Queen of the Air

Regaled as the “Queen of the Air” Amelia Earhart is remembered for her flying career, but that adventurous, risk taking spirit is what caused her to be one of the first women to leverage her national celebrity power into a personal, broad-ranging business. Earhart’s first dream was to become a doctor. In 1917, while in Toronto she received training from the Red Cross and worked at the Spadina Military Hospital . During the Spanish Flu outbreak, she contracted pneumonia and maxillary sinusitis and was hospitalized, this was a recurrent problem and she wore a bandage on her cheek to cover a small drainage tube off on on for the rest of her life. Not deterred from her dream of medicine, Earhart moved from Toronto to New York to attend Columbia University, (1919-20, then again in 1925), where she explored the campus utility tunnels and enjoyed climbing to the top of the library dome, perching herself outside for the best view of the city. Responding to requests from her parents for help, she left Columbia and moved to California in 1920. There she discovered flying. The next year purchased her first plane, a Kinnear Airster, which she named “the Canary”. Through bad investments in a friends’ gypsum mine she lost her inheritance from her grandmother and was forced to do a variety of odd jobs including driving a gravel truck, working as stenographer, telephone operator, and a photographer in order to continue flying. Her celebrity began in 1928, when she completed her first transatlantic flight as a passenger aboard the Friendship with co-pilots Wilmer "Bill" Stultz and Louis "Slim" Gordon. After this she published her first book and criss crosses the country doing lectures. It was then that she got her first product endorsements, most were aircraft related and included Mobil Oil, Pratt and Whitney aircraft, Hornet engines, Longlines timepieces, Horlick malted milk tables and Beech-Nut gum. Ads for Lucky Strike cigarettes proclaiming that Earhart smoked to relieve stress through that first flight, “For a slender figure, reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet. “It’s toasted”. No Throat Irritation-No Cough.”; conflicted with her non-smoking, squeaky clean image and lead her to donate the proceeds to Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s second Antarctic expedition. Due to limited income, the expense of flying and the lack of comfortable clothes, Earhart made much of her own clothing. Tall and slender, she cut a stylish figure and set the model that women did not have to fit the roles that were assigned to them and she embraced this role. To encourage women to fly more, Earhart began the “Hat of the Month” program for Niney-Niners, a group of women pilots, the women who flew into the most airports each month received a Stetson hat designed by Earhart. She also designed her own jumpsuit and flying suit that were comfortable for women to wear. In 1933, encouraged by designer Elsa Schiaparelli, Earhart began making clothes in her suite at the Seymour Hotel in NYC for her clothing line and was eventually sold nationwide in department stores such as Macy’s. Earhart’s designs featured 25 outfits, dresses, skirt, pants outerwear, which were sold as “separates”, instead of one-size –fits all dresses. Blouses with longer shirttails, loose slacks with pockets and zippers which were made of washable fabrics such as parachute silk and textiles from airplane wings. Propeller shaped buttons and tags with Earhart ’signature in black writing in the contrail of a tiny plane were marks of the line. Priced at between $25 and $55 per item for readymade, Earhart also sold patterns through Woman’s Home Companion magazine. The line was short lived and discontinued a year or two after it began, but in 1934 the Fashion Designers of America named Amelia Earhart one of the ten best-dressed women in America. Timeline One of marketed as Modernaire Earhart Luggage) also bore her unmistakable stamp. 1925 social worker at Denison house, Boston 1927--Sales repr for Kinner aircraft in Boston; wrote newspaper columns promoting flying 1928 Publishes 20Hrs, 40min. Lecture tours; endorses luggage(Modernaire Earhart luggage), Lucky Strike cigarettes, women's clothing and sportswear (Amelia Earhart fashions, fashions 1934-35; luggage seems to have had a longer life) 1928-1930 Aviation editor for Cosmopolitan magazine 1929--Represents Transcontinental Air Transport (later becomes TWA) ; 99ers founded, AE founding member 1931--invests regional shuttle service between NY and DC--Ludington Airlines 1931 Earhart became the first woman vice president of the National Aeronautic Association, which authorized official records and races. 1932--Publishes For the Fun of It VP National Airways--(become Northeast Airlines) 1935 Earhart and Mantz created Earhart Mantz Flying School; on staff at Perdue

