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on Books about Amelia

Name: Amelia Mary Earhart
Amelia. Mv Courageous Sister
by Muriel Earhart Morrissey and
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Birth date: July 24, 1897 Carol L. Osborne
Birthplace: 223 N. Terrace
Atchison, Kan.
Amelia. Pilot in Pearls <Z7IEX (^hiLdnood in
by Shirley Dobson Gilroy
Childhood Meelie The Sound of Wings, by Mary S. Lovell
nickname:
Parents: Amy Otis Earhart
Amelia Earhart. by Doris L. Rich c^rtchl^on, —Ktan±a±
20 Hours. 40 Minutes, by Amelia Earhart
Edwin Stanton Earhart
Amelia Earhart Flying for Adventure, by
Sister: Grace Muriel Earhart
Mary Wade
Morrissey (nicknamed
Pidge)
Grandparents: Alfred & Amelia Otis Books for younger readers
David & Mary Earhart Lost Star, by Particia Lauber
School in College Preparatory School Amelia Earhart. Adventure in the Skv
Atchison: by Francene Sabin
Hobbies: sports, reading, horses Amelia Earhart
Playmates: Muriel, cousins Lucy by Muriel Earhart Morrissey
"Tootie" and Kathryn Amelia Earhart Pioneer of the Sky.
"Katch" Challiss by John Parlin
Husband: George Palmer "G.P."
Putnam Women in Aviation
Disappeared: July 2, 1937
Women of the Air
by Judy Lomax -'"

•First woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean

Solo Woman. Gabv Kennard's World Flight
by Gaby Kennard
1
•First woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean alone Straight on Till Morning
•First woman to make a transcontinental non- by Mary S. Lovell
stop flight Just Plane Crazv. Biography of Bobbi Trout
•First woman to fly the Pacific Ocean, crossing by Donna Veca & Skip Mazzio
from Honolulu to California published by
Ladybirds and Ladybirds II by Henry The Atchison County Historical Society
•First woman to fly an autogyro Holden and Capt. Lori Griffith
•First woman to fly non-stop from Mexico City and the Atchison Tourism Bureau
to New York City (establishing a speed Santa Fe Depot
record of 14 hours, 19 minutes) 200 S. 10th St.
•First woman to receive the Distinguished Thank you to Atchison, KS 66002
Flying Cross and the National Geographic The Book Station (913)367-2427
Society Gold Metal 521 Commercial, Atchison, Kan.
for recommending these books.
 Amelia Mary Earhart was born in her
grandparent's Atchison home on July 24,1897.
Atchison was the home of Amelia's maternal
grandparents, Alfred and Amelia Otis. Her
parents, Edwin and Amy Earhart, lived in Kansas
City, Kansas. Amy returned to the comfort of
her parents' home to deliver Amelia.
Amelia's grandparents held a prestigious
position in Atchison society. Alfred Otis was a
retired U.S. District Court judge and president of
an Atchison bank. He was also chief warden of
Atchison's Trinity Episcopal Church where
Amelia Earhart was baptized.
The Otis family home at 223 N. Terrace
overlooked the Missouri River. A fence that
young Amelia liked to jump enclosed the home
and yard.
"I know that I worried my grandmother
considerably by running home from school and
jumping over the fence which surrounded her
house," Amelia later wrote.
"*V
5 and "tried any and all strenuous games." Amelia
X one year. Her father granted her wish.
.,>
Amelia, on right, and her cousin, Lucy "Toot"
Challiss in Atchison.
Courtesy of the Atchison County Historical Society
Amelia had many opportunities to jump the
fence, as she lived with her grandparents while
attending grade school in Atchison. Her parents
lived in near-by Kansas City, Kansas where her
father was an attorney.
When Amelia returned to Atchison in 1905,
she was already familiar with her grandparents'
elegant home. Amelia and her younger sister,
Muriel, had visited their grandparents often.
Muriel could not pronounce Amelia so she
called her sister "Meelie." Amelia called Muriel
"Pidge."
Life in the Otis house was very different for
Amelia than life with her parents. The Otises
were considered wealthy for the time whereas
money was a constant concern for the Earharts.
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"My girlhood was much like that of many
another American girl who was growing up at the
time I was, with just the kind of fun and good
times we all had then," Amelia wrote.
Sports was one of Amelia's pastimes. But in
the early 1900's girls were not encouraged to play
sports.
"There is the thread of liking all kinds of
sports and games and of not being afraid to try
those that some of my elders in those days looked
upon as being only for boys," wrote the future
adventurer.
Amelia enjoyed basketball, bicycling, tennis
remembered requesting footballs for Christmas
But girls were hampered in sports by their
clothing. Amelia was a fashion trend setter even
then. The Earhart girls were the first girls in
Atchison to have gymnasium suits.
"We wore them Saturdays to play in, and
though we felt terribly free and athletic, we also
felt somewhat as outcasts among the little girls
who fluttered about us in their skirts," Amelia
remembered.
A more ladylike activity for the Earhart sisters
was reading. "Books have meant much to me,"
Amelia wrote. "Not only did I myself read
considerably, but Mother read aloud to my sister
and me."
Ameliarememberedreading Dickens, George
Eliot, Harper's Magazine for Young People, and
The Youth's Companion.
Amelia the explorer was even evident then.
Like Tom Sawyer, Amelia played along a
river in search of adventure. "The few sandstone
caves in that part of the country added so much to
our fervor that exploring became a rage." Amelia
wrote.
Amelia left Atchison in 1909 when her family
moved to Des Moines, Iowa. But Amelia
remembered her time in Atchison fondly.
"Throughout the grade school period, which
was mostly spent in Atchison, I remember having
a very good time," Amelia reminiscenced.
For more information about Amelia, check
your local library.
Amelia's quotes came from her book, The Fun of
It. Additional background information was
provided from the books, Amelia. My
Courageous Sister by Muriel Earhart Morrissey
and Amelia Earhart by Doris Rich.
Picture on cover: Amelia in 1908. Courtesy of the
Atchison County Historical Society.