this is a ruth nichols graduation photograph 1924 at college in massachusetts. school for women that of course still exists today? and it was here at wellesley the root nichols decided not only did she want to choose her own path. not only did she want to live her own life. she wanted to fly planes. and in 1930 she would acquire this plane here. this was a lockheed vega. undeniably the fastest most modern plane of its time. she named it the akita. and had borrowed it from a businessman that some of you may recognize his name was powell crosley the owner of the cincinnati reds. and within a matter of months ruth nichols was flying this plane into the record books. she quickly had the altitude record. the transcontinental speed record the short land speed record and in june 1931 she will attempt to fly this plane right here. over the ocean trying to be the first woman all alone at the controls of an aircraft flying over the atlantic. it's worth pointing out. this is one year a full year before amelia earhart would ever dare to make such a flight. and you know were

and she went down to the western union office and she wrote ruth nichols a telegram. nd it's not really what's she says in the telegram but how she says it. for starters, amelia doesn't refer to ruth by her name. she calls her by her nickname, she calls her rufus. she says, dear rufus, we can't bear to have you on the sidelines for long. get well soon. a easy. and it clearly meant a lot to ruth nichols. because she saved it her entire life. until i found the telegram. in a windowless cinder block storage room filled with old dusty air race trophy at a regional airport in cleveland, ohio. where that letter in all of ruth nichols papers had been sitting unnoticed for decades. so they overcome much. they are good friends. and they really will change the world. some of you have probably heard of the women's air service pilots. the wasps. those 1000 women who flew airplanes during world war ii for the military. not in combat but from factory to bases. the wasps from time to time are in the news these days. because the last of them sadly are dying off. were it not for these