This collection consists of 8 cubic feet of archival material documenting the life of Gene Nora Stumbough Jessen from 1950s to the 2010s. She had a successful career as a flight instructor, Beech Aircraft sales demonstration pilot, Beech Aircraft dealership owner, flight school chief pilot, commercial pilot, Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) Safety Counselor, aviation insurance agent/broker, advisor to the FAA, president of the Ninety-Nines, Inc. (1988-1990), and published aviation author. Jessen also participated in the Women in Space Program, evaluating women's potential as possible astronauts at the Lovelace Medical Center in 1961.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of approximately 8 cubic feet of archival material documenting the aviation career of Gene Nora Stumbough Jessen, including her involvement with the Ninety-Nines, her career with Beechcraft Aviation, and her writings on aviation; there is also a small amount of material related to her week-long testing with the Women in Space Program. The following types of materials are included: correspondence, photographs, pilot logs, scrapbooks, photo albums, programs, brochures, maps, magazine articles, manuals, handbooks, VHS tapes, and audiotapes.
Arrangement:
When the National Air and Space Museums Archives received the Gene Nora Stumbough Jessen Collection, it was arranged alphabetically by folder name. All original folder titles have been retained. PII has been manually redacted. Any additional contextual information that was added by the processing archivist appears in brackets.
Biographical / Historical:
Gene Nora (pronounced Janora) Stumbough Jessen was born on January 10, 1937, in Springfield, Illinois. While growing up, Jessen became interested in aviation after learning about the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) who served their country during World War II. She began flying while in her junior year of high school in the Civil Air Patrol and earned her private pilot license in 1956. She then attended the University of Oklahoma (OU), where she was a member of their flight team and entered her first National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) competition. While taking classes in 1959, Jessen became the first woman to work as a flight instructor for the school, which allowed her to also pay for college. During her time at OU, she earned seven collegiate-level flying trophies and remained on staff for six years after completing her English degree.
In 1961 Jessen quit her job as a flight instructor when she was selected as one of the women to participate in the Women in Space Program (1960-1962), also known as the Mercury 13 or Fellow Lady Astronaut Trainees (FLATs), at the Lovelace Medical Center in New Mexico. She was twenty-four years old. Dr. William Randall "Randy" Lovelace, who designed and carried out the rigorous testing for the thirty-two male Project Mercury candidates, and US Air Force Brigadier General Donald Flickinger, were curious to see how women would fare against their all-male peers. Unable to interest the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the undertaking, they conducted the experiment in secret independently. For Phase 1, this group of women underwent the same rigorous physical testing regimen used for NASA's Mercury astronauts. All participants passed. Armed with these results, Lovelace and Flickinger lobbied both Congress and the White House to consider including women in the Astronaut Corps, neither of which were keen on the idea; On a draft response letter, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson wrote "Let's stop this now!" Before the other parts of the test could begin, the Lovelace Program was cancelled.
Jessen moved to Wichita, Kansas, and accepted a job at Beech Aircraft in 1962. There, Jessen piloted planes for demonstration purposes for the company. On July 20, 1962, she embarked on a 90-day, 40,000 mile cross-country flight with fellow pilots Joyce Case and Mike Gordon. They were known as "The Three Musketeers", named after the Beech Musketeers the trio flew in formation across the United States. She and Case were the only female pilots flying for any aircraft manufacturer at that time. Soon, Jessen became rated to fly the entire line of Beech aircraft. In her spare time, she volunteered with the Wichita Wing Scouts from 1963-1967.
In Kansas, she also met and married Leland Robert "Bob" Jessen (1925-2020), a B-29 pilot during World War II, on June 12, 1964, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1967, they moved to Boise, Idaho, where they established their own Beech dealership and, later, an aviation insurance business and Boise Air Service, a full-service, fixed base operation on the Boise Airport.
Jessen was also an avid writer. She was the aviation columnist for The Northwest Flyer, and The Idaho Statesman. Jessen also wrote several books on the history of women in aviation, including Sky Girls, a chronicle of the 1929 Powder Puff Derby.
Additionally, Jessen was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to serve on the Federal Aviation Agency's (FAA) Women in Aviation Advisory Board for five years. Between 1988 and 1990, Jessen was President of the Ninety-Nines, an international organization of licensed women pilots. She was also a Wing Scout Leader, treasurer of the Idaho Pilot's Association, an Accident Prevention Counselor for the FAA, and the Boise Airport Commissioner. She was recently inducted into the International Women in Aviation Pioneers Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio. Jessen holds over 4,000 hours of flying experience and earned ratings as a commercial pilot, single and multi-engine land, single-engine sea, instrument rating and a Gold Seal flight instructor.
