Marion Virginia Carlstrom Trick (May 20, 1919 – January 14, 2010) was the first woman from

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

to join the

Women Airforce Service Pilots The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) (also Women's Army Service Pilots or Women's Auxiliary Service Pilots) was a civilian women pilots' organization, whose members were United States federal civil service employees. Members of WASP became t ...

and the second woman in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

to receive a pilot's license. Carlstrom was born May 20, 1919, in

Jackson County, Colorado Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,379, and it was the fourth least populated in the state. The county is named after the United States President Andrew Jackson. The cou ...

. Her father, Carl Carlstrom, was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

immigrant who worked as a civilian flight instructor. Carl Carlstrom's brother,

Victor Carlstrom 1st Lieutenant Victor Carlström (April 13, 1890 – May 9, 1917) was a record-holding Swedish-American pioneer aviator. He set a cross-America flight air speed record until the record was beaten by Ruth Bancroft Law. Biography He was born i ...

, served as a first lieutenant in the US Air Corps during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and made the first nonstop flight from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Marion Carlstrom "grew up looking at the pictures and reading the clippings" about her uncle, and was determined to become a pilot. Carlstrom graduated from high school at 16 and went on to attend the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

. She later attended

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

on a full-ride scholarship. There, she studied archaeology and South American literature. In 1940, Carlstrom traveled to

Lima, Peru Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

as a foreign exchange student at the

National University of San Marcos The National University of San Marcos ( es, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, link=no, UNMSM) is a public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. It is considered the most important, recognized and representative educ ...

. A member of her host family worked for the Peruvian Air Corps, and Carlstrom learned that the Corps offered free flying lessons if students paid for their own fuel. To cover the cost, she became a secretary for the commercial attache at the United States Embassy in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

. She was the second woman in

to become a licensed pilot and received a trophy from President

Manuel Prado Ugarteche Manuel Carlos Prado y Ugarteche (April 21, 1889 – August 15, 1967) was a banker who served twice as President of Peru. Son of former president Mariano Ignacio Prado, he was born in Lima and served as the nation's 43rd (1939 - 1945) and 46th (1 ...

. Carlstrom took part in air races over the mountains of

, flying over the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

at altitudes of 18,000 feet. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Carlstrom joined the

, where she ferried "mainly pursuit aircraft". She served in the

WASP A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

for twenty-two months and was one of the few

pilots to fly a

Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...

airplane. She was stationed at Love Field in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. There, she met and married Carl Trick, a U.S. Army Major. After the war, Carlstrom and her husband moved to her father's ranch in the North Park basin of

, later named the North Park Angus Ranch. They were credited with introducing

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

cattle to the basin and being the first ranchers in the basin to artificially inseminate their cattle. Carlstrom flew occasionally in a friend's plane, but explained, "We were used to flying such great airplanes, and there was no way we could afford to fly planes like that." She looked back fondly on her piloting career:

"I think every child, no matter how much they love this country, love the ranching, should go out and know that it's a big world. Get their self-confidence, know what they can do. Then they can come back because they want to come back, not because it seemed the easiest thing to do, or because they were hesitant or afraid to try something else. This makes people strong."

In 1961, she was on an episode of Say When!! (game show), where she beat Mr. Mortensen, a tugboat deckhand. Carlstrom had two children, Carl and Christine. She died on January 14, 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlstrom, Marion Aviators from Colorado Women Airforce Service Pilots personnel 1919 births 2010 deaths Military personnel from Colorado Bennington College alumni University of Colorado alumni Farmers from Colorado People from Jackson County, Colorado American people of Swedish descent American expatriates in Peru 21st-century American women