Amelia Mary Earhart was born in her grandmother’s house in Atchison, Kansas, on July 24, 1897. The house was high on a hill. It had eleven rooms. Maids and a cook worked there. Dinner was served on fine china.
Amelia’s mother’s parents had a lot of money. But Amelia’s father had trouble keeping a job. Edwin Earhart could barely make the payments on the family house in Kansas City. There were always money worries. But Amelia loved her parents—especially her handsome, funny father.
When Amelia was seven, her father had enough money to take the family to see the World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri.
Twenty million people came to the 1904 World’s Fair. Forty-five countries set up exhibits. At the St. Louis Fair there were Eskimo villages and Japanese gardens. Each nation and state showed something about its own culture.
WORLD’S FAIRS
World’s Fairs have been popular events throughout the history of the United States. In 1876, a Centennial Exposition was held in Philadelphia. It marked the one hundredth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Ten years in the making, this World’s Fair introduced people to many new things. One of the most popular exhibits showed a “new” machine called the typewriter!
In 1893, a fair called the World’s Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago. It was a grand event. One area at this fair was called the Midway Plaisance. The Midway featured popular entertainment. Here, the first Ferris wheel was introduced. It stood 260 feet tall and had 36 cars. It could hold more than two thousand people when full!
“Building the World of Tomorrow” was the motto of the World’s Fair held in New York City in 1939. A popular exhibit at this Fair was the Futurama. Visitors sat in moving chairs to get a glimpse of a city in the future. Modern buildings and huge highway systems “wowed” people of all ages. Another exhibit also got a lot of attention. Here people stared at a new invention called the television. Many wondered what good it might be in the future!
Amelia and her younger sister, Muriel, saw a big roller coaster at the fair. When she got back to Kansas City, Amelia tried to build one in her yard.
Muriel, Amelia’s uncle, and another friend helped. Wooden tracks ran from the top of a shed to the yard below. A little buggy rolled down the tracks. The tracks were greased with fat to make the buggy go faster.
Always the bravest kid on the block, Amelia was the first to try out the roller coaster. She dragged the buggy up to the top of the tracks and got on. Her sister held her feet. When Amelia gave the signal, Muriel let go. Amelia went down headfirst… and crashed!
Did this stop Amelia? Not at all. She and her friends made the slope of the tracks less steep. Then she got on the buggy again. This time she made a good run. She loved the speed. And it was almost as if she were flying through the air!
On a cold day in December, Amelia went sledding with her sister. Amelia wanted to go very fast. She took a running start. Then she jumped on the sled, lying head first on her stomach. The hill was icy. Amelia was gaining speed. Suddenly, there was trouble below. A horse-drawn wagon came out from a side street. It was directly in Amelia’s path. And Amelia couldn’t stop.
At the last second, Amelia ducked. She and her sled slid right under the horse. A moment later Amelia was up and smiling. Her quick thinking had helped her avoid a bad accident.
In the summer before eighth grade, Amelia went to another fair. The Iowa State Fair. Here, Amelia saw her first airplane.
BROTHERS IN FLIGHT
Orville and Wilbur Wright never went to college, but they were good at building things. On December 17, 1903, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, they made history. That was the day their airplane, the Wright Flyer, went one hundred feet in the air.
The Flyer was a rickety plane by today’s standards. Its body was made of cloth stretched over a wood frame. It had one small engine and two propellers. Many thought it would crash on takeoff. But it didn’t. The Flyer stayed in the air 12 seconds. A short trip indeed, but this first flight changed history forever.
It was 1909—only six years after Wilbur and Orville Wright had made their famous flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Surprisingly, Amelia did not think too much of the airplane. She was always adventurous, but her love of flying came much later.
Amelia’s teenage years were hard. Her father couldn’t keep a job, and the family split up. Amelia’s mother took the girls to Chicago. They lived in a rooming house and Amelia went to Hyde Park High School.
Amelia was a good student. She dreamed of going to a first-rate college. But there wasn’t enough money. However, Amelia’s mother was able to send her to a good private school for girls.
It was time for Amelia to start out on her own. |