HONORS:
Honorary PhD, University of Wisconsin
Idaho Aviation Hall of Fame
Pathfinder Award Wall of Fame, Seattle Museum of Flight
Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award
Ninety-Nines Amelia Earhart Award
Achievement Award, International Northwest Aviation Council
Evanston Township High School Distinguished Alumni Award
Adler Planetarium Women in Space Service Award
Mercury 13 NASA Award, International Human Space Flight Day
Women with Wings Award, International Air and Space Museum
Next Generation Indie Book Award, 2010
YMCA Pioneers of the Future Award
FAA Women's Advisory Committee on Aviation
Boise Airport Commissioner
Provenance:
Gene Nora Jessen, Gift, 2023, NASM.2023.0052
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
The Jules "Jay" Mermoud Collection reflects his career as a producer, cinematographer, and media graphic specialist for McDonnell Douglas (then Douglas Aircraft) from the mid-1950s until his retirement in 1987. Mermoud worked extensively with NASA at a variety of locations within the United States. This material is particularly rich in documenting the early space missions of Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Apollo-Soyuz, the Thor and Skybolt missions and a variety of Douglas/McDonnell Douglas aircraft such as the F-15 Streak Eagle.
Scope and Contents:
This collection is approximately 9.4 cubic feet and includes photographs, negatives, 16mm motion picture film, oversized photographic prints and posters, photo albums, slides, textual material including brochures, newsletters, press kits, annual reports and news and magazine clippings.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged into four series: Textual Material; Photographs, Negatives and Slides; Oversize Materials and Audiovisual Material. The first series is subdivided into three subseries: NASA and Spaceflight; McDonnell Douglas, Aircraft, Rockets and Missiles; and Miscellaneous.The second series is subdivided into four subseries: Photo Albums; NASA and Spaceflight; McDonnell Douglas, Rockets and Missiles; and Miscellaneous.
Biographical / Historical:
Jules "Jay" Mermoud (1925--1991) was born Monett, Missouri. After graduating from high school, he joined the Army Air Corps prior to the end of World War II. He then attended the University of Southern California and earned a Bachelor's degree in Cinema in 1952. Upon completion, he briefly worked as a film extra and appeared in such movies as "Above and Beyond" and "Pat and Mike." From 1952 until 1956, Mermoud was employed by three television stations as a cinematographer, film director, editor and on-camera moderator that took him to various cities including Albuquerque, New Mexico; Fresno, California; Los Angeles, California; Tulsa Oklahoma; and Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he was the host of an outdoor show called "Oklahoma Outdoors." He also met and married his beloved wife Marilyn in 1954.
Two years later, he landed a job with McDonnell Douglas' Tulsa Division as a producer/coordinator where he was responsible for scientific and engineering camera instrumentation support for special testing programs relating to the Douglas RB-66 and WB-66 Destroyer development. From 1958 to 1963 he was a photo coordinator, producer and director at the Atlantic Missile Range where he instituted all contractual photography range support in the Thor, Thor-Able, Skybolt and Saturn rocket programs. Beginning in mid-1963, he was responsible for all photography coordination relating to crewed spaceflight at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. While living there, Mermoud's wife Marilyn was an active member of the Women's Clubs of Merritt Island and Cocoa Beach. Marilyn was also a member of the Space Pioneer Wives. In July 1969, the family relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, where Jay became Supervisor of Cinematography, later advancing to Section Manager of Photo Services a mere two years later. He was promoted again at McDonnell Douglas when he was named the Staff Specialist of film and television production and program development.
Mermoud's striking photographs appeared in such publications as Industrial Photography, Janes' All the World's Aircraft, National Geographic, Aviation Week, Missiles and Rockets and Popular Science and at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. He was also an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed playing jazz bass and piano.
Provenance:
Frank Mermoud and Jean Pickett, Gift, 2023, NASM.2024.0006
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
This collection consists of one typed letter to Betty Skelton from Chuck Allen and one 8 by 10 inch brown toned photograph. In the letter, Allen recounts the last time he saw Skelton. At that time in 1946, a group of people had a day excursion from her father's flying school to Longboat Key just off Sarasota, Florida; on the return trip, Allen flew with Skelton in the back performing aerial rolls not knowing she didn't buckle her seat belt until mid-flight. The photograph is an oblique, low-altitude aerial view of a small group of people in swimwear near seven monoplanes and one biplane all on the ground along coast line between sand and long grass. It is likely that the photograph depicts the story in the letter.
