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Amelia Earhart and the mayor of Medford
By adamg on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 1:44pm
In July, 1928, just a month after she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic (as part of a three-member crew), Amelia Earhart visited the Boston area, where she had worked for a few years as a social worker while living in Medford.
She arrived to throngs of well wishers at the East Boston airport and received roses from the governor on the steps of the State House. And she got a big welcome in Medford. She also took the controls of a smaller plane for a flight from East Boston:
The Boston Public Library recently posted these photos from Herald-Traveler photographer Leslie Jones as part of a set of photos of Earhart, Russell Boardman and John Polando, on a visit to East Boston after flying non-stop from New York to Turkey in 1931 and Frances Grayson, who also tried to fly across the Atlantic, in 1927, but who was lost at sea after taking off from Old Orchard Beach.
Photos posted under this Creative Commons license.
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Comments
BIrthday girl
How appropriate that you should post this on her birthday (1897).
Muriel Earhart Morrissey
Amelia's younger sister, she lived in West Medford from the 1920s until her death at age 98 in 1998.
Among other things, she taught school for a bazillion years and organized the garden club to tackle the landscaping of the "new" high school when it first opened.
When the old Brooks school was torn down to make way for a new one, a propeller from one of Amelia's planes that had been in the library made the rounds of various homes for safekeeping until it could be displayed in the new Brooks school library. Damn hard to get that thing in the door!
More Info: http://centersandsquares.com/2009/10/21/amelia-ear...
http://www.ninety-nines.org/index.cfm/grace_muriel...
Plaque
There's a plaque on a stone in front of the house she used to live in in West Medford. It's on Brooks St. at the corner of Madison.
House is across Brooks St.
Actually, the house is at the corner of Vernon and Brooks, across from Madison. Scenes from the film "The Brinks Job" was shot in that house in the 70's. Mrs. Morrisey's home was popular for trick or treat, although I don't recall why. It was a big deal in the neighborhood that she was Eearhart's sister and was still alive to be a connection to history.
Two different houses.
Muriel Morrisey, Amelia's sister lived in the house at Vernon and Brooks. Amelia lived across the street in the brown house at the corner of Madison and Brooks. That's where the plaque is.
Mrs. Morrisey
I was a neighbor of Mrs. Morrisey when I was growing up. Mrs. Morrisey always invited all the kids in when we trick or treated on Halloween. She would plant pennies throughout her house for us to find. It was always a place all the kids stopped at. She was a friendly woman. As little kids, we never understood why she was "famous" and they would use her house to shot movies and interviews at. I remember as a little girl watching on the street while they were shooting a movie. It was very exciting.
Anyone know why the Mystic dam was named after her?
It's in Somerville and Everett, not Medford.