- By Marian Goe -
It was fun for me to meet an unusual resident of LCG who tried something daring and exciting with her life while still in her prime years. Such a lady is Edna Baldwin. Edna was co-pilot with her sister, Frances Bera, in the famous Powder Puff Derby during the late 40s and 50s. It was a trans-continental event for women pilots who entered the National Air Races in Cleveland. Competitors were not allowed to use any navigational aids except a road map, so flying was limited to daylight hours. Ninety women were members of the organization, including Amelia Earhart.
Edna and Frances won three of the races. They flew different airplanes and the bigger the airplane, the faster they flew. Each plane took off at the same time and usually had a sponsor for each flight. Edna always flew when Frances became tired and both had controls at all times. They usually flew for about two weeks at a time and always "Full throttle ahead!"
Edna related a time when they flew a plane with fiber wings to Oklahoma and landed in a farm field. They asked if anyone could watch their plane because the cows might chew the wings. She will never forget the surprised farmers' faces when they realized the pilots were women.
There were times when their adventures turned catastrophic, as Edna's tennis shoes caught fire because of a leaky battery, endangering their lives. All is well now, though, as Edna recalls those yesterday memories.