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VOL"

IL nD~ 3

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20.1 Jfl45

WASP NEWSLETTER

published by the
ORDm OF FIFINELLA

310 Second st. Ithaca, N. Y. Editors Mary Strok. Peter, 44-2 Ruth Mary Petry, 44-2

We hereby present our first printed edition of the WASP NEWSLETTER, - we will appreciate any comments and criticisms you may have. We are celebrating the occasion by sending this issue of the NEWSLETTER to all WASPs, whether or not they are members of the Order of Fifinella. We have discovered, through letters we have received inquiring about the Order, that many girls have not seen copies of our publication, but have heard of it and want more information about it. So here goes: The Order of Fifinella, an organization of ex-WASPs, was started at axwell Field-about a month before inactivation in order to spread reemployment information, to provide a means of keeping in touch with one another, and to form a unified organization to influence legislation and potential employers in aviatton. By December 20, 1944 we had 300 members; at the present time we have over 700. A chairman, a secretary-treasurer, and a business manager have been appointed, and we have an advisory council of 25 members representing all classes. These appointments are for one year. The Order of Fifinella has several the WASP NEWSLETTER, a Scholarship memorial to the WASPs who died in Fund from which loans may be made ing. projects in progress; Fund which is to be a service, and a Welfare to members in good stand-

In addition, a WASP Roster of Home Addresses is now being printed and should be ready for mailing very shortly. Subscriptions are one dollar and should be sent to the office of the Secretary-Treasurer. Membership fees of the Order of Fifinella are $5.00 a year, payable to the Secretary-Treasurer. Upon payment of the fee you will receive a membership card and a year subscription to the Newsletter. Back issues will be sent upon request. More detailed information about the organization and projects of the Order of Fifinella will be sent upon request to the NEWSLETTER office, 310 Second st., Ithaca, New York. OFFICERS OF THE ORDER OF FIFINELLA Chairman SecretaryTreasurer Business Manager Clara Jo Marsh, 3504 Courville Rd., Detroit, Mich. Ruth Mary Petry, 104 Devon Rd., Ithaca, N. Y. Hally Stires, 3633 Lavell Dr., Los Angeles 41, Cal.

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JOBS The tollOll'ing wire was receiTed reoently from Clara .r.h.

JOB POSSIBILITIES WASPS WITH INSTRUCTORS RATING. CONTACT JIR. J. D. GILLESPIE, GILLESPIEAIR LINES, NASHVILLE,TENNESSEE. '175 PER JIOflTH GUAlWi1'lD), '3 PER KORTH" EACH HOUR OVER FIFTY HOURS PER KONTH INSTRUCTION. IF INTERESTED ON CONnCT HI14 IMMEDIATELY.

DPC FERRYUG As many WASPsundoubtedly know by nOlI', Defense Plant Corporation is oontraoting with many looal operators throughout the COtmtry for ferrying PT-19's which are to be tlown into civilian airports and sold for oivilian use. Many lIASPs are already engaged in this sort of work, and we suggest that anyone interested. oontaot nearby airports, for a oonsiderable part ot this ferrying is being done by ex-WASPs, who are experienoed in this sort or work.

INSTRUCTING Wendy Barclay wires that she is desperate power. If anyone is intere8ted~ oontact Arizona. tor instructors in 0-80 horseWendy at Bisbee Airport, Tucson,

Katherine lIenges writes us about instructing jobs open at the -new airportW at Plattsburg, N. Y. The manager wants a woman with oross-country experience - the job should pay well, and as someone said, WIt's a good omen when a man prefers a WOJllUl tlier to a man.w

CALLFOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION INSTRUCTORS We quote from a letter reoeived and forwarded on to us. by Clar Marsh from the University of IOII'a

-I am writing to ask you if you can put me in touoh with any person released trom the ~Ps in Deoember who might be interested in applying tor a position at the University ot Iowa. We shall have several vacancies in our physical education department next year. We are in need ot two general instructors in sports, and of an instructor who baa had publio sohool experience aDd who has specialized. in the field ot folk and sohool dancing. Candidates must, of oourse, have had professional training in the field at physical education. The personal qualifioations are as follOll'sl basic integrity, a high degree of intelligence, an outgoing, triendly-disposition, attractive appearanoe, and ability to. work well with students and colleagues. I know it sounds like a very high order of qualifioations. We are not perfeotionists, but we think that the persons in these positions will have a very great influenoe over our students, and we are anxious that it be a good influence.w Anyone who pouesses these qualifioations and is interested may oontact Kiss Elizabeth Halsey, State TIniversity ot Iowa, Department of Physical Eduoation tor Women, Iowa City, Iowa .

