Amelia’s first ride in an airplane was flown by Frank Hawks, where Amelia said “ As soon as we left the ground, I knew I myself had to fly.” Indeed, with in a few days, she took her first flying lesson, in a Curtiss JN-4 Jenny. Six months later, she bought her own airplane, a yellow Kinner Airster, that she dubbed “ The Canary.“ Like Gabby Gabreski, she was not a naturally gifted pilot, but she persevered, built up her flying time, and even broke the woman’s altitude record in 1922. Then she soon started taking lessons form Neta Snook which they became very close. The mid- twenties were difficult years for Amelia. Her mother finally divorced Edwin, thus ending that part of Amelia’s family life. She studied at Columbia for some time, but lack of money compelled her to withdraw. She had a long term engagement to one Sam Chapmen, but they never married. She was active in aviation and a social worker, living in Medford, Massachusetts for a time. She flew whenever she could, distributing free passes to a carnival on one occasion, and was active in Boston aviation circles.
