Welcome to Disney's Magic of Storytelling podcast, brought to you by Wake Med Children's, because inside every child is a story waiting to be told.
Our storyteller is ABC 11's Diane Wilson.
Who was Amelia Earhart?
Airplanes were new in the 1920s.
People mostly traveled by car or boat or train.
But Amelia Earhart dreamed of flying.
Amelia was one of the first women pilots.
She was known all over the world.
She did many things women had never done before.
Growing up.
Amelia Earhart was born on July 24th, 1897.
She grew up in Atchison, Kansas.
She had a sister named Mariel.
The girls played football and fished.
They read books and collected bugs.
Back then, girls wore long dresses, but Amelia's mother made them play suits.
Then they could run and play like the boys.
Amelia's family moved a lot.
She went to many different schools.
Amelia made friends easily.
She enjoyed making people laugh.
When Amelia grew up, she worked as a nurse.
Later, she worked at a center that helped poor children.
The children loved her.
Amelia loved to help people.
When Amelia was 23, her father took her to an air show.
She took a short ride in an airplane that day.
Amelia fell in love with flying.
Amelia wanted to be a pilot.
She worked hard to earn money for lessons.
Amelia's first teacher was pilot Netta Snook.
Many things were different in the late 1920s and 1930s.
Most people did not have a lot of money.
There were not many jobs.
A stuffed teddy bear cost 98 cents.
People did not have TVs in their homes.
Most people listened to the radio.
People played board games for fun.
Cars were much slower than they are today.
They couldn't go very far either.
Finding jobs was harder for women than for men.
Some people thought women shouldn't work outside the homes.
Amelia always tried to do better.
She flew fast.
She flew high.
Amelia wanted to be the first woman pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
It was very dangerous.
Many people had died trying.
But in 1932, she made the long, hard trip and she did it all by herself.
Amelia Earhart was becoming famous.
She was well known because she was a great pilot, but also because she was a woman pilot.
Amelia taught women college students about jobs and careers.
Not many women had careers in the 1930s, but Amelia did.
She told women they could have careers too.
Amelia wrote books about her flying career.
She gave speeches all over the country.
In 1933, she was invited to the White House.
Amelia became friend with Eleanor Roosevelt, President Franklin Roosevelt's wife.
She took Mrs. Roosevelt for a ride in her plane.
Mrs. Roosevelt wished she could be a pilot too.
Amelia and Eleanor Roosevelt agreed that women could do the same kinds of jobs as men.
Amelia got many awards and medals.
She spoke to college students about aviation.
People everywhere wanted to be like her.
Amelia was not afraid to try new things and she never gave up.
She was a hero to Americans.
Amelia helped test a parachute.
Amelia was the first woman to get this medal.
It is a US Distinguished Flying Cross.
Amelia always dreamed of flying around the world.
She got a bigger, faster plane to make the trip.
Amelia took Fred Noonan with her.
He was her navigator.
His job was to give directions.
Amelia's job was to fly the plane.
Amelia and Fred flew for one month.
They flew across deserts and mountains, but the hard part was next.
They had to fly over the huge Pacific Ocean.
They would have to stop for gas on a tiny island.
It was hard to find, but Amelia was brave.
On July 2nd, 1937, she took off from her final stop.
Suddenly the plane couldn't be reached by radio.
No one is sure what happened.
Many people believe the plane ran out of gas and crashed.
Amelia was never found.
Amelia Earhart was a great pilot.
She taught others to live without fear.
She was loved by people all over the world.
Wake Med Children's is proud to support the ongoing enrichment of children in our community and beyond through our sponsorship of the Disney Magic of Storytelling podcast.
To learn more about Wake Med Children's, please visit kids.wakemed.org.