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To Members the Order: of As your BusineSlS Manager, I shall endeavor to pertorm all duties pertinent to this office to the best of myability and to your satisfaction individually and as a united group. Anyideas or suggestions will be IIlost heartily received. One ot the first and foremost purposes of our organization is to establish a "Living Memorial" to the forty-one girls who gave their lives for our country as Women irforce Service Pilots. A Walt Disney Productions has given us sole right to use the Fifinella insigne on stationery, decals, patches and pins. The sale of such items will be the source of deriving funds for the scholarship. According to our lease, we cannot sell these articles to anyone but membersof the Order ot Fifinella. The term ot the lease is for one year, and can be renewed it the four items are sold to, and used by, membersof the Order exclusively. The reason for this is quite sane, as manycompaniespay to use a Walt.Disney Production insigne on calendars, etc. We have the privilege of using. the Fifi insigne because we are not commercializing on it, but establishing a scholarship. Betty Williams has been worki.ngwith lIleon the setting up ot purchases tor the tund. Being an artist, she has designed three difterent letterheads for your selection in stationery. The dies are nowbeing made. Weshall have printed copies of letterheads in the next Newsletter, from which you can select and order. The decals are approximately three inches in diameter. They are dual purpose transters, usable on luggage, windshields, etc. The patches are the same size and color as the decals. The.pin is a-.ller than the one sold at Sweetwater,- but with just as muchdetail. Fiti herself is raised above the circle and it is all sterling silver. Weare certain that you will like her. It is hoped that each member will purchase a pin as recognition of her membership. Our WASP ings were used in w designing the ring. Betty designed the ring one evening while sitting in front ot the fireplace at the cabin during the 44-6 reunion. It maybe had in 14K gold or sterling. It is distinctive and most attractive11 Weare fortunate in having it madeby a very reliable firm which has earned its reputation by its fine workmanship. Want you-all (strictly Texa') to knowthat we have been in and out ot so many firms, to see about having the above items made so that they would all meet with your approval that I'll probably be wearing the decals on my lapels and the pins on mywindshield. Wehave had various ideas concerning the problem of howto handle the scholarship fund. The first idea was to send one girl throUgh a complete aeronautical course, both flying and ground school. Wehave had other ideas such as having a fund from which girls may borrow DlOneyor their flying as is done in colleges. f This would IIleanthat more girls could take advEr.ntage t the moneyand if a small o amount of interest were charged it would enable us to increase our tund. However, I shall check with the universities betore the next Newsletter comes out and find out just howwe would set up a scholarship loan fund. ' Wehope to have drawings of all iteme to be purchased. in the next Newsletter along with an order blank. Wouldlike very muchto have your ideas and suggestions.

lsI
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Sincerely. Hally Stires 3633 Lavell Drive Los Angeles 41. Calif.

AUTO ACCIDENT ON WEST COAST The following item was sent in recently by Hally Stires: "The many friends of Kay Alspach and Hayden Head, 44-6, will regret to learn of the tragedy which occurred Febru~y 26, 1945. The car in which they were riding skidded off the highway along Yali bu Beach, California, hit an embankment, and finally came to a stop after going over a precipice into the water's edge. Fate stepped in and two of our friends were taken from our midst. It is with heartfelt sympathy that we extend this news to those of you to whom the above information will mean heartache."

WNAA

From a letter sent to us by Miss Gladys Dallimore, president of the Womens National Aeronautical Association, we quote the following paragraph: "Any WASPs who are interested in WNAA are being given a complimentary membership for one year. This is in recognition of your outstanding service to our country. You have done a remarkable job and we all regret that the WASP program was discontinued. If you know of any WASPs who are interested we would be glad to have them get in touch with our National Program Chairman, Mrs. Eunice Mecaskey, 1104 Insurance Exchange Building, Kansas City, Missouri." WNAA also publishes a bimonthly magazine, "Skylady", which has many interesting and stimulating articles, some written by WASPs, and some written about WASPs. A Fifinella Log, telling what the ex-WASPs are doing, will be a regular feature. You'll like it! ABOUT THAT ROSTER! We have received many letters asking us what has happened to the WASP Roster. Rest assured that we haven't forgotten about the Roster, or the dollar bills sent in to pay for them. The money is all duly accredited to each person who has sent it in, and Ruth is working <may furipusly on the mounds of new nwnes and addresses which have been literally flooding us. It is at the printers now, and will be mailed out as quickly as we get it. PATIDICE, little WASPs l LETTER OF THANKS Marion Hagen of 44-6 sends us a letter for inclusion in the ~~LETTER. Mar~on was riding with Peggy Martin on a test hop when Peggy crashed and died a short time later. Marion suffered many serious injuries and spent considerable time in the hospital, but from latest reports, is almost completely recovered. " Everyone of my old classmates were so grand. I received flowers, cards, and letters from allover. Miss Cochran wired me a huge bouquet of roses. When you wri te up your next NEWSLETTER, would you thank them all for their thoughtfulness during the siege I had in the hospital. Everything was surely appreciated, but 1 just never got around to writing and thanking each one personally and now they have all gone home and have different addresses. I would appreciate it a lot if' you would do this "

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CONTEST Here is another entry in the contest for the best aooount of an amusing flight experienoe. It was written by Betty Soantlsnd of 43-5, who was stationed at Romulus. A.50 War Bond Prize will be awarded the winner at the close of the contest.

