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By Doug, January 13, 2010 21:50

Seneca Falls, New York, is the home of the National Woman’s Hall of Fame where their motto is “come stand among great women.”  Well, here are a few of the “great women” one can stand among:

Amelia Earhart is famous for her trip aboard a Lockheed Electra L-10E, where she attempted to circumnavigate the globe but got lost, crashed and died (along with her navigator) instead.  But what many people don’t know is that before that fateful trip, on March 22, 1937, Amelia prepared to take off from Luke Field in Hawaii for a similar attempt to fly around the world.  But, she overloaded her plane, ground looped it and crashed.  Pilot error was cited.  Crashing seemed to be a nasty habit of hers.  Incidentally, Wiley Post (arguably much less famous than Amelia Earhart) was the first person to circumnavigate the world (solo) in July, 1937.

Helen Keller is another famous woman in the NWHF.  Helen is famous for being deaf, dumb and blind.  But more importantly, she is the inspiration for a number of wonderful jokes like “if Helen Keller fell down in the woods, would she make a sound?” and “Why can’t Helen Keller drive—because she’s a woman!”

Sacagawea (or however you want to spell/pronounce it).  In spite of what others have said, if you actually read the journals of Louis and Clark, Sacajawea provided interpretive services for the group and helped guide them during their trip through her native lands.  Other than that, she was basically along for the ride.  Considering Lewis and Clark were able to navigate and communicate effectively during other parts of their journey where Sakakawea wasn’t able to provide services, her actual value is questionable.

Naturally, there are a lot of women in the National Women’s Hall of Fame who have provided great value to society (Lucille Ball, Julia Child, Annie Oakley, Rosa Parks) and are not just “the first woman who…”  But, there are plenty of figureheads in the NWHF for those who are interested in woman who are famous for any reason whatsoever.  Unfortunately, what’s truly missing from the museum (excuse me, hall of fame) are countless women like the pioneers who crossed the country in covered wagons, giving birth along the way and hardly stopping long enough to squat.  But, glory seems to have more to do with good marketing than actual achievement.

National Women’s Hall of Fame

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By Doug, June 13, 2009 07:38

This lunar module is similar to the one on display at the Cradle of Aviation museum on Long Island, New York.

Long Island was geographically a natural airfield. The Island itself is ideally placed at the eastern edge of the United States, at the western edge of the Atlantic Ocean, and adjacent to America’s most populous city. This made it the ideal focal point for most transatlantic and transcontinental flights. Furthermore, the central area of Nassau County, known as the Hempstead Plains, was the only natural prairie east of the Allegheny Mountains. This proved to be an ideal f lying field, treeless and flat, with only tall grasses and scattered farm houses. The Hempstead Plains were to be the scene of intense aviation activity for over fifty years.

At first glance, the Cradle of Aviation museum in Garden City New York (on Long Island) is not too unusual, as far as aviation museums go. There are a variety of aircraft on display, mostly Grumman aircraft since their factory was originally located here, and the usual variety of displays on how an airplane flies, the history of aviation, etc. But, there are a few very unique reasons why the Cradle of Aviation museum warrants a special trip.

First, Charles Lindbergh took off on his historic flight across the Atlantic from Roosevelt Field, also on Long Island. Lindbergh’s plane is not on display here (it’s in the Smithsonian) but one of two Ryan NYP monoplane sister ships to Lindbergh’s plane is. The airplane was used in the Jimmy Stewart movie “The Spirit of Saint Louis.”

Like almost all aviation museums, they have a Curtis “Jenny” but unlike most aviation museums, this Jenny was purchased in 1923 for $500. What’s so special about that? The buyer was none other than Charles Lindbergh himself; it was the first airplane he ever owned. He flew it in air shows all over the Midwest, crashing it twice.

The final artifact that makes the Cradle of Aviation museum a must-see is an actual Lunar Module (LEM). This isn’t a mock-up or a replica, this is the real thing, slated to fly on Apollo 18 but after the Apollo program was canceled, the lunar module found its way to the museum and is on permanent display.