Paying Homeage To Women Who Did Great Things Not With The Intention Of Publicity, But For Women's Rights, For Passion And Dreams
There are a lot of hidden stories throughout history... People's accomplishments and achievements that become lost over time, often because they weren't chasing fame... Just their dreams. There's a museum that tells many of these stories – of dreams, aspirations and talent... The stories of people who weren't looking to be recognized but deserve all the recognition in the world: The International Women's Air & Space Museum, located in the Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland.
“We want to preserve the achievements of the women that pursued their dreams and obtained their goals,” said Director Heather Alexander. “We want to use those stories to help inspire future generations. We still have girls that come in here and didn't know they could fly airplanes, that they can do whatever they want.”
While it's unfortunate that so many girls come into the museum questioning what they can accomplish, the 6,000 stories in the museum's collection have inspired many of those girls over the years. Telling the stories of not only pilots, but women engineers, astronauts, balloonists, flight attendants, the International Women's Air & Space Museum pays homeage to women who did great things not with the intention of publicity, but for women's rights, for passion and dreams.
One of Alexander's favorite exhibits at the ever-changing museum is the women who flew during World War II, known as the WASP. There were 2,000 women who made the self sacrifice to help their country during the 1940s by training male cadets, performing test flights, putting their lives in danger.
When the war came to a close the women were told they were no longer needed. Many didn't continue flying, since there were no places for women. But some did: They went on to run aviation businesses, some of the first women-owned businesses in the world. Some did air races, and other things for fun.
Treated as civilians, they did not receive military veteran status until the 1970s and didn't get congressional gold medals until 2010. And it wasn't until 2016 that they were allowed to be buried in Arlington. Only 180 of the 2,000 women were still alive to receive the respect and recognition they deserved.
“They were so inspiring,” Alexander said, as to why the WASP remains her favorite story. “They had such self-determination. You see a lot of people today who feel they can't do certain things and push things to the side, never reach their dreams. But these women wanted to do something and they did it, they stuck up for it.”
Of course, the WASP didn't reach for the sky to gain fame. They weren't breaking records for publicity. They weren't out there to brag, said Alexander. For that reason many of their achievements were not documented. Because of this, many of the exhibits and artifacts at the museum are made up of donations from the women's families, people who were proud of their accomplishments and didn't want their stories to disappear.
“Each story here is a personal one. They're all touching,” said Alexander. “It's not just a pilot. They're a sister, a mother... Each exhibit has a background story. We have an exhibit up now about one of the early flight attendants. An older gentleman had donated all of the items related to his wife's accomplishments. He didn't want her story to get lost and wanted a way to preserve her memory.”
The International Women's Air & Space Museum represents the entire history of women in flight, from the Wright Brother's sister, Katharine (who handled all of their promotion and money issues) to modern astronauts, like the Mercury 13 women who did private testing in the 1960s (back when congress said women didn't belong in space). Those women inspired the current astronauts we have now, said Alexander, like Bessie Coleman, the first African American female pilot.
It's these varied and inspiring stories that's kept Heather Alexander fascinated by the museum for the 13 years she's been there. With a background in aviation and museums, the museum was a perfect fit. And the new stories that come in each day are what keeps her hooked.
The unique, unheard stories of these women who pushed boundaries, broke records, made history and achieved their dreams are what inspires all of the families, groups and individuals who visit the museum. These are stories that many people have never heard before, but once they hear them they remain in their memories forever.
Olivia Richman
A graduate of East Connecticut State University in Journalism, Olivia has written for Stonebridge Press & Antiques Marketplace among others. She enjoys writing, running and video games.
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