One of mymanyWaspie ha-ha memories has to do with SNAFU,long sinoe oalled the more dignified M.A.T. Baok in SNAFU days, we otten were disgruntled and annoyed with its quirks and peculiarities and the sohedulesthat were always set up not to be kept, but now in oivilian retrospeot, memories of SNAFU are good for a lot of ohuokles. This tale of woe took plaoe Maroh 30, 1944, and began at the 3rd Ferry Group Base. Whenever the phone rang in a Romulus barracks and a haunted WASP Operations voice sputtered, "SNAFUleaving for Buffalo in 30 minutesl" it seemed to have the same maelstromio effect as somone on the othel" side of the world shouting to a poker game of p-shooter pilots at some CBI field, "Soramblel Zeros approaohing at ~,OOOl" So, the ohosen three of us, Buffalo-bound to run PT-26s down to Roosevelt Fie Id, hurried like ad grabbing up all the warm flying clothes we oould find, inoluding not only our own, but everyone el se' 8 we could lay our hands on, and stuffed everything in our paraohute bags. And our B-4s were pregnant wi th novels and knitting and oivilian clothes, for we all were old hands at this being weathered in at Buffalo's Lenox Hotel for anywhere from one to three weeks. With all our paoking, we still made it to SNAFU the South Hangar by at noon, the soheduled departure time. We threw our junk on the C-60 and orawled in ourselves to find the only other oooupants two enlisted men in the oookpit working on the artificial horizon whioh was "out". "Ohl Fine" say we, along with a few other ohoice ATe expletives. Do you know haw freezingly oold it oan be in Miohigan in ~rch? So we three traipsed baok to the hangar to keep warm and try to find out from the ship's Captain what time he would be leaving, beoause NATURAlLY had rushed over with no lunch, - no time for it. we The Captain, in a typioal Snafuish way, was unoertain of departure time and didn't think we should leave to grab something to eat beoause the gyro might be repaired any minute now. So we stood around waiting for two hoursl I decided now would be a good time to turn in my parachute bag, which had half the bottom out of it, for a new one at close-by Consolidated Warehouse. I proceeded to 00 just that, and c oourse the minute I turned my baok the Captain tears out to the ship which somehowmiraoulously is ready to go, starts the engines in one minute, taxies out to the end of take-off runway like a whirling dervish, and is sitting out there olear aoross the field ready for take-off olearance when I oome out the door of Consolidated and spot my P-60 SNAFU olear to hell-n-gone at least a mile away but still on the ground. I didn't give up. I oouldn't. Praotioally all my worldly gOOlh were on that plane in a B-4 bag bcund fcrr Buffalo. , Hot-footing it aoross the field, on my first two leaps off the osment rEp and in to the March mud, I lost both my overshoes to the stioky Buoking earth. I rescued them and hailed the AO oruising by in a Recon and gasped out my predioament to him. His admonition was, ~Hop in and hang onl- We bounoed aorOBS the field at top speed and I was praying every bounoe that SNAFU would not swing

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out into take-off position and wondering what the WACs and wolves in the Tower thought of the Reoon that was doing some law flying out in the landing area. We JlB.deit. I stood at the end of the wing tip and motioning, asked the Captain if I could get aboard. Very disgustedly he nodded assent, and burfetted in the slipstream, I struggled on and collapsed. But this story doesn't end here - oh, no, there's still morel Do you remember from your meteorology-the CPk Air Mass that comes down over the Great Lakes from north central Canada in the winter time and is full of ownulus clouds and snow and icing and law oeilings and all that stuff that made Romulus ferry pilots the chief source of revenue for the Lenox Hotel during the winter of 1944. Well, anyhow, the C-60 was on instruments all the way and it was , rough as a oob. Finally enough time elapsed for us to have reached Buffalo and we did land, but it wasn't Buffalo Municipal, for when we looked out the windows, our old Lookheed was surrounded by cadets in blue. It was an RCAF AT-IS sohool at "'elland, Ontario, ~O miles west of Buffalo. The gyro instruments had gone out again, and since Burfalo was on instruments with low visibility due to snow showers, the Captain elected to sit down at this school field and wait for our destinati on to open up. By this time the other two WASPs, Lee Cook am Ruthmary Buckley, both of 43-5, were so starved that when the awe-.truok oadet. suggested a oup of tea, they quickly accepted. I was starved, too, but decided to stay 1n the ship beoause getting left once a day was enough for me. Cookie and Buoky wandered off in searoh of food and a john. So what happens! Yes, that's right, you guessed it. The Captain receives a good weather report via radio and takes arf out c there without Cookie and Buolcy. Gosh, I felt sorry for them - one had even left her purse in her plane seat. Well, I knew they'd show up in Buffalo sometime, but I womered if they would mve trouble getting through border customs. The rest of the passengers were big P-39 drivers, so when we unloaded at Buffalo, they were all going to Niagara Falla and I was the only one going to t he Lenox laden wi th 3 parach ute bags, 3 B-4 bags, and 2 purses. Cookie and Bucky made it in very late in the early morning. Cookie wall furious and she was gonoa quit this g.d. Ferry Command right now and go back to a noral sane way of' lite, and I could understand why atter listening to their night's adventures. On disoovering they had been left, some kind man off'ered to drive them from the training field into the city of' WeIland where they could catch an infrequently run train to Buffalo. They all piled into hils right-hand drive Canadian version of' the Austin and were well on the road when a tire bl . He had no spare nor repairs, so they sat in the oold waiting to hitch-hike. Finally, someone did pick them up 8l1d took them into WeIland where they caught the train.
I