A Work in Progress; Historic Sites in Shawnee County

Well, this is a little frustrating. Formatting always is, but I will keep at it. In the meantime here Topeka Historic Resources Kansas State Capitol Kansas Museum of History https://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-museum-of-history/19578 Brown v. Board of Education NHS 785-354-4273; https://www.nps.gov/brvb/index.htm The Great Overland Station Union Pacific Depot 785-232-5533; https://www.greatoverlandstation.com/group-tours Combat Air Museum 785- 862-3303; office@combatairmuseum.com Kansas Air National Guard Museum 785-862-1020; https://www.kansasguardmuseum.com/ Topeka Cemetery Lisa Sandmyer; 785-233-4132, topekacemetery@gmail.com Old Prairie Town John Bell; 785- 251-6989, john.bell@snco.us The Ritchie House/Shawnee County Historical Society Bob Totten; 785) 234-6097, shawneecountyhistory@gmail.com Constitution Hall Chris Meinhardt; 785-250-8228, tour@oldkansascapitol.org Colored Women’s Club Sandra Lassiter 785) 221-5694 or Faith Temple Church at (785) 235-1834 Jayhawk Theater Jeff Carson; 785) 233-4295; info@jayhawktheatre.org First Presbyterian Church 785 233 9601; info@fpctopeka.org Topeka High School Historical Society Joan Barker; 785) 295-3200 or https://m.me/THSHistoricalSociety?fbclid=IwAR1lMRhYcKLg7KGcE1LqpPPf1HMGG5s-JqbImX5NOsngcN26efVCp7B29YU Charles Curtis Home? Seaman High Historical Society Topeka Genealogical Association Breakdown of Topeka's Heritage Sites !. Transportation Aviation Combat Air Museum Air National Guard Museum Longren's Aircraft Factory on 1401 N Winfield Longren's Aircraft Works on 420 SW Jackson Billard Airport Hangers Forbes Airport Hangers Allen Airport Hangers Railroad Great Overland Station Santa Fe Shops Old Santa Fe Office Building Trails Oregon/California Ruts (Governor's Mansion, Uniontown, w of Big Springs, Tecumseh boulder) Military Trails (Ft. Leavenworth-Ft. Riley) Native American Trail? Roads Hwy 40 National Road Hwy 24 Golden Belt Rd Street car routes/transit routes Tpeka Intracity Transit Automobile Smith Car Co. 2. Commercial Buildings Capitol GAR Memorial Bldg Ward Meade Menninger Tower Bldg Jayhawk Tower Jayhawk Theater TPAC/City Hall Shelter House/Gage Park Crawford Building Knox/Columbian Bulding Columbian Bank US Post Office on S Kansas and N Kanss Rtichie House Consittuion Hall, the Free State Capitol Exoduster Stagin area/Expo center grounds Downtown Masonic Hall Hughes Conoco ATSF Motive Power Building Casson Building Central Motor and Finance Corporation Building Davies Building Gordon Building HTK Architects Masonic Grand Lodge Santa Fe Hospital Thatcher Building Tinkham Veale Building 3. Historic Homes Curtis House Crosby Mansion Woodward House Dillon House Ross Row Houses Cedar Crest 4. Apartments The Devon Building The Gem Building Hick's Block St. Joseph's Lofts Kansas Avenue Lofts Huntoon Street Row Houses Evergreen Court Apartments St. John's Lutheran School Senate Apartments 5. Neighborhoods Potwin College Hill Holliday Park Elmhurst Old Town Coutry Club Addition (is this the same as Quinton Heights?) Westboro Oakland Tennessee Town Kenwood NOTO East Topeka Ward Meade Auburndale Governor's Row Collins Park Central Park Westwood Chesney Park 6. Churches First Presbyterian St.Joseph's Our Lady of Guadalupe SL Baptist Church Grace Cathedral First Methodist Holy Name Assumption St.Johs AME St. Marks AME Shiloh Baptist Pilgrm Baptist Swedish Church north of 6th and near Terry's North Topeka Baptist Church Westminister Presbyterian 7. Schools Monroe Sumner Topeka High Randolph Cair Paravel East Topeka Junior High Gage (Topeka Civic Theater) Sacred Heart Curtis Junior High 8. Fire Stations 1, 2, 4. 6. 7 9. Cemeteries Topeka Mt. Auburn Curtis Ritchie Rochester Prairie Home Mt. Hope Topeka State Hospital Menninger Hill??? Simmerwell Union Town 10. Bridges Blacksmith Creek Bridge McCauley Bridge Thomas Arch Bridge 11. Villages Fool Cheif's Village Hard Cheif's Village

