Amelia Earhart

A Kansas Portrait

After seeing a roller coaster during a family excursion to the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair but not being allowed to ride it because it was "too dangerous for little girls, " a six year old Kansas City, Kansas, girl nicknamed Meely and her younger sister called Pidge enlisted the aid of a neighbor boy to construct their own in their back yard. The eight-foot high roof of the tool shed was chosen as the starting place and a track was constructed. A wooden packing box was transformed into a car, the track was greased with lard, and Meely was ready to ride the "roller coaster. " The car and passenger tipped over at the edge of the roof but the excited passenger claimed "it's just like flying. " That passenger was Amelia Earhart and her sister Muriel records this incident in her biography of her famous sister. At that time, neither of these young girls knew the significance "flying" would have for Amelia.

Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison in 1897 at the home of her maternal grandparents Judge and Mrs. Alfred Otis. She spent her early years in Kansas City, Kansas and a year in Atchison before moving to Des Moines.

Earhart learned to fly in the early 1920s but gained national prominence in 1928 for being the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Amelia was not content with her fame because she had only been a passenger on that flight. She prepared to pilot herself across the Atlantic which she did in 1932. She advocated the equality of female to male pilots and undertook various flights to prove it until she disappeared on an "around-the-world" flight in 1937.

She was one of the most famous women flyers in the United States and her birthplace in Atchison has been preserved for future generations to explore.