston Ninety-Nines Chapter.
"We hope that our organization can be a part of mentoring and supporting those women who are interested in pursuing aviation careers and pilot careers," said Frankowski, Chapter Chairman.
Their goal is to provide scholarships to other women pilots. Street-Ely received one for aerobatic training. She participates in the annual air race classic.
"That is a four day air race across the country, women only," she explained.
In 1929 this race was for men only.
"The men wouldn't allow the women to participate so at that time 20 chick pilots got together and said we'll have our own air race and we'll land in Cleveland," said Street-Ely.
The times have changed, as there are a number of growing opportunities for women in aviation.
"More and more women are becoming pilots, flying for the military and our armed services and this was all because of some of the pioneering women like Amelia Earhart, and the WASPs during World War II that have paved the way," said Frankowski.
Still, they say there is a need for more female pilots.
"There are about 598,000 U.S. licensed pilots and six percent of that is women," said Street-Ely. "Women seem intimidated maybe like well I can't do that. Well yeah you can. I'm a grandmother of five. I can do it."
They say all it takes is confidence and the willingness to learn.
The Houston Chapter consists of about 56 members. Saturday, they ended their annual treasure hunt at the Angelina County Airport, after a five stop competition that began in Liberty. The big prize was a free flight in a B-17 bomber plane.
Following the treasure hunt, the East Texas Chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association hosted lunch and gave free plane rides to kids to educate them about aviation.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
State’s first female pilot the focus of Journey play
Rapid City Journal State’s first female pilot the focus of Journey play
(This story is from Feb 11, 2011)
Playwright Kristi Thielen explores the life of South Dakota’s first female pilot, Nellie Zabel Willhite, in “Nellie Takes to the Skies!” The play, which opens today at The Journey Museum, was written to augment the current exhibit in the Adelstein Gallery, “South Dakota’s First Century of Flight,” which will be open before and after each performance.
Thielen created the script based on Willhite’s life and the history of the times.
“Scenes from her early childhood I obviously had to take a certain amount of dramatic license, because although she was interviewed many times in her life, all of the questions were the same thing over and over again, primarily about her flying,” Thielen said. “The overall contours of where she went and what she did and what her relationship was with those people, those things are all based on history.”
Thielen said the play came about last year when she met with Norma J. Kramer, the woman who curated the flight exhibit.
“She mentioned that one of the hallmarks of her exhibit was going to be photographs of Nellie Zabel Willhite and Nellie’s plane. And I said, ‘Who’s Nellie?’ And she said she was the first female pilot in South Dakota and not only that, she had to conquer a hearing impairment to do that, and I said, ‘There’s my show.’ It just hit me immediately and I realized, ‘What an inspirational story,’” Thielen said. “It’s something that connects to South Dakota and something that connects to this exhibit.”
The group of actors in “Nellie Takes to the Skies!” had much to learn regarding the history of the early 20th century, which included everything from historical events to music, Thielen said.
“We’ve got some songs from the era that we’ll play as background music, and the kids got to come up and hear them, so now I’ve got kids who laugh and sing the words to ‘Lucky Lady,’” she said.
The cast also learned what it was like to be deaf during a time when the hearing impaired were taught to read lips, rather than sign, which was seen in a negative light.
“One of the most interesting acting challenges was that Nellie was deaf, but learned to lip-read … the idea of the time was that signing was inappropriate because it immediately marked you as somebody who was hearing impaired. So what they taught people was to lip-read. They could move through society and people wouldn’t even realize that they’ve got an impairment,” Thielen said.
As a group of actors, this meant they had to be certain to always face Nellie, played by Eden Sauley during the early portion of the play, and by Heather Biehl in the adult portion.
For Heather, who has performed in 11 of Thielen’s 13 plays at the Journey, playing the role was a learning experience she enjoyed.
