Mary Anita "Neta" Snook Southern (February 14, 1896 – March 23, 1991) was a pioneer

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

who achieved a long list of firsts. She was the first woman aviator in Iowa, first woman student accepted at the Curtiss Flying School in Virginia, first woman

to run her own aviation business and first woman to run a commercial airfield.Marshall 2007, p. 22. Yet "Snooky", as her friends called her, was fated to be remembered for her relationship to

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...

. Her autobiography ''I Taught Amelia to Fly'' captures the essence of her fame and she is linked to Earhart, as her first instructor.

Early life

Mary Anita Snook was born on February 14, 1896 in

Mount Carroll, Illinois Mount Carroll is a city in Carroll County, Illinois, United States. It is the Carroll County seat. The population was 1479 at the 2020 census. Due to its elevation and northwesterly location, Mount Carroll is subject to unusually cold winter wea ...

. She was interested in machinery at an early age, spurred by a fascination with her father's automobiles. At the age of four, she would sit on her father's lap and help him steer his Stanley Steamer on the hills of their Illinois town. As she grew older, he taught her the inner workings of cars. Snook attended the Frances Shimer School, which later became Shimer College, graduating in 1912. After the family moved to

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medici ...

in 1915, Snook attended Iowa State College (now Iowa State University), taking courses in mechanical drawing, engines and farm machinery repair. She became fascinated with literature related to aviation and soon wanted to fly.

Flying

During her sophomore year at college, Snook applied to the Atlantic Coast Aeronautical Station, the Curtiss-Wright Aviation School, in Newport News, Virginia, and was denied admittance, as no women were allowed. The following year, an advertisement for the Davenport Flying School in Iowa brought her back home, where she became one of the first female student pilots. After a major crash in which the school's president was killed, the school closed and "Curly," as she had been dubbed by fellow students, began searching for another flight training school. In 1917, Snook eventually gained entry into the Curtiss-Wright Aviation School and put in many hours in the air until civilian flights in the United States were banned for the duration of World War I. Briefly, in 1918, she worked for the

British Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

in Elmira as an expeditor putting her mechanical skills to good use, inspecting and testing aircraft parts and engines on their way to combat in Europe. After purchasing a wrecked Canuck, a Canadian version of a

Curtiss JN-4 Jenny The Curtiss JN "Jenny" was a series of biplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft for th ...

, Snook had it shipped back to Ames, Iowa, and spent two years rebuilding the aircraft in her parents' backyard. In 1920, Snook soloed in her rebuilt Canuck, flying from a nearby pasture and received her pilot's license and, shortly after, entry into the Aero Club of America and the

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...

(FAI). Barnstorming throughout the Midwest in her Canuck, she made a living furtively hauling sightseers and "passengers" although her licence did not allow it. With the onset of a bitter Iowa winter, Snook decided to head out to California where she could fly year-round. She disassembled the Canuck for shipping and ended up in balmy Los Angeles. In 1920, Snook approached

Bert Kinner Winfield Bertrum "Bert" Kinner (December 16, 1882 – July 4, 1957) was an American aircraft engine designer and designer of the first folding wing aircraft. Kinner founded Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation in Glendale, California which p ...

for a job as an instructor in his newly constructed airport,

Kinner Field Winfield Bertrum "Bert" Kinner (December 16, 1882 – July 4, 1957) was an American aircraft engine designer and designer of the first folding wing aircraft. Kinner founded Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation in Glendale, California which pr ...

in Los Angeles (which offered aerial advertising and flight instruction), bringing with her a background in mechanics which made her an invaluable assistance to Kinner. After a brief trial period, she became the first woman to run a commercial airfield.Marshall 2007, pp. 21–22.

Amelia Earhart

"I’ll never forget the day she and her father came to the field. I liked her on sight."History Resources: Amelia Earhart to her former flight instructor, Neta Snook, 1929
- Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

On January 3, 1921, Amelia Earhart, along with her father, walked onto the airfield and asked Neta, "I want to fly. Will you teach me?"Butler 1997, p. 96. The agreement struck between Amelia and her parents was that only a woman pilot would teach her to fly. "For $1 in

Liberty bonds A liberty bond (or liberty loan) was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of financi ...

per minute in the air, Neta Snook taught Amelia Earhart to fly, but above that, they became friends." The first five hours in the air were paid for by Earhart but the next 15 were entirely unpaid as Snook took her new pilot up in the

Kinner Airster The Kinner Airster is an American two-seat single-engined biplane designed by Bert Kinner and built by his Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation. Development The Airster appeared in 1920 designed by Bert Kinner, it was a one or two seat open-co ...

that Amelia had purchased. At first, her pupil was not the best flyer. Earhart stalled the Airster while trying to clear a grove of eucalyptus trees on takeoff. Snook thought to herself, "Perhaps I had misjudged her abilities." However, their friendship held sway and that crash was soon forgotten. They flew together for over a year. Snook became close with the entire Earhart family, and often spent time at the family home.

Later years

Neta Snook became the first woman to enter a men's air race at the Los Angeles Speedway in February 1921, finishing fifth and telling the media, "I'm going to fly as cleverly, as audaciously, as thrillingly as any man aviator in the world." After Earhart disappeared during her famous flight in 1937, Snook began lecturing and speaking about her career in aviation and, later, wrote her autobiography, ''I Taught Amelia To Fly''. In 1977, Neta flew for the first time in decades, when she was invited to pilot a replica of Charles Lindbergh's ''

Spirit of St. Louis The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlant ...

''. In 1981, she was acknowledged as the oldest woman pilot in the United States. One year after her death, Neta Snook Southern was inducted into the Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame.

Personal life

At the age of 25, Snook married William Southern in 1922, became pregnant and gave up flying, selling her business. Not much was heard about Neta Snook Southern in the years following her retirement. Snook died at age 95 on March 23, 1991 at her adobe home, built by Neta and William, in

Los Gatos, California Los Gatos (, ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of the ...

. Neta had a son, William Curtiss Southern (12 November 1922, Iowa to 17 March 1997, Amador County, California), who had a wife Nadine. Neta was survived by a sister, two grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and a great-great grandchild.

Legacy

In 1917, "few women took to the clouds during that time, but the ones who did became famous for their courage and contributions to mankind's experience of flight."Marshall, Patti. "Woman who touched the skies also touched Shawnee." ''The Shawnee News-Star''. 12 June 2002.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Butler, Susan. ''East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart''. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1997. . * Goldstein, Donald M. and Katherine V. Dillon. ''Amelia: The Centennial Biography of an Aviation Pioneer''. Washington, D.C.: Brassey's, 1997. . * Marshall, Patti. "Neta Snook" ''Aviation History'' Vol. 17, no. 3. January 2007. * Southern, Neta Snook. '', I Taught Amelia to Fly''. New York: Vantage Press, 1974. .

External links

SNOOK, NETA
Smithsonian Digital Volunteers * Southern, Neta Snook (1896-1991
Diary of Neta Snook (Southern)
- Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History * Russell Naughto
Mary Anita "Neta" Snook, (Southern) (1896-1991)

- Monash University {{DEFAULTSORT:Snook, Anita Aviators from Illinois People from Ames, Iowa Aviation pioneers Iowa State University alumni Shimer College alumni 1896 births 1991 deaths People from Mount Carroll, Illinois American women aviators 20th-century American women Aviators from Iowa