But, oh, for the of' Errorsl

Ilf'e

of a f'erry

pilotl

Ofttimes

it was more like

a Comedy

illl IUlS IU II II

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

You will no doubt notice, we most fondly hope, our new letterhead. For its very attractive make-up and design, we wish to thank Florence Shutsy of 44-5, who sent it in to us. Your editors, who certainly are no artists by any stretch of the imagination, appreciate it. - 6 -

REPCiiT 44-W-6 REUNION OF Karie Pedersen and Ava Hamm Weimagine there are many of you who would be interested in hearing about what has happened at WhyWorry Den during the month of January and, although over the time limit, during February. Wehave had so much tun that we would like to share it with you, we only wish you could have been here in person. Representatives from 44-W-6 included: Ava HammMary Breidenbach " Sue Booth , Juner Bellew, Nancy Upper, Verneda Rodriguez, Betty Williams, Gen North, Janet Hutchinson, Pat Hopkins, Marie Pedersen, Kary Reineberg, Penny Hall, Frances Coughlin, Kay Alspach, Nancy Hanks, Beverly Beesemyer, Hayden Head, Edith Cragin, Dorothy Bancroft, and Mildred Coats. Somedropped in tor just an afternoon, some for a couple of days, some for a week or two, and. now tIJ(om" Stires, is having to rent the cabin as a broad hint to those who still remain. (ha ha) They, by the way, are moving to Los Angeles (provided they can find a house) in search of employment. The following dropped in from other classes to pay their respects and to see if anything was cooking, and we don't mean spare-ribs and sauerkraut. 44-fl-5, Betty Shunnj 44-W-7, Gertrude Dietz, Kay Elliot, and Doris Boothe; 44-W-8, Bonnie Dorsey; 43-W-7, Betty Clark, Dorothy Avery, Jane Tallman, Betty Archibald, Dot Kielty, and Lois DobDin. Along with these we had Janet Hutchinson's sister, four lady Marines, and eight of Uncle Sam's GI's and officers from March Field. Sunny California fooled us, much to our delight, and the ground was covered with snow. It enabled us to pound off part of our parachute spread when the toboggan jumPed the run and shot over a four foot embankment. )4anyindulged in snow ball tights and face washings, while others pursued the finer art of snow sculpturing by making a lite size WASP and also a pair of Wings. Sore and aching muscles (not involved in parachute carrying) were encountered as a result of navigating by foot up to the mountain tops and down the mountain streams with their boulders and waterfalls. Somewith faulty depth perception spun into the icy water and trudged homewith squishy shoes. Many strange tracks in the snow lured some to build traps and try their their efforts were ignored by our animal friends. hand, but

Domestic traits were discovered as tasks such as cooking, washing, ironing, and cleaning were accomplished. 'Course there was always wood to be chopped and fires to build. Evenings indoors were spent playing bridge, shooting craps and marbles. Wood carvers made rings, wings, planes, ships, and fancy bot tIe tops tor hand painted bottles (rememberW-6, the bottle babies.) Guess that about covers everything except the WASP Roster marking our visit in these parts. It hangs at Roger's Market and contains everyone's name, a small Fifi, and a white P- 39 called the wAsp Ghost Ship. After our happy days here we recommendmanymore get-togethers in_ order to help maintain our cODlllOn bond. for all Fitinellas

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\~

Elizabeth Phillips of 44-10 says, "Please list my homeas another WASP NEST Solo and I will be only too happy to share my bed with any wayfaring WASPs ho w should be in Indianapolis or vicinity." Betty's address is 5953 Evanston Ave. Indianapolis. Indiana And from Jimmie Parker Glasser, 44-3, - "I'm keeping an extra bed on hand just in case one of you Waspies lands at Municipal in Houston and wants a place to throw your cap. Could take care ot three and my house is less than 2 miles from the airport. Address is 2905 Amherst, Houston, Texas." Ann ~ooneyn Atkeison of 44-9 and 10 says, ~y I add my hometo the present list of WASP NESTS. I have lot s of room for anyone or number of WASPshat t happen to be near KWlday,Texas, at any time. For anyone who is my guest, I'll teed 'em broiled T bones and all the chicken they can eat - just a touch of Southern hospitality!" Yipes 1 It's worth a hitch-hiking trip downthere just to see what a T bone steak looks like, or chicken tor that matter 1 From llarge Hurlburt, 43-6, we hear, "The three of us (Rusty McLean ,Marge Logan, and Marge Hurlburt) are going to live in a cottage on the lake, where there'll be swimming,boating, horseback riding, tennis, dances at a neighboring club house, etc. etc. and we hereby extend an invitation to all WASP the country to in drop in. A WASP NESTETTEbut we think we can take care of all who care to stop over." Marge can be reached at the Willoughby lofunicipal Airport, Willoughby,Ohio. Marge Logan, 43-7, writes the following: "I would like to add another WASP NEST to those already listed, although I believe this Nest is quite tamiliar to many ot the Ate girls who have already visited the spot. It is my home in Billings, )(ontana. As my father is manager of the airport there and our ranch house is just one and a half miles fram the airport, it is a convenient :spot in which to spend a little time. :My family has a great liking for any and all WASPs nd you a can be sure that any WASP ill be more than welcome- so if you get out West, w just go to the airport and look for Dick Logan or call 3-0593 and say you need a place to stay and a good homecooked meal. .I am sure the ATCgals will recommend this WASP NEST."
We have an enthusiastic