“I like having the opportunity to grow and learn in every play. With Nellie, since she was the first female pilot in South Dakota and overcame so many obstacles to get where she got, it’s very inspiring to play her. She overcame her deafness and the death of her mother — so many hardships. And she persevered and she made history,” Heather said.
The seventh-grader said that as one of the veteran actors of The Journey Museum theater, she is interested in continuing to act as she gets older, but her passion is in following Thielen’s footsteps.
“She is such a wonderful writer and a wonderful director; it’s just a joy to work with her,” Heather said. “She probably doesn’t know it, but she’s my mentor.”
Thielen recently gave a workshop on playwriting, and of those who came during a snowstorm were 11 adults — and Heather.
“She is very interested in going on to become an actor and she is really hard-working. She has something like 89 lines in this show, and for a one-hour show, that’s a lot. So she has worked diligently,” Thielen said of the 13-year-old.
(This story is from Feb 11, 2011)
Playwright Kristi Thielen explores the life of South Dakota’s first female pilot, Nellie Zabel Willhite, in “Nellie Takes to the Skies!” The play, which opens today at The Journey Museum, was written to augment the current exhibit in the Adelstein Gallery, “South Dakota’s First Century of Flight,” which will be open before and after each performance.
Thielen created the script based on Willhite’s life and the history of the times.
“Scenes from her early childhood I obviously had to take a certain amount of dramatic license, because although she was interviewed many times in her life, all of the questions were the same thing over and over again, primarily about her flying,” Thielen said. “The overall contours of where she went and what she did and what her relationship was with those people, those things are all based on history.”
Thielen said the play came about last year when she met with Norma J. Kramer, the woman who curated the flight exhibit.
“She mentioned that one of the hallmarks of her exhibit was going to be photographs of Nellie Zabel Willhite and Nellie’s plane. And I said, ‘Who’s Nellie?’ And she said she was the first female pilot in South Dakota and not only that, she had to conquer a hearing impairment to do that, and I said, ‘There’s my show.’ It just hit me immediately and I realized, ‘What an inspirational story,’” Thielen said. “It’s something that connects to South Dakota and something that connects to this exhibit.”
The group of actors in “Nellie Takes to the Skies!” had much to learn regarding the history of the early 20th century, which included everything from historical events to music, Thielen said.
“We’ve got some songs from the era that we’ll play as background music, and the kids got to come up and hear them, so now I’ve got kids who laugh and sing the words to ‘Lucky Lady,’” she said.
The cast also learned what it was like to be deaf during a time when the hearing impaired were taught to read lips, rather than sign, which was seen in a negative light.
“One of the most interesting acting challenges was that Nellie was deaf, but learned to lip-read … the idea of the time was that signing was inappropriate because it immediately marked you as somebody who was hearing impaired. So what they taught people was to lip-read. They could move through society and people wouldn’t even realize that they’ve got an impairment,” Thielen said.
As a group of actors, this meant they had to be certain to always face Nellie, played by Eden Sauley during the early portion of the play, and by Heather Biehl in the adult portion.
For Heather, who has performed in 11 of Thielen’s 13 plays at the Journey, playing the role was a learning experience she enjoyed.
“I like having the opportunity to grow and learn in every play. With Nellie, since she was the first female pilot in South Dakota and overcame so many obstacles to get where she got, it’s very inspiring to play her. She overcame her deafness and the death of her mother — so many hardships. And she persevered and she made history,” Heather said.
The seventh-grader said that as one of the veteran actors of The Journey Museum theater, she is interested in continuing to act as she gets older, but her passion is in following Thielen’s footsteps.
“She is such a wonderful writer and a wonderful director; it’s just a joy to work with her,” Heather said. “She probably doesn’t know it, but she’s my mentor.”
Thielen recently gave a workshop on playwriting, and of those who came during a snowstorm were 11 adults — and Heather.
“She is very interested in going on to become an actor and she is really hard-working. She has something like 89 lines in this show, and for a one-hour show, that’s a lot. So she has worked diligently,” Thielen said of the 13-year-old.
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