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
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... Read More
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Florence "Flo" Majerus Interview
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... Read More
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Joan Orley Interview
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... Read More
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Louise Butcher Interview
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... Read More
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Madonna Smith Interview
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... Read More
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Margaret Goldhahn Interview
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... Read More
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Martha Volkomener Interview
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... Read More
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Vivienne Schrank Interview
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... Read More