Arrangement:
Arranged by item.
Biographical / Historical:
Betty Skelton (1926--2011) was an American aerobatic pilot and auto racer who gained prominence in the 1950s and 1960s. Born in Pensacola, Florida, Skelton developed a passion for aviation at an early age and purchased her first aircraft in 1946, a Great Lakes (1929) Model 2T-1A. She went on to become a three-time Female Aerobatic Champion and set 17 aviation and race car records earning the nickname the "First Lady of Firsts."
Provenance:
Charles "Chuck" Allen, Gift, 2024, NASM.2024.0017
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
The Bee Aviation Wee Bee was an ultralight aircraft designed and built by William F. "Bill" Chana, Kenneth Coward, Karl Montijo, and Jim Wilder.This collection consists of one digital print of a photograph showing the Bee Aviation Wee Bee at the Daily Express International Air Pageant held at Gatwick Airport, UK in 1949.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of one 4.5 by 7 inch digital print of a photograph showing the Bee Aviation Wee Bee at the Daily Express International Air Pageant held at Gatwick Airport, UK in 1949. Karl Montijo is strapped on the aircraft and Betty Skelton is standing beside it. In the background, Kenneth Coward is visible.
Arrangement:
Collection is a single item.
Biographical / Historical:
The Bee Aviation Wee Bee was an ultralight aircraft designed and built by William F. "Bill" Chana, Kenneth Coward, Karl Montijo, and Jim Wilder. The aircraft weighed only 150 pounds and was operated by a pilot strapped face-down atop the fuselage. Only one prototype of the Wee Bee, aircraft registration number NX90840, was produced.
Provenance:
William F. Chana, Gift, 1998, NASM.2024.0011.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Betty June Skelton Frankman Erde (1926--2011) was a three-time Female Aerobatic Champion who set 17 aviation and race car records, at one point earning her the nickname the "First Lady of Firsts." This collection consists of a photograph of Skelton posed beside her Great Lakes (1929) Model 2T-1A, circa 1948.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of one 8 by 10 inch brown toned photograph of Betty Skelton posed beside her Great Lakes (1929) Model 2T-1A, circa 1948. The collection also includes two additional copies of the same image, one of which measures 8 by 10 inches and one of which measures 4.75 by 3.75 inches.
Arrangement:
Collection is a single item.
Biographical / Historical:
Betty June Skelton Frankman Erde (1926--2011) was a three-time Female Aerobatic Champion who set 17 aviation and race car records, at one point earning her the nickname the "First Lady of Firsts." Skelton bought her first aircraft in 1946, a Great Lakes (1929) Model 2T-1A. In this aircraft, Skelton started her aerobatic career, performing in the Southeastern Air Exposition in Jacksonville, Florida, and then touring the southeastern air show circuit. It was also in her Great Lakes aircraft that Skelton won her first International Female Aerobatic Championship on January 1, 1948.
Provenance:
Richard Gombosh, Gift, 2003, NASM.2024.0012.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Kenneth Judson "Boedy" Boedecker (1892--1981) was an aircraft engine expert and avid amateur photographer who created a series of photo albums containing images of a wide variety of personnel employed in the aviation field. This collection consists of those albums, the negatives for the photographs in the albums, and one box of enlarged prints of some of the photographs.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of sixteen volumes of photo albums containing photographs of a wide variety of personnel employed in the aviation field, including aircraft and engine manufacturing, the military, and airline and airport employees. The photographs are mostly taken by Kenneth Judson "Boedy" Boedecker, although some photos that show Boedecker himself were taken by others with his camera. Some are taken at the subject's workplace and others are taken at events such as air races or organization meetings, and it appears to have been Boedecker's practice to try to take photographs of the entire flight crew when he traveled by air. Most of the photographs are autographed by the subject and all are captioned with the subject's name, company, date, and location where the photo was taken. In the case of the photographs of flight crews, the airline route is also noted. Boedecker documented both large and small companies, and a large portion of the employees shown in the albums are women. The photographs appear in the albums in the order they were taken, and some include indexes of the people shown in the album. The collection also includes the negatives for the photographs in the albums, which are arranged alphabetically by last name of the subject, and one box of enlarged prints of some of the photographs.
Arrangement:
Collection has three series defined by type of material. The first series consists of volumes of photo albums that are arranged by date. The second series consists of negatives arranged alphabetically by last name of subject. The third series contains copy prints.