letter from Jo Wallace Orr, 44-2, - "I would be delight.ed to have "Scotsmoor", Longmeadow, Kass. put on the map as a WASP NEST,as my family would be tickled to death to have anyone stop over anytime." , Peggy Niapel, 44-5, writes, "I'd like to offer my apartment as a WASP NEST tor anyone who might happen through, here. As far as I know, I'm the only one here within miles and it would be nice to see some of the girls again." Peggy's address is 2800 P Street, Lincoln, Nebraska.'
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One of the best ideas we've heard, which is rapidly becominga reality, is one Hazel Raines and Sissy Sieber of 44-3 originated. In Hazel's ownwords, " the original idea is to open the first airport in the country operated entirely by ex~ASP and to specialize in teaching women !.ly." It's a flying school to charter service, and aircraft sales and parts business all combined, - we ~ertainly hope it works out to be something tangible, for it's a wonderful thing. Betty Scantland of 43-6 sends us the following set of suggestions: " All of us must be reconciled that military flying is a thing of the past. I visualize the Order of Fifinella as a definitely cooperative clearing house o! aviation industry jobs, of money-making ideas, of all aids and helps to us whowish to continue flying as a livelihood. The Order of Fi!inella can be to women flyers what any highly organized association is to its respective professional group; be what the A. K. A. is to doctors or the Airline Pilots' Association is to its 'gods', etc. Weknowthere is no separate society for female doctors as opposed to male doctors, but it seems for a while longer that female pilots will be distinct from aale pilots until it is recognized more universally as Barbara Poole puts it, 'that a plane knowsno sex.. I see two or three WASPs together in several large cities in each state in a cooperative interstate freight line business exchanging experiences via the Order o! Fifinella as to what could be dug up for pay load cargoes and whe:reto go to rind cargoes, exchanging lists o! namesof manufacturers and businesses that need the speed and timeliness o! air !reight, exchanging ideas on how to keep operating costs down,.howto makeand howto save lOOneynd yet be in the a flying gamewhere we'd rather be than any place else " Irene Crumhas muchthe same sort of basic idea, as have so manyothers who have written in to us and which only lack of space prevents us from including, " Do you realize that if a thousand of us went together and borrowed $3,000 each (from the Government)it would makethree million, and we could start a pretty good Airline with that! Wecould be centrally located, and have every aircraft manufacturer agree.to give us a distributorship in order to have his plane represented by us. Build a flight school! Run charter trips to our ownresorts ownedby the Order! There will-also be millions of little homeless children, - these too could be cared for with our profits in a few years, and we could build good strong American citizens to help fill the places madevacant by this war. Wecould own ranches' in Texas, resorts in the North, South, East, - in fact anywhere in the world with air service to each place . " LETTERROM F ALASKA Wepromised you parts of Ruth Reilly's here it is, - Ruth is 44-7: ' letter from Alaska in the last issue and

" 1 left for Alaska by train to Seattle to pick up Jean McFarland, 44-5; by boat to Juneau - a warmthough foggy coastal trip (the inside passage is beautiful beyond your dreams) and to Fairbanks via Anchorageby Alaska Air Lines. I only wish I had the time and ability to describe that trip - flying at 50-150 feet through ten and twelve thousand foot mountain passes in fog so thick that flying one side of the pass madethe other wall invisible; colors of green, blue, gold, red, and brown showinglike a giant linoleum through the ice over vast stretches of tundra; being weathered in at Cordova, little changed from gold rush days, mining and fishing settlement hidden :i..n misty mountains with mantles of fog and crowns of snow outsparkling diamonds, - real kings; flying high over huge impregnable fortresses of stone and infinite unaltered space - really God's land undisturbed by mortal hand."