Household Magazine

Household Magazine was published by Arthur Capper beginning in the 1920s for the subscription price of 25cents/a year. Household Magazine had a test house for new household products was at 6th and Franklin. The girls taking Household Physics at Topeka High would take field trips there. According to Wiki--The Household Searchlight Recipe Book, was one of the United States' most-published cookbooks. It was in print almost continuously from 1931 until 1954 and sold more than 1 million copies. It was published by Capper Publications of Topeka, Kansas, and reprinted five times between 1977 and 1991 by Stauffer Publications. I believe this to be true. I also believe that this is where Clementine Paddleford, arguably America's first food writer, got her start. I have sort of thought that the Harvey House test kitchen might have been here as well, but the Harvey Houses are much earlier than this, so if it was the test kitchen was someplace else first.

Lustron's in Topeka

3505 SW Tenth Ave KS Topeka https://www.trulia.com/p/ks/topeka/3505-sw-10th-ave-topeka-ks-66604--2106552143

4305 SW Windsor Ct KS Topeka

Boller Brothers Theaters in Kansas

Arcada Theater Holton, Kansas Closed Brown Grand Theatre Concordia, Kansas Open [1] Burford Theatre Arkansas City, Kansas Renovating Booth Theater, 119 W. Myrtle St. Independence, Kansas (Boller Brothers), NRHP-listed Renovating / Open Chanute Cinema I & II Chanute, Kansas Open Crawford Theatre Wichita, Kansas Demolished Crest Theater, 1905 Lakin Ave. Great Bend, KS (Boller and Lusk), NRHP-listed Crest Theater Wichita, Kansas Demolished Crown Uptown Theatre Wichita, Kansas Open [2] Crystal Plaza Theatre Ottawa, Kansas Open [3] Dream Theater, 629 N. Main St. Russell, KS (Boller, Robert O.), NRHP-listed Electric Theatre Kansas City, Kansas Demolished Fine Arts Shawnee, Kansas Renovating Fox Plaza Liberal, Kansas Closed Fox-Watson Theater Building, 155 S. Santa Fe Ave. Salina, KS (Boller Brothers), NRHP-listed Open Hutchinson's Historic FOX Theatre, 18 E. First Ave. Hutchinson, Kansas (Boller Brothers), NRHP-listed Open Emporia Granada Theatre, 809 Commercial Emporia, KS (Boller Brothers), NRHP-listed, Granada Theatre Emporia, Kansas Open Website: Emporia Granada Theatre Granada Theater, 1013-1019 Minnesota Ave. Kansas City, KS (Boller Brothers), NRHP-listed Open Granada Theatre Lawrence, Kansas Open Jayhawk Theatre | The State Theatre of Kansas Topeka, Kansas official Jayhawk website Closed - to be restored [4] Jayhawk Theater Kansas City, Kansas Demolished Hollywood Theater (Leavenworth, Kansas), 401 Delaware St. Leavenworth, KS (Boller Bros. and Boller, Robert), NRHP-listed Majestic Theatre Phillipsburg, Kansas Open Nomar Theatre Wichita, Kansas Closed Norton Theatre Norton, Kansas Open Overland Theater, 7204 W. 80th St. Overland Park, Kansas (Boller, Robert), NRHP-listed Rio Theatre Overland Park, Kansas Open State Theatre Larned, Kansas Open Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts Salina, Kansas Open [5] Sunflower Theater Peabody, Kansas Closed Uptown Theatre Iola, Kansas Status Unknown Varsity Theater Lawrence, Kansas Closed Wareham Theatre Manhattan, Kansas Open

A bit on West Hills subdivision

Joe Pashman was a residential developer/contractor/home builder. He working with Bob Onek developed one of the first residential areas out sw, west of the SW Fairlawn 33rd – 37th area where the homes were spaced closely together with shared amenities and driveways etc. He returned to Topeka a couple of years ago – he did a couple of commercial deck additions one at PepperTree gated communnity. Selsam Hanni was a financial consultant and/or investment company - they may have had attorneys on staff too. Jim Hanni was owner of AAA) he may/may not be related to the Hanni.

A M Thomas

A. M. Thomas served as attorney for the Topeka branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) at the time of its founding in March 1913. He was also a member and lay leader of Saint Simon's Episcopal Church in Topeka.

His house at 1024 Eugene. This is a postcard, on the back it says "Our home in Topeka. Thomas"

And a picture of him, from KSHS.