Whenthe United States was celebrating its 200th anniversary back in 1976, theChairperson of the Ninety-Nines asked Fay Gillis Wells, one of the originalorganizing founders of the Ninety-Nines,to come up with an idea to participate in the celebration. Fay's answer was theInternational Forest of Friendship. Fay, who has outstanding skills at gettingpeople to do things, somehow talked the City of Atcheson, Kan., birthplace ofAmelia Earhart, into donating the land and convinced the Ninety-Nines, theInternational Association of Women Pilots, to pay for the work. It was certainlyfitting for the president to assign this task to Ms. Wells, as she is a truepioneer aviator, and was the Ninety-Nines' first secretary. It is also fittingthat this park and forest is located at Atcheson and sponsored jointly by thecity and by the Ninety-Nines, since the city was Amelia Earhart's birthplace andEarhart, of course, was the first president of the Ninety-Nines.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/features/eye-of-experience-21the-ninety-nines-preserving-history-and-safety