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WASSUP GOSSIP

We never run short of material in this columnl And for our first item, Ina Barkley, of 44-4, w~s married on Dec. 7th to Lt. Roy Petsch of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Both were stationed at Perrin Field, Texas. Ann Morean, 43-7 was married to Capt. George Staples on Feb 27th in the March Field Chapel at Riverside, Cal. On Jan. 5th, Lee Warren of 44-3 became Mrs. Louie Doerr, wife of Major Louie Doerr. Wedding was at Greenville, Miss. where she was stationed. Mary Harriet Nesbit, 44-5, was engaged, the last we heard, - no doubt married now, to Lt. L. Earnest Hearn of Marana AAF. To quote Margery Moore of 43-4, "25 percent of the gals stationed at Liberty. Field did right well by themselves, falling victims to Dan Cupid, - Bertha Mary Clifford , . 43-4 marrled Lt. Walter E. Lyman way back last Nov. 25th. Edna Hines Pedlar, 43-4, married Lt. James C. Bishop on Jan. 13th, Margaret Bruns, 43-4, married Flo Harold Sliker the end of January" - and Margery herself became engaged to Lt. Douglas G. Jude on the 24th of Feb., wedding plans post-war. Caro~ Ann Nicholson of 44-7 became Mrs. Lester W. Lewis, Jr. on the 23rd of Feb. He is a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

Ginny Stell, 44-1, announces that she expects a baby sister for her little son in June, - Ginny's husband is a captain with Pan American Airways and flies the baby clipper S-~. Jerry Hardman Jordan of 43-5 has sent us a car~ announcing the arrival of little Jean Kathleen Jordan, a future WASP, - Jerry's husband is Capt. Edward James Jordan. Jean is certainly being trained to the sound of plane s buzzing overhead, for her parents live near Orlando, about 2 blocks from the Air Base which many WASPs will remember for the OTC they took there. And a plug for Mary Margaret Peter, better known as "Cueball", (her mother is writing this, so reels she can get away with it) - she shows signs of addiction to the flying profession, sleeping all day and dissipating and howling all night! The Miami gang of ex-WASPs are certainly doing all right by themselves. They just recently had a ~ ~ spread, pictures and copy, in one of the local newspapers down there, - pictures were of Win Wood, Mildred Caldwell, Dot Swain, Caro Bayley, Doris Gee, Katherine Landry, and one bundle qf sorrowful looking canine eyes and fur, Chaus, which the paper says is Danish for Fido - leave it to the WASPs to think that up 1 We ought to have more of these busy WASPS NESTS around the country. Elizabeth Carsey, 43-6, married Lt. Carter in Dearborn not so long ago. Both were former ly stationed at Romulus. Betty Hartz, 43-7, formerly of Romulus and Gunter, married Sgt. Charles Carroll on March 3rd at Baltimore . Mary Belle Ahlstro~, 43-3, is- engaged to a Capt. Smith. Dorothy Nagel of 44-10 was married on the 12th of April at the Luke Field Chapel to Lt. Carl Joseph Ally . Dorothy Britt, 44-4, and A. C. Mann of the U. S. Navy were married in Feb. and are now stationed in Hutchins, Kansas, but after he goes to sea again, Dorothy is planning to go back to school. Dorothy Dinvliddie, Seaman 2/c of the WAVES, is now the wife of Ray Dormandy, a pilot. Both are at San Diego. Virginia Streeter of 43-5 was married on the 26th of Jan. to Ensign F. Ross Cutler, who is stationed at the Naval Ammunition Depot in Portsmouth, Va. Mary Retick, 44-6, was married on Mar. 17 to Lt. Richard Caulfield, instructor at Pecos AAF. They will live in Pecos, Texas. NOTE: The Newsletter Staff would appreciate it very much if you married girls would give your maiden names and graduating class when you write. Our mailing list is inherited from Sweetwater, and it takes a lot of sleuthing to figure out who some of you are. Thanks a lot! - 10 I

WASP DOINGS Kost of the WASPies have, by now, settled down to some stable form of employment, some are just wandering around the country, some (like the Florida gang) having a wonderful time. And for news of those you haven't heard about: Martha Smith, 43-6, is instructing at the Municipal Field at Eufaula, Ala. She says that there are instructing jobs galore in that part of the country for anyone interested. Dolly Sexton of 44-5 is a flight instructor also, teaching at Rosemead, California. Violet Nisley of 44-9 is making plans to get her instructor's rating. Jean Downey, Maggie Gee, Elaine Harmon, and Marie Jacobson, all of 44-9, had a joyous and boisterous reunion in Oakland a short time ago. Maggie has returned to the University of California and is majoring in physics, Elaine is working for CAA's Airways Traffic Control, Yarie is a passenger agent for Western Airlines. Six WASPs,formerly stationed at Tyndall Field, went back to work there as Dispatchers in Post Operations. They are Odine Bishop, Martha McKenzie, Betty Richards, Alma Newsom, Mary Ann Palmer, and a WASP not originally stationed at Tyndall, Millicent Peterson. Yary S. Reineberg of 44-5 has had an offer of a crop dusting job which sounds tempting; Mary was a former surgeon-chiropedist, having practiced in York, Pa., her home, for six and a half years before entering training in the WASP. And from Peg Parish of 44-7 comes news, through her swell little. mimeographed newsletter, that Anne Henry is at home in Texarkana and has enrolled in the local Junior College; Marge Neymanis back at her old job in San Francisco with Standard Oil, Jean Landa is working as a junior technician in the Engineering Department of Fairchild in Hagerstown, Maryland; - all the above mentioned girls are 44-7. From Dixie Dixon, ,44-9, we received information about her classmates, Barbara Hershey, Lillian Glezen, Sarah lllshouse, Kay Kleinecke, and Esther Stahr are in a CAA Radio Communicator's school in Fort Worth; Pam Carr, Sis McGrath, and Marjorie Christiansen are working for Consolidated in California. June Wolfe, Mary Thoits, , Gail Sigford, and Suzanne Irvine, all 44-10, are working toward their instructor's ratings at Spartan in Tulsa. Pat Houran, also 44-10, is working at Earl Henry's airport in Oklahoma City. And ye worn out old editors, 44-2, believe it or not, found time to take a DPC ferry trip to Ponca City, Oklahoma, and back, pushing equally worn out PT-19s through some of the messiest weather (we speak with ~ restraint) we have ever had the bad luck to fly through. The trip took nine days in all, which was about five days longer than it should have taken . like old times, though, RONing at Springfield, st. Louis, Indianapolis, Akron, then home. While in St. Louis we called up Margie Needham, also of 44-2, who is ferrying for DPCoff and on. Betty Peters of 44-6 was also on the trip. Our Indianapolis RONwas spent at Betty Scantland's (43-6) apartment, - a grand hangar flying session. Helen Ann Turner of 43-5 and Betty Clements of 43-5 have both accepted positions as hospital recreation workers with the Red Cross overseas. The A8sociat~d Women Pilots of Boeing Field, an independent organization, most of whose members were pilots o~ the Pacific Northwest before the war, honored its returned ex-WASPsat a luncheon, - among the WASPsso honored were Virginia Hill, Barbara Erickson, Pat Hiller, Arline Davis, Ruth Anderson, and Celia Hunter, who gave us this information. Betty Naffz of 43-4 writes us that she is about. to be udrafted" into the Air Evacuation Corps as a nurse. Mildred Taylor Marshall, 44-5, has returned to her old

