FIND ME FRIDAY

Introducing Find Me Friday - The last Friday of each month I will discuss a famous disappearance.  Seek, but he may not always find...

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"PLEASE KNOW I AM QUITE AWARE OF THE HAZARDS"

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  A rambunctious Kansas girl took to the sky and soared above the rest. Her story has become legend due to its sad, mysterious ending. Amelia Earhart should be remembered as a true pioneer - showing the world that flying would become a common way to travel. Along the way she challenged gender roles, encouraged women to challenge themselves, and became a style icon. Amelia Earhart will never be forgotten. Born July 24, 1897 in Atchison, Kansas, Amelia Mary Earhart was raised to never be a girly girl. Her mother, also Amelia, encouraged Earhart and her sister Grace to wear bloomers instead of dresses. The sisters loved the outdoors and trouped around Atchison with a gang of kids getting dirty climbing trees. Amelia's father, an alcoholic, had trouble holding down a job. He moved the family to Des Moines, Iowa. It was there in 1907 Amelia saw an airplane for the first time. She was, however, too afraid to fly. Amelia graduated high school in 1916. She trained as a nurse's aide for...
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LOOKING FOR A MIND AT WORK

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Two Jewish Russian immigrant brothers gave the world some of the most endearing songs ever written. They revolutionized musical theater with an operetta exploring life as black people in America. One brother left the world too early. George and Ira Gershwin wrote songs with clever lyrics and heartfelt sentiment. The Gershwins were some of the best songwriters ever to pen a tune. George was born Jacob Gershwine in 1898 ; Ira was born Israel Gershwine two years earlier. (The family dropped the e in Gershwine when the brothers became well known.) George left school at 15 to become a  Tin Pan Alley   song plugger . He made rolls for player pianos. This netted him $15 per week. Shy, bookish Ira had made friends with Yip Harburg who wrote songs himself. Ira wrote lyrics for a friend's musical in 1921. In 1919 George wrote the song Swanee - popularized by the era's biggest entertainer - Al Jolson. In 1924 George wrote  Rhapsody In Blue , a piano composition that planted jazz a...
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