Amelia Earhart's St. Paul roots: The untold teen years before she took flight
Amelia Earhart's connection to St. Paul
On this week's Maury's Story, FOX 9's Maury Glover dives into the history of Amelia Earhart in Minnesota.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Before Amelia Earhart became an aviation legend, she spent a formative year as a teenager in St. Paul.
Remembering Earhart’s Minnesota roots and early life
What we know:
Earhart lived in St. Paul’s Summit Hill neighborhood in 1913, attending Central High School for her junior year. She played on the basketball team and was remembered as a good student who did especially well in German.
"The teachers remember her being a pleasant girl, had friends, made decent grades and did best in German of all things," said Lisa Heinrich, local historian.
Heinrich explained that Earhart’s family moved to St. Paul after her father got a job as a clerk for the Great Northern Railroad. Despite appearances, the family struggled financially and could only afford to heat two rooms in their large Victorian house that winter.
"The father fell getting off a streetcar, and there was a $10 hospital bill, and that set him back so much they couldn't get Easter outfits. So Amelia and her sister led the pack here. She got ribbons and redid some old blouses. Got something for skirts, and they sold, yeah, they sold bottles they found in the basement to get materials to fix themselves up Easter outfits. So that kind of thing was an abrupt and very painful change, I'm sure. And yet, we have to think, we hope, that she had some joy outside the house," said Heinrich.
Earhart’s social life centered around St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, where she prepared the altar, arranged flowers, and sang in the choir. Andy Sturdevant, a local writer, described her as "a very bright and very ordinary teenager."
He recalled, "She came to church and she was obviously involved with a lot here, but you know kind of her and her friend were you know talking and giggling during the service and, you know, lightly reprimanded. So just typical teenage stuff."
The backstory:
Earhart’s home life was challenging due to her father’s drinking problem and unstable employment. When her father was supposed to take her and her sister to a dance but came home drunk, Earhart remained calm and handled the situation with maturity.
"Her sister, of course, you know, raged and went up to the bedroom and, you know, cried. And Amelia just kind of apparently very calmly took down the decorations, you know, folded her clothes, put the food away and just realized that she was going to have to, you know, manage the situation emotionally," said Sturdevant.
After her father lost his job again, the family left Minnesota. Earhart later discovered her passion for flying and went on to become the first woman to cross the Atlantic by plane, first as a passenger and then as a pilot.
Earhart’s legacy and the ongoing search
Why you should care:
Earhart’s disappearance after taking off from Papua New Guinea in 1937 remains one of the world’s greatest mysteries. Her story continues to inspire, and a new expedition will search for her plane and remains in the South Pacific later this year.
"Amelia Earhart is still a name that people know. And, you know, part of it is probably. Related to the mystery of, you know, her disappearance, but you know she's just one of these figures that is so outsized in terms of her accomplishments, you kind of can't believe that she would have come from, you know such a humble origin," said Sturdevant.
Heinrich expressed hope that the upcoming expedition could finally solve the mystery of Earhart’s disappearance. Regardless of the outcome, the St. Paul neighborhood where she once lived remains proud of its connection to her. "I just like her. She's spunky and daredevil and got, I don't know, that she would do all these things that were flat-out dangerous. So, I dunno, it's just like our little snippet of this famous, famous person," said Heinrich.
Earhart returned to Minnesota several times for public speaking engagements and to help promote commercial aviation with Northwest Airlines before her disappearance.