Derby History Quiz

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Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart, "the First Lady of the Air" was a captivating personality when she appeared before the Women's Club and hundreds of other paying guests at the Sterling Opera House on March 16, 1936. The aviatrix regaled the audience with the story of her flying adventures. She had been one of the first to fly the Atlantic in 1928 and then flew solo from Newfoundland to Ireland in 1932. In 1935 she became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific from Honolulu to Oakland, California, and that trip was the subject of much of her talk in Derby.

In 1937, as Earhart decided to take on one last challenge - She wanted to be the first woman to fly around the world! She completed more than 20,000 miles of the journey before she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, disappeared on a particularly challenging and dangerous leg of their trip over the Pacific Ocean.

Earhart was one of a number of famous speakers brought to Derby by the Women's Club. Mrs. W. S. Kellogg was president of the club, and the woman most responsible for bringing so many speakers to Derby. She introduced Ms. Earhart, but also took the time to plug an upcoming performance of the play, The Enemy, by the Intertown Drama League, membership in the Connecticut Forest and Park Association and the annual fund raising appeal of the District Nurse Association.

Correct answers were received from: Raymond M. Petrillo, Ken Dupke, Ann Searles,  Rick Schreiner, Mayor Marc J. Garofalo,  Markanthony Izzo, Anita Dugatto, Joan Driscoll,  Bert DeForest, Beth Colette, Millie from Ansonia, Eileen Krugel, John Asp, Kevin Henri, M Meyer, Ross Allen, Frederick Picroski, Jim Bartlett,  frank Lazowski, sr, Mary Lou Boroski, Rick Dunne, Paul Comkowycz, and Edward Baclawski.

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