Biographical / Historical:
Kenneth Judson "Boedy" Boedecker (1892--1981) was an aircraft engine expert and avid amateur photographer. Boedecker began his technical training at the Mechanics Institute in New York in 1910 and studied there until 1914, later studying at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn from 1914 to 1918. Boedecker also served in the US Naval Reserve (USNR) and was on active duty during World War I as a chief machinist's mate with the Northern Bombing Group in France and England. Boedecker worked as a machinist, draftsman, tool designer, and inspector for various companies before joining Lawrence Aero Engine Corporation as Chief Inspector in 1919, later becoming the Assistant Works Manager. When Lawrence merged with Wright Aeronautical, Boedecker became a Service Engineer for Wright before rising to Service Manager in 1927, General Service Manager in 1929, and Sales and Service Engineer in 1931. At the time of Boedecker's retirement in 1958, he was assistant to the vice president for sales at Curtiss-Wright. Boedecker learned to fly making test flights of Wright aircraft and made his first solo flight in 1930, going on to earn his pilot's license. During his time with Wright Aeronautical, Boedecker was assigned to test and inspect the Wright engines that powered numerous record-setting aircraft including Charles Lindbergh's Ryan NYP Spirit of St Louis that made the first solo transatlantic flight, the Fokker C-2 Bird of Paradise in which Lester Maitland and Albert Hegenberger made the first transpacific flight from the US mainland to Hawaii, and the Fokker F.VIIB-3m Southern Cross which Charles Kingsford-Smith and his crew flew to make the first transpacific flight from California to Australia. Boedecker also checked the engines of various aircraft that flew in the 1927 Dole Air Race. Boedecker was a member of numerous professional and aviation organizations including the Society of Automotive Engineers, Ancient and Secret Order of Quiet Birdmen, Wings Club, and Conquistadores del Cielo.
In the 1930s, Boedecker purchased a new camera and began to take portrait photographs of colleagues and other members of the aviation community as a way to familiarize himself with the equipment. Encouraged by the editor of Wright Aeronautical's internal employee newsletter who reproduced some of the photographs in that publication, the project grew to include sixteen volumes of photographs taken during the course of Boedecker's work as well as during his extensive travels to aviation-related events. Boedecker would print two copies of each photograph and send them to the subject, asking that person to sign one and return it to him for inclusion in his album. At least one volume of the album was reproduced and published in the late 1930s by Aero Digest Publishing Company. The first fifteen albums were officially presented to the Smithsonian at a ceremony in the Regents Room on May 16, 1962. The sixteenth volume was sent later as it was still being completed at the time of the presentation. In that volume there is a photograph taken at the presentation ceremony by a Smithsonian photographer which, according to Boedecker, is the only photograph in the collection not taken with his camera.
Provenance:
Kenneth J. Boedecker, Gift, 1962, NASM.XXXX.0323.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Materials from Colonel Nicole Malachowski including images of the United States Air Force Demonstration Squadron, aka the Thunderbirds.
Scope and Contents:
Physical materials of this collection consist of Malachowski's 2008 resume, two autographed portraits, a 2006 United States Air Force (USFA) Thunderbirds booklet, and two copies of 2006 USFA Thunderbirds brochure as well as a DVD entitled "American Team: Being a US Air Force Thunderbird."
Also included in this collection are digital images of the USFA Demonstration Squadron, a flying aerobatic team also known as the Thunderbirds, for 2005 and 2007. Images depict aircraft both grounded and in-flight, events and demonstrations, USAF crew and public crowds, and aerial views. Technical Sergeant Justin Pyle and Staff Sergeant Kristi Machado were identified as the USFA photographers.
Arrangement:
Divided by type of material and arranged chronologically thereunder by photographer.
Biographical / Historical:
Colonel Nicole Malachowski is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) officer and the first female pilot selected to join any American military demonstration team. Malachowski's interest for aviation began at the age of five when she attended her first air show. By the age of twelve, she started flying with the Civil Air Patrol and achieved her first solo flight at sixteen. After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1996, she flew McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagles around the globe, including a tour in Iraq. Between October 2005 and January 2008, Malachowski served as Thunderbird #3/Right Wing within the United States Air Force Demonstration Squadron. Also known as the Thunderbirds, she made her debut in March 2006 piloting a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. After, she was on special assignments and held several leadership roles including commanding the 333rd Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. Malachowski was medically retired from USAF in 2017 and inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2019.
Provenance:
Nicole Malachowski, Gift, 2008, NASM.2008.0025
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
