Amelia Earhart is the Lost Star of the Pleiades
Many Amelia Earhart curious souls are anticipating the 2009 release of Hilary Swank's biopic about Amelia Earhart.
No doubt great interest in the legendary pilot will be reborn at that time. Still, it's doubtful any clear answer about Amelia's true fate will be forthcoming by virtue of Ms. Swank's film effort.
No matter. There's so much great history gathered about Earhart's life since she served as a nurse in Canada during World War One. Yet the enigma she became shrouded it for her future posterity.
Among my favorite metaphor stories about Amelia Earhart is one I call "Amelia Earhart, The Lost Star."
There have been two well known books written about Amelia Earhart called "Lost Star." One was a best seller by Randall Brink, published by W.W. Norton in 1994.
And though it seems easy enough to figure it out on the surface, why is Amelia really viewed as correlative to a 'lost star?' It goes like this:
CHAPTER ONE
The Amelia Earhart 'lost star' correlation dates back to Greek mythology and astronomy. Atlas had seven daughters who were metamorphosed into stars. They became the constellation known as the Pleiades in the night sky; a bright star cluster situated within the larger constellation of Taurus.
All of the seven sister stars have names and six of them glow brightly. But the seventh one in the middle cannot be seen by the naked eye. Her name is 'Electra,' and she is referred to as 'the weeping sister;' weeping because she does not glow like her other sisters and cannot be seen... even though people know she's there. For this reason 'Electra' has oft been referred to as "the lost star of the Pleiades."
Comparatively, the last time Amelia Earhart was seen she was taking off from Lae, New Guinea in a silver twinkling airplane called 'Electra,' named for the same 'weeping sister' star of the Pleiades.
Although history recorded how she became 'lost without a trace' some twenty-odd hours later while still airborne, many claimed strong evidence conveyed how Amelia Earhart still existed on earth afterwards... but she could no longer be seen. This is why Amelia as well, is often referred to tongue-in-cheek wise as "the lost star of aviation." But few recall the old Greek astrological correlation.
Of course Amelia Earhart was among the most courageous women American history ever recorded. Stellar-wise... she was every bit of a mega-star who ended as a supernova.
It's true, during her fame years from 1928 to 1937 Amelia Earhart was nothing less than a world loved heroic superstar. Especially to her own gender, she was regaled as much as Charles Lindbergh had been. But just as Lindbergh's did, the pangs of Amelia's world fame never gave her a moment's rest, were often intrusive, and by 1934 she found herself still smiling for the cameras but constantly running away from them as well.
If one tracks the amount of traveling Amelia did, and the different far apart places she spent time in from mid-1934 until she was reported 'missing' in 1937, the list is staggeringly formidable if not somewhat disturbing. It appears almost too obvious how she was intentionally staying on the move for some reason, cavorting with her country's top political and even some military figureheads, and some of the wealthiest private American citizens during said time period. Yet her reason for doing so didn't appear as simple as the 'death wish' President Hoover was said to believe she had. But in mid 1934, from the time she visited a dude ranch in Wyoming and then relocated to Los Angeles from New York, she was hardly ever idle and she hardly ever rested. It's almost as if some kind of revelation occurred to her in 1934 that cause an incredible shift in the way Amelia started viewing things and more significantly, in the way she started viewing herself. And began living her life on the run. What happened to her, by Job?
In 1927 Charles Lindbergh became the first man on earth to solo a plane across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1932 Amelia Earhart became the first woman on earth to do the same thing. It became hard to argue against the notion, that the two of them as separately viewed in the light of their similar accomplishments, ended as (perhaps) the two most world-wide famous persons of their era.
Lindbergh and Earhart's heroic aviation status back then, was comparable to that of the 1960s NASA astronauts. Except Lindbergh and Earhart were mere private citizens who were not coddled and protected the way NASA cherished its astronauts. And such left their very beings as open targets for the enormous fame status they delivered to themselves. Look what became of Lindbergh's life from the early to late 1930s. It wasn't all that pretty.
But it can be said, where Lindbergh was akin to an Alan Shepherd astronaut figure who was the first American in space, Amelia Earhart ended more like a combination of Gus Grissom and John Glenn astronaut figures. For Gus Grissom's first space flight was deemed a success but it had faltered at the end... just as Amelia's solo Atlantic crossing was viewed. Then, while Amelia was attempting to become the first person ever to pilot a plane around the world at the Equator, (likened in her day to how John Glenn was later the first astronaut to orbit the earth in space) she failed to succeed... and her life was sadly determined to have ended tragically. Sadly Gus Grissom of course, was supposed to have been one of the first Apollo astronauts, but he tragically lost his life in a test capsule fire in 1967, thirty years after Amelia Earhart 'disappeared.'
