Posts

Showing posts from March, 2024

"I WONDER IF I SHALL EVER WEAR PRETTY SHOES AGAIN"

Image
A newly married couple sent out to make history on their honeymoon. Glen and Bessie Hyde wanted to float the rapids of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Glen would send a time record, and Bessie would be the first woman float the rapids. But their ambition turned into mystery. The Hyded were never seen again after November 18 1928. Glen Hyde was an experienced rapids rider, and built the scow they would sail in. Bessie was a bohemian, having dabbled theater and poetry writing. The two met as passengers on a boat sailing to Los Angeles. Bessie had a husband, but by 1928 the two married - one day after Bessie's divorce was finalized. The honeymooners left Green River, Utah October 20, 1928. They wanted to reach Needles, California by early December. The pair were last seen November 18, 1928. They stopped in the Grand Canyon and hiked to fetch supplies. They met with photographer Emory Kolb who took pictures of Glenn and Bessie. When Kolb noted their lack of life jackets, t

"BRAINS, BEAUTY, AND BREECHES"

Image
   A 16 year old girl answered an add to join an expedition traveling the world in an automobile. "Brains, Beauty & Breeches" the ad said, "World Tour Offer For One Lucky Young Woman." Lucky indeed for Aloha Wanderwell, who became the "Amelia Earhart of the Automobile." Aloha worked as mechanic, driver, camera operator, translator, even seamstress. She became the first woman to drive an automobile around the world, yet is not widely known today. Idris Galcia Welsh was born October 13, 1906 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Her father died in World War I. Her stepfather moved the family to Europe where Idris attended convent schools in Belgium and France. Never one to obey others' rules, Idris answered the world tour ad in 1922. Walter "Cap" Wanderwell created the expedition to promote world travel and the newly formed League of Nations post World War I. The aim was to visit as many countries as possible. Cap gave Idris the name Aloha Wanderw

PEDAL PUSHER

Image
  On July 5, 1894 a young married mother of three embarked on a journey. Sponsored by a water company with a stake of $100, she changed her name, and the future of women. Annie Londonderry's journey across the world via bicycle may have been a bit dubious, but she gave women freedom in both transportation and fashion. With $10,000 and the pride of women at stake, Annie Kopchovsky pedaled her way into history. Annie Cohen was born in Latvia in 1870. Her parents immigrated with Annie, her older sister, and younger brother to Boston in 1875. With both parents deceased when Annie was 17 and her older sister married, Annie and her younger brother Bennett took care of their younger siblings. In 1888 she married Simon "Max" Kopchovsky. Annie and Max had three children. Max was a peddler and Annie sold advertising for several Boston newspapers. According to Annie's story two Boston businessmen, sure that a woman could never complete the trip, offered $10,000 to a woman who co

MRS. BARLEY AND HER BROTHER SAVE DEMOCRACY

Image
  We all know Abraham Lincoln : tall, beard, stove pipe hat, ended slavery. But does anyone know Lincoln would never have graced the penny had it not been for a feisty female detective? Kate Warne, the first female detective in U. S. History protected Lincoln before he took office. As a female spy she gathered intel on the south for the northern forces. Kate Warne was a lady like no other, especially when there were no other ladies like her. Kate Warne was one child among many born to a poor family in Erin, New York. That's really all anyone knows about her past, as well as she was widowed at age 23. Her life, as far as historians know, truly began in 1852 when she entered the office of Allan Pinkerton in response to his ad for detectives wanted. Allan Pinkerton, Scottish immigrant and cooper by trade, (and staunch abolitionist) was elected deputy sheriff in Chicago, then special agent of the U.S. Post Office. He opened a detective agency, the first of its kind in America. No wome

MARCHING INTO HISTORY

Image
   , March is Women's History month, so we will learn about two women who marched into the history books -  Kate detected and changed history for mystery loving ladies Annie bloomed her way into the history books Aloha Wandered well into the world Find Me Friday is about a couple whose honeymoon was not so sweet