Amelia Earhart Visits ECU
Memories shared by alumni about Amelia Earhart's visit to campus.
Mrs. Stuart P. Murphy, formerly Lucy Stuart Parrish class of 1937, shared the following memory regarding Amelia Earhart's visit to ECTC: Yes I was there. Yes, I remember!As a class assignment, I was to stand at the head of the line and present Miss Earhart to those who came to hear her tell of her "Aviation Adventures." I was quaking in my shoes to say the least. I knew only via a note given me ahead of time saying only that she would be wearing a brown taffeta formal which she had designed and made herself - (Yuck, I thought.) We'd have a boring evening. When I met her she was vivacious, charming, poised and beautiful!
She wore her evening gown, with grace and assurance! I was awestruck that she not only knew how to make a plane fly but she could also make a sewing machine fly, and very successfully!
She did not boast of her "Me Firsts," though she made many, but talked about the joy of flying, of piloting her own plane, of her devotion to her husband, of her joy of life and the possibility of service to all Mankind, offering that as a challenge to her audience.
She was well-received and was unforgettable. When she became lost, it was unconceivable that she could really have any problem -- just a matter of misreading a map, perhaps a dense fog -- anything but her really being lost. Even today, I often think she will just walk in with a smile and "What's Up?"
Other memories submitted regarding Amelia Earhart's visit include:
Myrtle Bass Hodges - Amelia's biggest fear was trying to balance a jello salad on her lap while flying.
Ida Wooten Mewborn Tripp - 17 year old Ida and her two roommates had to pool their resources to come up with the $.40 admission fee as the Depression was still going on. She remembers Amelia as being a very charming and gracious speaker.
Elizabeth Edwards - remembers that she cut hair at $.10 per person in order to raise the admission fee for the Amelia Earhart lecture and that she sat in the balcony.
Jewell Cole Scott, class of 1936 - was a marshal in the Edgar Allan Poe Literary Society and remembers that Earhart encouraged all women to learn to fly.
Frances Belle Spainhour Hardee, class of 1937 writes - I enjoyed seeing and hearing Amelia Earhart in January 1936 when I was a student there at East Carolina. I was inspired. We girls -- women -- were impressed by her.
Jimmy Carr, class of '36 - picked Amelia up at the Proctor Hotel and drove her to Wright Auditorium. I was an honors student and served on the committee that chose entertainment. Amelia was very easy to talk to and was probably the biggest draw the school had up to that time.
Mary White - Amelia Earhart was the only lecture I remember from my 2 years at school. It was a formal affair, the girls dressed for dinner and then attended the lecture.
