Celebrating Amelia Earhart
Celebration of her life began 15 years after her disappearance. The following news script describes Dallas celebrating Amelia Earhart day. Earhart was an inspiration to many, she was an accomplished aviatrix and an author and showed the world the power of a woman. This celebration in Dallas was only the beginning, eventually Amelia Earhart day would become a national day still celebrated in the present.
On the 45th anniversary of her disappearance, Amelia Earhart became an official national celebration when the Congress passed a bill that May 20th be in dedication to the aviatrix. May 20th was chosen as her first official trans-Atlantic flight May 20-21, 1932. This flight deemed Amelia the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean. It was the largest achievement of her career before her plans to fly around the world in 1937. Although the original bill requests that May 20th be Amelia Earhart Day, the official national date was selected to be July 24th to celebrate the birth of this influential woman.
Not only did people want to celebrate her accomplishments, but also her life. Her childhood home was restored and now stands in Atchinson, Kansas as the Amelia Birthplace Museum. The funding for this museum allowed for the inner and outer walls and ceilings to be restored, period furniture to be placed in the home, and displays featuring Amelia Earhart and other influential aviatrixes. The museum is owned by the International Women's Flying Organization, the Ninety Nines, which celebrates influential aviatrixes throughout history. It serves as a place for people to explore Earhart's childhood home and become closer to such an influential woman in our history.
The Katherine Stinson Award was originally to be awarded to Amelia Earhart after the completion of her world flight. The sculpture shows the Roman god Merucy holding the Electra, the plane Earhart flew on her world trip. After her disappearance the award was given to the Amelia Earhart American Legion Post in California to celebrate her achievements. This award is now restored an awarded to women with outstanding accomplishments in aviation.
This poem dedicated to Earhart beautifully encompasses the feeling people have for her in the words "count her among the beautiful and brave". Although Earhart was never able to be found, her accomplishments and bravery stand in people's heart to this very day.
