Oral history with Katharine Stinson conducted by Gene Nora Jessen

Item information

Title:

Oral history with Katharine Stinson conducted by Gene Nora Jessen

Description:

Stinson describes her move to Glendale, her childhood fascination with planes, and her encounters with Eddie Stinson and Amelia Earhart. Concerning her State College experiences, Stinson mentions that, when she defied professors' expectations and made good grades, they tried to discourage her by saying she would not find a job. Stinson remarks that she took her CAA job in Washington, D.C. in compliance with her parents' request that she remain near home. She had wanted to accept a position with a private airplane company in California. Stinson pursued private employment again after World War II but realized her federal position offered her more advantages. Stinson mentions her early dream of becoming a doctor and tells a humorous story about her photograph accompanying the obituary for Eddie Stinson's aviator sister. She then comments on her activities with SWE and the Soroptimists, expresses satisfaction with the increasing number of women engineers, addresses the influence of space travel on aviation technology, and describes her work with airplane specifications and performance. Stinson later observes that her father disapproved of her flying planes and implies that he could not understand her failure to marry and raise a family. The mid- to latter part of the interview contains Stinson's discussion of women in engineering and aviation with Jessen's neighbor, another woman engineer and pilot. Stinson concludes the interview by discussing her love of travel and displaying her scrapbooks, pictures, certificates, and plaques.

Topics:

Engineering
University History

Subjects:

Aerospace engineering
Women in engineering

Original Format:

Beta SP cassette, sound, color

Item identifier:

mc00256-003-bx0002-000-001

Interviewee:

Stinson, Katharine, 1917-2001 more info on Stinson, Katharine, 1917-2001 

Interviewee:

Jessen, Gene Nora more info on Jessen, Gene Nora 

Created Date:

1990

Genre:

Oral histories (Document genres)

Names:

Stinson, Katharine, 1917-2001 more info on Stinson, Katharine, 1917-2001 
Society of Women Engineers more info on Society of Women Engineers 
North Carolina State University more info on North Carolina State University 
North Carolina State University. College of Engineering more info on North Carolina State University. College of Engineering 
Riddick, W. C. (Wallace Carl), 1864-1942 more info on Riddick, W. C. (Wallace Carl), 1864-1942 

Location:

Raleigh (N.C.)

Digital Project:

Manuscript Collections