Our History

Above, archivist Virginia Oualline standing in the treasure room, filled to the brim with the gifts and mementos o f many, many special lives.

$25,000 grant from the Grayce B. Kerr Fund of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma was awarded to The Ninety-Nines, Inc. in late December. Monies will be spent on completion of the second story on the new addition o f our headquarters building.

Novetah Holmes Davenport, a 99 since 1930 and colleague o f such pioneer aviators as Amelia Earhart, Ruth Nichols and Louise Thaden was the designated honoree o f this award. She was active in various fields of aviation and an avid supporter of the Wing Scout Program.
Her name will be added to the Wall of Wings, to hang in International Headquarters in perpetuity. Our sincere thanks to the Grayce B. Kerr Fund for this generous gift.

The future's curious will find enlightening satisfaction in our resource center
by Gene Nora Jessen

As the board gathered for work in our headquarters building in Oklahoma City, a young man quietly studied displays in the resource center cases. I spoke with him and discovered he was from New Hampshire, a maintenance officer in the National Guard. He makes regular trips to Oklahoma City and had planned this one specifically leaving time to visit our building during working hours. He had no agenda of special interest, such as a female relative who flies, but rather described himself as an aviation afficianado. He wanted to learn more about aviation and its history and had heard The Ninety-Nines had interesting displays. He was checking it out. The young man's curiosity is played out by other faces and backgrounds regularly seen at the resource center in Oklahoma City. It is gratifying to see researchers,
writers, school children and just plain folks benefit from the vision and dedication of many.

Our collections came from pack rats—if Ruth Rueckert and Virginias Thomas, and the Beards—Thomson and Melba, don't mind being lumped into that category. Pack rats are the people who write things down and save things because someday someone will need just that item. They have a sense of the importance of preserving the record of today, for tomorrow it will be history. We owe a debt to the collectors. There's Betty Gillies and Jerrie Cobb, Jimmie Kolp and Manila Davis Tally. These are the visionaries who have saved memorabilia
from important times in their lives, then transferred it to the museum for many to enjoy and learn from, even though they might not be quite through enjoying it privately. We owe a lot to the visual historians, too, such as Vema West, Teresa James and Marjorie Fauth. They've kept the Kodak Film Company profitable and supplied us the visual record of our projects and philanthropies, and have devoted hours to identifying the record. I'm reminded of the tragedy of my husband's mother leaving us a trunkful of photos from her 90 years—without identification on any of it.

We're indebted to the anonymous historians who wouldn't even recognize themselves in that definition as they clip articles and put together scrapbooks. We cherish our dear friend Glenn Buffington who was inspired by the heroine women pilots of his youth and corresponded
with them, thus starting a lifelong collection of aviation data. Glenn defines the word "historian" generously, sharing his material with all who ask. Our photo collection started essentially as his and he speaks of The Ninety-Nines as "our" organization.

All of these people and many others have formed our resource center. Their recollections, collections, awards and memories have been gathered into a statement of where and when women started to fly. What compelled them to do so, and how the world perceived their daring and sometimes their deaths. We stand looking over our shoulder at Mathilde Moisant and Harriet Quimby and Brave Bessie Coleman who paved the way for us ... and move our gaze onward as today's girls pass on the right, to the airlines, the military ... the stars. Our story is all there. It is the picture of a fervor to soar above the earth, to loosen the tether, to take wing with the eagles. The resource center tries to illuminate our passion.