Dolly Longren

By Tyler Graf, intern, and Bobbie Athon, for Hers Kansas

"Watch it climb, see it fly, you'll own a Longren by and by." Dolly Longren's advertising copy promised to set a new standard for modern air travel. The Topeka aviation company Dolly and her husband, Albin K. Longren owned, hoped to market aircraft to the average American. The aviation company was just one of many careers Dolly tackled during her life.

A native of Hardin, Missouri, Dolly Trent was born in 1893 and grew up in Minneapolis. She met A.K. Longren, as he became known, at a fair in Minneapolis where Longren was making exhibition flights. Soon after, the Trent family moved to Pittsburg and Dolly left home to begin working as a nurse at a hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. Dolly and A.K. were married in 1914. A newspaper account of the marriage said her co-workers were hesitant to let her leave; she was a "general favorite among the nurses and with the patients."

A.K. was already a famous aviator before he and Dolly married. A native of Leonardville, Longren built his first motorcycle in 1903. Motivated by witnessing an early aviation accident, A. K., his brother, E. J., and William Janicke, secretly built a biplane in 1911 in Topeka. On the second floor of Hamilton Hall, at 526-528 Quincy Street, the team created Topeka I. To maintain secrecy, they completely dismantled the new aircraft and quietly transported it in the back of a truck to the test sight. Southeast of Topeka on September 2, 1911, with Longren at the wheel, the Topeka I became the first Kansas-made plane to successfully take to the air.

The Longrens traveled throughout the state on barnstorming tours to promote their aircraft. The trips produced little revenue, but created an interest in aviation and offered a chance to test the models. A.K. applied his research and testing to make refinements in his designs. One Longren innovation was a balanced lateral control, which was inspired by watching weather vanes. He noticed the difference between the ones that stayed still and the ones that wobbled.

Dolly began taking an active role in the aviation company in Topeka. Newspaper stories suggested that she was known to repair a plane "as well as any man" and she may have assisted in training pupils. "Her pet hobby is tinkering with engines and mechanical devices, manifesting an especial genius with reference to airplane adjustments." In 1917, A.K. Longren entered World War I as a plane inspector.

After the war, A.K. purchased a building, which formerly housed a woolen mill, at 1401 North Winfield in Oakland. There he began to design The New Longren. The factory was located near the family home at 1333 Arter. A.K. had a passion for perfection and worked long hours designing and preparing for the plane's production. "Often at midnight Dolly would carry coffee and sandwiches to him from their home across the street," according to the Topeka Daily Capital.

Dolly enjoyed performing in local plays and was featured in a leading role in "Sunflower Princess," an all Kansas motion picture produced in Topeka. Newspaper accounts mention that Dolly won a Sunflower beauty contest in 1920 sponsored by the Topeka Daily Capital and a film company, which included a trip to Hollywood.

The New Longren, Model AK, entered production in 1921 and was available by mail order. Designed for the individual owner, it was sturdier than earlier models. The plane's wings folded to fit in a garage and it could be towed behind a car. The New York Times featured a photograph of A.K. filling the plane at a service station. Dolly and her sister, Etha, sewed cloth wing covers, which slipped on like pillowcases.

To encourage sales, A.K. pursued military contracts, while Dolly worked on marketing. The military ordered a few planes, but the Longren factory was unable to meet its production schedule. By May 1923, the factory had produced 21 planes. Limited funding and too few sales led to the company's close in 1926.

A.K. left Topeka for Oklahoma and eventually California where he founded a successful aviation manufacturing company, until shortly before his death in 1950. Dolly moved to New York and in 1929 opened an antique shop in the Ziegfeld Theater. She became a respected dealer and was one of the first people to enter France after World War II on a permit to reestablish trade. An avid gardener, Dolly was interviewed on a national television program about her hobby in 1957. An urban renewal project forced her to close her Third Avenue shop and in 1958 she reopened the shop in Topeka. Dolly returned to the home on Arter where her sister had been living. She died in Texas in 1971.