This collection includes eight interviews detailing the history of women pilots in Montana. The interviews were conducted in 1991 by Margaret Eloise Sagmiller. Each interviewee discusses her reasons for becoming a pilot, the Ninety-Nines—an international organization of women pilots—the Powder Puff Derby (now called the All Women’s Transcontinental Air Race), and her flying experiences. The original interviews are held as Oral History collection OH 262 at Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, the University of Montana-Missoula.
This collection includes 8 interviews.
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Carol Fraser Interview, 1991
Carol Fraser
Carol Fraser discusses her decision to become a pilot in the mid-1960s and the types of airplanes that she flew. She describes flying commercial and cargo flights into airports across Montana, including into Lewistown, Montana, Jordan, Montana, and Billings, Montana. She also discusses the Ninety-Nines, ... Read More
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Florence "Flo" Majerus Interview, 1991
Florence Majerus
Florence Majerus discusses growing up on a ranch in Idaho during the 1920s, getting married in Alaska, and working for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for ten years. She describes moving with her husband to Montana and becoming a pilot after the end of World ... Read More
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Joan Orley Interview, 1991
Joan Orley
Joan Orley describes how her journey to becoming a pilot in the early 1960s, including her practice flights. She discusses her participation in the Ninety-Nines, an international organization of women pilots, and the Powder Puff Derby, now called the All Women’s Transcontinental Air Race.
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Louise Butcher Interview, 1991
Louise Butcher
Louise Butcher discusses her decision to become a pilot and her participation in the Ninety-Nines, an international organization of women pilots, and the Flying Farmers. She describes her experiences with the Powder Puff Derby, now called the All Women’s Transcontinental Air Race, flying conventions, and ... Read More
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Madonna Smith Interview, April 23, 1991
Madonna Smith
Madonna Smith discusses her career as a public health nurse, her decision to become a pilot, and the uses of flying in Montana, a large, sparsely populated state. She also describes her experiences as a member of the Ninety-Nines, an international organization of women pilots.
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Margaret Goldhahn Interview, April 25, 1991
Margaret Goldhahn
Margaret Goldhahn discusses her career as a school teacher before joining the Women’s Air Force Pilot Program during World War Two. She describes the logistics of becoming a United States Air Force pilot; the early days of the Women’s Air Force Pilot Program, her fellow ... Read More
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Martha Volkomener Interview, 1991
Martha Volkomener
Marth Volkomener recounts growing up in West Virginia and her first experiences flying seaplanes after graduating from West Virginia Wesleyan College. She recalls the different requirements of flight school, the types of planes she flew, and her instructors. Volkomener talks about being one of 1,800 ... Read More
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Vivienne Schrank Interview, April 13, 1991
Vivienne Schrank
Vivienne Schrank discusses her family history, including the daily life of her grandmother, her parents, and her experiences living in Jordan, Montana. She describes small town life, writing and submitting short fiction for publication, and her father’s opera house. Schrank also discusses her experiences flying, ... Read More