A Vernon native who just earned the Wright Brothers and Charles Taylor Flying Awards for her 50 years as a pilot and aircraft mechanic is very excited about a ceremony the public can also attend.
A historical marker that started with Elizabeth Hawley’s research will be dedicated on Saturday morning at the regional airport in honor of Wichita County’s very first female pilot.
LOCAL NEWS: First female pilot in Wichita County to be honored with Historical Marker Dedication Jimmie Hudson Kolp grew up in Electra and was only the third woman to become a pilot in Texas and the 39th in the country.
Then, after earning her pilot’s license in the late 1920s, Kolp was commissioned as a second lieutenant by the Civil Air Patrol and served as a courier during World War II.
Kolp set an example for those who would follow — those like aviator Mary Latimer, who was first introduced to Kolp’s legacy back in the 1960s.
“There was a sign on the side of the road near Electra, and it said ‘Electra International Airport.’ My dad always thought that was hysterical,” long-time aviator Mary Latimer said. “It was grass runways, no airline flights, anything like that, but it said ‘Electra International Airport.’
Now, the grass runways are gone, and one building remains of Jimmie Kolp’s “Electra International Airport.”
Becky Trammell, acting director for the Museum of North Texas History, gave some insight into what led Kolp to become interested in aviation and earn her spot in Texoma’s history books.
“It started with a young girl in Electra who walked out of the movie theater and said, ‘There’s an airplane. It looks like fun; it looks like something I might like to do,'” said Trammell. “From that, we have a woman who flew around the world, who was friends with people you and I might think of as historic.”
Come to the Wichita Falls Regional Airport at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 20, to attend the historical marker dedication. If the weather becomes rainy, the ceremony will move indoors.
LOCAL NEWS: Sheppard competition shows off mission-ready aircrafts The Wichita County Historical Commission and the Ninety-Nines, an organization for female aviators founded by Amelia Earhart, will host it.
Kolp dedicated 40 years of her life to the Ninety-Nines.
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