But enough of the analogous homages. It's clear how starting in 1934, something had suddenly propelled Amelia Earhart's life erratically forward in too many different directions. Again, what happened to her? Why did she change so drastically after she soloed the Atlantic in 1932, then seemingly spent the year of 1933 so happily based in New York... while devoted to the new enterpreneurialism her Atlantic solo flight afforded her? Really, what happened to Amelia Earhart in 1934 that made her change so much?
The answer is more accessible than people think. For the change Amelia endured had to do with a prominent northeast family whose surname was "O'Crowley," and a friend of Amelia's from said family who was known as Irene O'Crowley Craigmile.
END CHAPTER ONE
STAY TUNED FOR CHAPTER TWO
3 comments:
What happened in 1934? Was it the birth of Irene's son? Irene's death? Both?
Why would these events trigger a change in Amelia Earhart's behavior?
Or was it something else? Did she have some kind of revelation? Does the trip to the "Dude Ranch" factor in somehow?
It seems plausible enough to me to think that given what was going on in the Pacific in 1937 - the build up to War, etc. - Amelia would likely have been asked to fly over certain areas and report back to Washington on what she saw.
It also makes sense that Japan would have anticipated this, and would have taken steps to monitor her activities. If they saw something they didn't like, they would have certainly brought the plane down.
The prisoner of war theory always made sense to me. Not far fetched at all.
This notion of her returning to the US after Pearl Harbor but somehow ending up back in Japan prior to the end of the War is new to me.
Why on earth would someone return to a country where they were a hostage? It's like Terry Waite returning to Lebanon.
On the other hand, the post 1945 Irene visited Japan regularly, so maybe her stay wasn't so bad?
This is where I get lost.
The Irene/Amelia/Grace/Larry thing has my mind in a knot.
Let me see if I've got this straight:
There was an Irene born in the late 1800's - an attorney who ended up representing various Amelia Earhart business interests, such as the luggage line. She passes away in the early 1970's. She is known as Irene, Sr.
Irene, Sr. had a daughter, also named Irene, who met Amelia at an event that was held to commemorate one of Amelia's flight-related achievements. This Irene - known as Irene, Jr., was married, widowed, and remarried to a flight instructor in the 1930's. She may have been pregnant in the 20's, prior to meeting her first husband. That pregnancy may or may not have ended in miscarriage. She definitely had a son in the 30's - Larry Heller. She is supposed to be the Irene that lived out her days as a New Jersey Housewife. She is the one that seems to have vanished prior to World War 2.
But there may be another Irene referred to in the letters from Lucy McDannel. This Irene - also known as Irene, Jr. - ran errands for Irene, Sr., but wasn't old enough to have been the "Irene, Jr." daughter of Irene, Sr.? So who was she?
One of these Irenes, Jr. may have moved to Scotland around 1945. She may have been pregnant at the time.
A future pilot named Grace was born in Scotland in 1945, and grows up to become friends with the post- 1945 Irene, Larry Heller and Amelia Earhart's sister? She looks like Amelia, buys an Electra and visits Howland Island?
I am confused. Who are these two Irenes, Jr.?
Interesting story you have going here. Thanks for the link regarding the Irene-Amelia site.
I note several other commonalities between your site and mine... same background motif (mine is embellished more though) and you share many of my music interests, including Dylan. You should check out some of the Dylan portraits I have done which are posted on my blog (I believe one is around June 9)
My wife and I befriended a stree person in the 90's who was something of a savant... incredible details filled his head, and he had a profound interest in basaball (rich with stats), railroads, and aviation history. He was fascinated by everything having to do with Howard Hughes, but knew all kinds of history about everything from Wright Brothers to present. We co-wrote an article that I gave the byline to him shortly before he died, about the history of aviation, and of course Amelia is one of the items. We had not inkling of the additional backstory which you are offering here.
And so, may I ask what your connection is to this story? Why have you found it so compelling? Are you related to someone who knew Amelia-Irene? You're pouring a lot of energy into something that seems fairly obscure, though Hollywood is now getting its arms around profiting from her story. They will surely get it wrong whatever it is they do...
Have you considered the History Channel? What is your relation to the website? Are you involved with a team or... are you flying solo?
Send me an email at ennyman@northlc.com
Thanks
ed
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