Mary Riddle

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Mary Riddle
MarryRiddle.png
Mary Riddle posing with her plane.
Born(1902-04-22)April 22, 1902
Bruceport, Washington
DiedOctober 25, 1981(1981-10-25) (aged 79)
Portland, Oregon
NationalityQuinault, American
Other namesKus-de-cha
Known forSecond Native American woman airplane pilot

Mary Riddle, also known as Kus-de-cha or Kingfisher,[1] (April 22, 1902 – October 25, 1981) was the second Native American woman to earn a pilot's license, with Bessie Coleman being the first.[2][3] Soon after earning her pilot's license she also earned her commercial license.[4]

Early life[]

Riddle was a member of the Clatsop Tribe in Oregon[2] and the Quinault Indian Nation in Washington.[5] She was the daughter of Albert "Doc" Riddell, and had two brothers, John and Valentine.[6] Her grandmother gave her the name Kus-de-cha after noting that her cries sounded like a kingfisher's call.[7] On the way home from school, an eleven-year-old Riddle saw her first plane and was mesmerized.[8] From that day forward, she went to every airshow she could.[8] When Riddle was seventeen, she saw a woman fatally crash an airplane.[9] The incident made her determined to prove women could fly well.[9]

Aviation career[]

Pilot[]

Riddle saved money for two years[8] to attend the in Portland, run by noted aviator Tex Rankin.[10] Rankin, who also taught Chinese-American pilot Leah Hing, was interested in creating "a 'rainbow', all-female stunt team," but Riddle declined to participate, and the idea fizzled out.[11] She flew solo for the first time on May 10, 1930.[8] "I wasn't scared," said Riddle one month later. "On that first trip alone I just missed the weight of the instructor in the plane."[8] She featured in an airshow at the 1930 Portland Rose Festival, riding up to her plane on horseback and in "full tribal costume".[12] Riddle was one of three female pilots in the show: the others were Dorothy Hester and Edith Foltz.[13] In August of that year, she made plans to fly to Washington D.C. with "beaded gifts from Indian tribes of the Northwest", to be delivered to for "President Hoover and others".[14] Riddle earned a limited commercial pilot's license in 1933.[15] In June 1934, she was featured on the 99's magazine, The 99er.[16] An all-around athlete, she enjoyed swimming, riding, "golf, tennis, and ice skating."[17]

Parachutist[]

Riddle later went to the Spartan School in Tulsa to learn parachute jumping.[18] Though the school was all-male at the time, Riddle convinced them to admit her and graduated with honors.[18] By 1937 she was performing as a parachutist[19] while touring the United States on The Voice of Washington, advertised as the largest tri-motored plane in the world,[20] on which she also served as chief stewardess.[1] Press described her as quiet and charming.[17] Riddle did forty parachute jumps.[10] In 1937, she almost died when her parachute, which had not opened correctly, became tangled with her legs.[20] The next year, a back injury caused her to quit parachuting.[7]

Aircraft Inspector[]

World War II restrictions on civilian aircraft forced Riddle to give up flying.[7] She began working with aluminum sheet metal as part of the U.S. Air Force's Civil Service, reasoning, "I just had to be near airplanes- even if I could not fly them."[7] She was recruited by the government to inspect civilian aircraft and work as an aircraft maintenance advisor.[10] Riddle recalled, "I was a sort of guinea pig, really, on account of being the only woman, but I got along fine."[21]

Later life[]

After the war, Riddle became a receptionist at the Gibbs and Hill firm in New York City, but continued to fly on occasion and to visit the Northwest.[21]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "To Dare Death Here". The Bismarck Tribune. 20 May 1937. Retrieved 31 August 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "Mary Riddle, First Native American Woman Aviator". One of Many Feathers. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Future Beauty Queen: Wins French Crown: To-morrow's Citizen". The Ottawa Journal. 10 June 1930. Retrieved 31 August 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Mary Riddle, First Native American Woman Aviator". www.oneofmanyfeathers.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-03-04.
  5. ^ "Indian Girl is Full-Fledged Flyer". Rock Valley Bee. 11 July 1930. Retrieved 31 August 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Dixon, Harold C. (Summer 1971). "My Girlhood Days In Bruceport" (PDF). The Sou'wester. 6: 31.
  7. ^ a b c d "Stunt Flier Quits Thrills To Serve US". Jefferson City Post-Tribune. 25 May 1943. Retrieved 29 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b c d e Rummel, Dick (13 June 1930). "Indian Girl Has Yearn For Sky; Becomes Pilot". The Oregon Daily Journal.
  9. ^ a b Bulman, Morgan (22 November 2017). "Native American Women Aviation Pioneers". Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  10. ^ a b c Speirs, Jim (28 May 2010). "Tex Rankin's Flying School, and the Golden Age of Women aviators" (PDF). St. Johns Review. 107 (11): 1. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  11. ^ Boule, Margie (29 July 2001). "If The Hereafter Has Rules, Leah Hing's Breaking Them". The Oregonian.
  12. ^ "Crowds Acclaim Floral Parade". The Klamath News. 14 June 1930. Retrieved 30 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Aviator Thrills Crowd". The Oregonian. 14 June 1930. p. 12.
  14. ^ "Indian Girl Pilot To Fly East". Daily News. 3 August 1930. p. 3. Retrieved 30 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Indian Girl Wins Flyers License". The Los Angeles Times. 19 September 1933. p. 6. Retrieved 29 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ French, Jack (2011). "Lady Aviators: In History and Popular Fiction from the 1700s to World War II". Winged Victory. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  17. ^ a b "A.W. Lucas Co. Sponsoring Spectacular Parachute Jump". The Bismarck Tribune. 21 May 1937. p. 5. Retrieved 30 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ a b "A. W. Lucas Co. Sponsoring Spectacular Parachute Jump by Princess Kus-de-cha". The Bismarck Tribune. 21 May 1937. Retrieved 31 August 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "A look back..." The Daily News. 28 April 1977. Retrieved 31 August 2016 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b "Air Circus Here". St. Cloud Times. 5 June 1937. Retrieved 4 November 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ a b Rothert, Yvonne (6 February 1975). "Pilot Called First Licensed Indian Woman". The Oregonian.

External links[]

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