On March 20, 1936, Amelia Earhart visited Geneva’s campus to present “Adventures in Air,” speaking on her Mexican and Pacific flights and aviation in general.
Earhart was invited to campus by Geneva's Women’s Student Association as part of their Famous Women Series.
As described in The Cabinet, she spoke from the Old Main Chapel stage “with her hair tousled as usual.” The writer says of her visit,
“...Ease and charm describe her manner of presenting a most interesting talk, not a lecture, on her Pacific flight. Her technique of speaking made each one in the audience feel as if he or she were waiting patiently for the rain to let up so he could begin the flight, or as if he could see the beauty of the moonlight and starlight on the clouds as he was flying above them. Miss Earhart made the listener feel, too, the joy of seeing a steamer at dawn, and of knowing that she was on the exact course. The thrill of seeing land and all the people assembled there to greet her were the listener’s experiences as she described them...”
In a note captured in The McKee Hall Tradition, a then-student shared what she described as “the most outstanding occurrence during my freshman year.” After arriving by train, Earhart was driven to campus, where she needed a place to freshen up and press her dress. Freshmen Eleanor Cupp Robb ‘39, co-chair of the Women’s Student Association, offered her room in McKee for the world-famous aviator to use. Robb said, “She was a warm, easy-to-know person and this has been an unforgettable encounter and experience.” Earhart gifted Robb an autographed photo (pictured in the header image).
Just over a year after her visit to Geneva College, Amelia Earhart was lost over the Pacific Ocean in July 1937 while attempting to circumnavigate the world.
Geneva's Aviation History
With flight taking off in the early 1900s, it was about 30-40 years later before colleges began offering pilot training through the Civilian Pilot Training Program funded by the government from 1938-1944. Geneva College was one of the schools at the time that began training students in flight.
In 1940, 15 Geneva students completed their first quota of government training to become pilots. The following year, there were more graduates and a significant increase in aviation.
Geneva played an integral role in educating, housing, and feeding hundreds of pilots, army members, and students training to be pilots during the early 1940s.
In 1942, air cadets from the U.S. Army arrived with the Army and Naval Cadet Training Program to take civilian pilot training courses. These courses prepared civilians to be pilots and for air combat. The following year, 126 Army Air Corps came to live on campus as they trained as pilots while taking courses at Geneva.
Philip Hirschy, Fae Hirschy, and Fred Bright, all graduates of 1948, were just some of the many Geneva students who took to the air. All three flew regularly, often out of the Butler airport, while attending Geneva. Philip went on to teach aviation at Seneca Valley High School and started the very first high school aviation and aeronautics course in the state.
Throughout Geneva’s history, many alumni have graduated and gone on to become teachers, pilots, flight instructors, engineers, managers at airports, and so much more.
Thank you to the Geneva College Archives for documents and photos.
Amelia Earhart Visits Geneva by Erika Kauffman ‘20
Geneva's Aviation History by Kelsey Ingold ‘18, excerpt taken from the Geneva Magazine Summer 2023
Opinions expressed in the Geneva Blog are those of its contributors and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official position of the College. The Geneva Blog is a place for faculty and contributing writers to express points of view, academic insights, and contribute to national conversations to spark thought, conversation, and the pursuit of truth, in line with our philosophy as a Christian, liberal arts institution.
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