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job at Charlotte, N. C. heading an aviation department of the McAlister Cal"son Insurance Agency, Inc. Levona Hove of 44-10 is now employed at the Washington National Airport with the ATC as a Link Instructor and finds it quite interesting, says she gets to see a sister WASP now and then. Ethel Myer, 43-6, with Marjorie Popell, 43-5, is back at Shaw Field, S. C. instructing.in Link. Margaret Parish, 44-7, is working for Pratt and Whitney in Hartford, Conn. Marge Logan, 43-6, is travelling about the country and has come across many WASPs, and joined in many of their reunions. Last heard, Barbara Poole and Leotta Cook (WAFS and 43-5) were guests of Ruthmary Buckley at her summer home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Rumor has it that Juanita Belish is working in Operations at Pittsburgh, that Marge Ketcham is doing control tower work. Yvonne Ashcraft, from Montana, is out working for an instructor's rating and has several instructing jobs lined up. llary McDonnell, 43-6, is teaching school at the present time. Anne Berry, 44-2, has a job as news rewriter for Station WHAS in Louisville, Ky. Ruth Groves of 44-9 is teaching Ancient History and English at the Hyde Park High School. Hazel Raines and Sissy Sieber, 44-3, are on the verge of opening an airport, staffed with women only, in Oklahoma City, - we'd like to hear more about that deal. Many of you will be interested to know of the whereabouts of the former Avenger Field instructors - your editors, while waiting for the weather to lift, were dissipating in the Coffee Shop at the Indianapolis Municipal Airport when who should walk up to our table in the uniform of an Eastern Airlines pilot but Mr. Landry, former advanced navigation instructor. Instructors Oldham, Rudolph, Jones,. and Speer are Warrant Officers in the ATC; Yr. Burchfield is an agent for TWA in San Franciscoj Pace is flying P-40's for the ATC, the last we heard. Saunders is also with the ATC. Capt. Pokorny is overseas flying P-51's out of an Italian base. Lt. LaRue and Lt. McAnany are stationed at san Marcos and are living in Austin; Capt. Creamer is flying b-25's at Enid, Okla.; Capt. Shepard - B-17's and later B-29's at Sebring, Fla. Capt. Miller is with Intelligence and Operations in an Emergency Rescue Squadron ,in the South Pacific. Lt. Clayton is flying C-47's at Sedalia, Mo.; Lt. Nance is temporarily in Altus, Okla. taking 4-engine transition; Lt. Pinkston is at Blacklands AAF, Waco, Texas and Major Urban is at San Angelo. Capt. Ward is at Aloe Field, Victoria, Texas and Capt. Haskins is overseas. Col. Roy P. Ward, Commanding Officer at Avenger, has been stationed in Fort Worth with the Inspection Division of the Flying Training Command and recently honored the g~ls at the WASP Nest there with a visit; he has recently been transferred to Bryan. Col. George F. Keene, another former Avenger Field C.O. who had been stationed at Goodfellow Field, San Angelo, is going overseas. Joan Blair, 44-8, is in Tucson living with Ty Hughes, also 44-8. Emily Porter, 44-1, is ferrying P'l'-19'sfor DPe, as are also llargaret Needham, 44-2, Adele Scharr, 43-3, Dolores ),{eurerReed, 44-1, and Barbara Ward, 43-4. Barbara Donahue, WAFS, Jan Zuchowski, 43-4, are on the same deal, ferrying for a Lansing dealer. Margaret Ehlers, 44-2, is working at the Nicolet Hotel in Minneapolis. lfariapne Beard, 43-5, is in the lrarines; Dorothy Ebersbach, 43-5, is in Tampa, Fla., planting gardens and working as a Nurse's Aide. The girls at Napier Field who went back as Link Instructors are living in their same quarters and eating at the Officers Club. Ruth Clifford, 44-8, is instructing for the Johnson Aeronautical Services, Gilbert

