Browse Interviews

Dianne McIntyre was born at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Cleveland and grew up in Glenville early on and then moved to the Mt. Pleasant area with her mother and father on East 141st Street. Their family was the first black family on the block, although her father grew up around the corner. She recalls the onset of white flight and the neighborhood changing from white to black. She talks about how her parents made sure they had substitutes for things they could not do because of their race. She recalls…

Dorothy Layne McIntyre was born and raised in LeRoy, New York. She is the mother of interviewees Donna McIntyre Whyte and Dianne McIntyre. She was one of the first black women to receive a pilot's license in the United States and possibly the first woman in Ohio to receive such a license. She went to West Virginia State College for her training. She was an accountant, a social worker, and finished her career as a teacher, mainly at the Paul Revere School. She first lived in the Glenville area…

Donna McIntyre Whyte, a Shaker Heights resident, has led a colorful life. She describes the life of her parents. Her mother was a pilot in the 1940s – a unique job for an African American woman at the time – and her uncle was a Tuskegee Airman. Whyte's parents passed a strong work ethic and a belief in the value of education on to her. Whyte describes growing up in the Mount Pleasant area and the fun she had with friends. She tells a great story about how kids would hide in the trunk of the car…

Dawn Mulson Full became a pilot with the Civilian Pilot Training program during World War II. Dawn was friends with influential female pilots Caro Bayley Bosca and Florence Boswell. She became an air traffic controller after going through training. She worked as an air traffic controller throughout the war and quit after she was married in 1947. Dawn only flew for a short time and participated in only one air race. Dawn is still a member of the 99s and wears a bracelet that her father created…

Mary Shilmiller worked as a Rosie the Riveter at Firestone in Akron during summers. She spent 50 years as a teacher, with most of her career spent teaching special education in Euclid. Her brother was a pilot.

Edna Paul was a pioneer aviatrix during the golden age of flight, first flying as a teenager in the late 1920s. Paul continued as a pilot into the 1940s. Originally from St. Louis, she frequented nearby airfields and attended the Cleveland National Air Races. Paul discusses the circumstances surrounding her time as a pilot, focusing on her teenage years, a record-setting altitude flight, an anniversary flight made after her 100th birthday, and the sentiment of her family and friends concerning…

Cris Takacs is the collections manager at the International Women's Air and Space Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Takacs shares the history of the museum and the materials in the museum's collection including a pamphlet from a passenger on the Hindenburg and a mannequin that was owned by a seamstress from NASA who sewed monkey suits.

Thelma Miller was part of the last class of women trained in the WASP program in Sweetwater, TX. After WASP training, she became a flight instructor and moved back to Ohio. She stopped flying in her 60s. She attended a ceremony in Washington DC for WASPs.

Gayle Gorman Freeman is the president of Manairco, a family company that produces airstrip lighting. She is the daughter of two pilots and has received several pilot certifications, including helicopter and glider licenses. She has been involved in numerous aviation groups, including the 99s, the Whirly Girls, and the Young Eagles program.

Joan Mace was born in 1924. She worked at Curtiss-Wright and joined the Flying Club to get enough hours to interview for WASP program, but World War II ended before she could do so. She became a flight instructor at Ohio University and eventually became chair of the aviation department. She worked for Ohio University for 30 years and taught more than 1,000 students. She also participated in several air race events. Upon retirement, she moved to Florida and flew for the U.S. Coast Guard…

Ruth Reep is a lifelong Ohio resident. She learned to fly during the 1950s. Her first experience in a plane was the result of winning a magazine contest that offered a plane ride as the prize. Reep was a member of the Civil Air Patrol. She and her husband frequented the Cleveland Air Races, and she owns a piece of Bill Odum's downed plane. Reep recounts maintaining her own plane and spending time with other pilots. She now lives in West Salem, Ohio, with her daughter.

Nadine Nagle discusses her experiences as a pilot in the WASP program, although it was disbanded while she was still in training at the end of WWII. She gives details of her training and her experience in the program. She also describes here experiences with the Red Cross.

Connie Luhta is the president of the International Women's Air & Space Museum. She was an air race pilot during the 1960s and 1970s, including the Powder Puff Derby and Angel Derby. She currently manages the Concord Airport in Concord Township, an airport she and her late husband owned.

Daughter of Margaret Louise White, Tonya McCarter, talks about what her mother was like on a personal level. Although she cannot recall much about her mother's life as a pilot, she does elaborate on her mother's progressive attitude and resistance to conformity.

Mary Ann Davis discusses the life of her sister, pilot Margaret Louise White.

Timothy White describes his mother, Margaret Louise White, the second female pilot to be issued a commercial license in the state of Ohio. White also shares and describes artifacts from his mother's flying days.