FALL 2011 - Lake Erie College

History
College was a
pioneer in training
women aviators
by Holly Menzie MBA ’06
“Oh, the day I soloed, high above the world, by myself and
able to enjoy the view of miles and miles. . .” This is the way
Phoebe Ann (Ford) Hamlin ‘39 described her first solo flight.
Hamlin was one of the Lake Erie students who learned to
fly through the aviation program offered by the College
beginning in 1935. At that time, students could take courses in
aviation as an extracurricular activity in the physical education
department. Thirty students enrolled the first year and were
taught by licensed pilots from the Meinke-Eldred School of
Aviation in Willoughby.
In their weekly classes held on campus, the girls studied
groundwork, fundamentals of flying and the theory of
aeronautics. There was also instruction on weather conditions,
parachutes, instruments and radio as well as lectures by
experienced pilots. At the end of the ground school, every
student experienced two hours of actual flying, sharing the
controls with an instructor.
Jane (Menke) Snyders Meek ’40 was one of the Lake Erie
students who was active in the Aviation Club. Jane described
her flight as follows: “My first airplane ride was with the
program. It was in a two-seater open cockpit with dual controls.
We felt important ‘flying’ the plane with the dual controls. We
wore a suit like Amelia Earhart or a pair of riding jodhpurs,”
Meek said.
William Uhle, instructor
of the ground school
classes, said his job
was to make the girl
feel at home in the
air before she ever
left the ground. Then,
after going up, she would recognize
additional factors she needed to understand, and which would
clear up in ground school. (Christian Science Monitor,
May 7, 1940)
Dewey Eldred, considered one of the safest fliers in the nation
in the 1940s, was in charge of the flying program at Lost Nation
Airport. “We are showing once and for all,” Eldred said, “that
any group of alert, intelligent young women can learn to fly
as rapidly and as carefully as a similar group of young men.”
(Christian Science Monitor, May 7, 1940)
Ruth Bartlett, professor of physical education at the College,
began the aviation program in response to the demand
she foresaw for workers in the industry. “That flying is the
coming means of travel is no longer a question,” Bartlett said.
“Women will undoubtedly be employed in many phases of the
whole industry of airship building and airline travel.” (Lake Erie
College Bulletin, April 1936)
After the first year, Lake Erie College organized an Aviation
Club. This group became affiliated with the National Intercollegiate
Flying Club, which was a member of the National
Aeronautics Association. Lake Erie College was the first college
for women to receive this official recognition.
(Lake Erie College Bulletin, July 1936)
The Aviation Club brought Amelia Earhart, “First Lady of the
Air,” to campus on Oct. 29, 1936. Following dinner in the
dining room in College Hall, Earhart lectured on “Aviation
Adventures” in Morley Music Building. After the lecture,
Continued on next page
L A K E E R I E | FALL ‘11 13