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Field, Winter Haven, Fla. Rose Palmer 44-6 Ann Atkeison 44-10 Jean Babb 43 7 Wll . " " an d Sidn ey JIfU. er, 43-1, are ferry~ng DPC planes and are making regular trips,-be- , tween Wickenberg, Ariz. and Fort Worth. Nan Hazeltine has joined the WAVES and is assigned to the Naval Air Transportation Service. Marguerite Haskins who was a 44-6 trainee,has joined the SPARS. Millie Davidson and Kay D'Arezzo 'both 44-4 are working in the Texas Legislature, and so is Grace Pokorny, wife ~f Capt. Al'J. Pokorny, who used to be a check pilot at Sweetwater. Penny Hall, 44-6, is working as tower operator in Santa Barbara, Calif. Sue Booth Juner Bellew, Irene Crum, and Frances Coughlin, all 44-6, have been signed up with' the Red Cross and are waiting to be called. Ann Lore, 44-3, is working in operationsat Meacham Field in Fort Worth, for Delta Airlines. Betty Clark, 43-7, Pat Pateman, 43-5, and Beverly Beesemyer, 44-6, are working at the Monrovia Airport in Los Angeles, painting planes, masking "NC's" and tearing down planes while working for their instructors' ratings. Janet Hutchinson, 44-6, has been putting in her spare time working out race horses at the Pimlico Track in Maryland. Laura "Larry" Rutledge, 44-6, is in Fort Worth attending the CAA Communications School. Ann Criswell, 43-6, is working for the County Welfare Board as a social worker in Riverdale, Md. Marie Pedersen, 44-6, is teaching kindergarten in the Los Angeles Publi~ Schools. Mary Breidenbach, 44~6, is doing drafting for Douglas Aircraft. Dorothy Bancroft, 44-6, is also attending the CAATraining School in Los Angeles learning to be a tower operator. Peggy Nispel, 44-5, is busy running charter trips and instructing in Lincoln, Nebraska. Ellenor Kurten, 43-5, is editing a. swell little gossip sheet, writing of all the people she has come into contact with during her flying career as a WASP - if you're interested in her news, write her at 211 S. Primrose, Monrovia, Calif. . Pat Chadwick, 43-2, is with Northeast Aviation Co. in Portland, Maine. Part of her job is to pramote aviation for women - she also instructs and says she is looking forward to crop dusting season up in Aroostook's potato country. rrom uixie Dugan of 44-9, we received an Amusing Flight Experience that was so amusing and so good we don't dare print it, though typical of many WASP'S experience. Only to the inner circle of duly accredited WASPs will we divulge any of its informationl Sid Siddall, 44-2, better and more popularly known as Clarice Isobel, states that she has been roped into spring house cleaning at her home in Alliance, Uhio. The "Alliance Flash" also says that she is in the process of getting her instructors rating, and is having her troubles mastering the maneuvers of the li~tle yellow plane, as we all are. Florence Emig of 44-10 sends ~s news of her classmates; Dottie Davis has been ferrying PT's from South Carol~na to Massachusetts and CharlyneCregar is in Norman, Okla. ferrying LQ's and PT's between Norman and Tulsa. Doiores Lamb is back home in Los Angeles working at Vail Field doing some ferry work and making charter trips, also helping out with the shop work at odd times. Juanita Dreier is temporarily working for Catholic Charities in Oakland, Cal. ~rgaret Eger is attending Bowling Green University in Ohio and is majoring in speech work. She intends to continue her studies for four years. It's Martha Davis, 43-2, is running Operations for Whiting Field, Pensacola, Fla. India a Navy PB4Y (B-24) Sqn., Operational Trng. She expects her husband home from next month when they'll go back to Long Beach and the 6th Ferrying Group.

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Here is an item whioh maybe ot interest to girls whowere at Avenger atter May l~. Elizabeth Phillips, 44-10, writes us as tollcwu -They mayr~call that at that time we aoquired a minute bundle at fur (oanine) whom named 'Solo' we and adopted as a . scot. Solo was the otfioial esoort tor all formations, and our valiant and noisy detender against any and all men, for whom she nourished a protound distrust. Solo got to be myward after 44:-9 graduated, and she developedwormaand pinkeye praotically simultaneously. So, rather than leave her behiDd when the field olosed, I shipped her home- express oolleot, of oourse. My bewildered parent. oheerfully paid the oharges at $20.56, reuarking that apparently they got in return twenty dollars' worth ot orate and fitty-six oents worth at dog. But nOlI' hat she's been properly trained as to her behavior in her new int door environment, they are quite won over to her side, and I think I oan sately say she bas a "good heme-.

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