PEA RIDGE — The story of the Wing Scout Troop began when the Rogers Unit of the Women’s National Aeronautics Association was formed on May 27, 1948, with 12 charter members.
The first officers of the group were: Mrs. J. O. Rand, president; Mrs. Buddy McGregor, vice president;
Louise Jefferson, second vice president; Gloria Adams, secretary; Mrs. W. T.
McWhorter, treasurer; Mrs.
Ralph McGregor, parliamentarian; and Doris Larimore, corresponding secretary.
In 1949, at a meeting of the WNAA in the home of Elsa Juhre (Schmitz), Mrs.
F. G. Larimore was elected president. Elizabeth Griffith Larimore was a licensed pilot with service overseas during World War I in the women’s division. Elizabeth’s sister-in-law, Doris Larimore, also served in the military as a ferry pilot during WorldWar II. (Rogers Daily News, July 1, 1950)
One of the most significant contributions of the WNAA and the subject of this article was organizing and sponsoring the first Wing Scout troop in the state. The Girl Scout troop, the Wing Scouts, was formed in Rogers on April 7, 1949. Members of the“Cloud Busters,” as the troop called itself, had to be first class Scouts of high school age. All the original 17 members had flight time in varying amounts, and all received instruction in the principles of procedures of flying. In addition to its varied social activities, the troop took part in numerous functions connected with flying.
The original “Cloud Busters” were organized and led by Doris Larimore and Louise Jefferson, both members of the Women’s National Aeronautics Association.
Two of the first officers of the group were Dorothy Hamilton (Lynch), president, (now of Pea Ridge) and Carol Decker, patrol leader. The first scout to be awarded a rating was Sherryden Green,who won the technician’s rating for thoroughly understanding engine and instrumental operation. The first member to actually solo was Joyce Hale. In the 1950s, she was working to save money for college, but her parentsgave her enough money for 10 hours of lessons. She soloed at the age of 16, before she learned to drive a car.
(E-mail information in April 2003 to Marie Demeroukas of the Rogers Historical Museum from Joyce Hale of Pea Ridge, who served two years as president of the Wing Ts.)
At the time the Wing Scouts were born, interest in flying was high, and the Rogers airport was a booming operation. The economy in northwest Arkansas was dependent on the production of broiler chickens, and the local hatcheries could not produce enough baby chicks. To solve the problem, baby chicks were flown in to the Rogers airport from the eastern states. In 1948 alone, more than 4 million chicks were unloaded from planes in Rogers.
The Wing Scouts were organized as a Girl Scout troop, but it was much more than that. It was based on flying, but was more like a high school sorority that performed many community services. Doris Larimore insisted on the girls learning proper etiquette in all phases of social life. The Scouts also performed projects to aid the poor in the area with visits to their homes. This was ataste of reality for the mostly affluent girls in the troop, for some of the needy had homes with only dirt floors.
Clarice Strode Moore, one of the original members of the Wing Scouts, said she didn’t appreciate it until years later, but these two women, Doris Larimore and Louise Jefferson, invested a tremendous amount of their time and life in the Wing Scouts (later the Wing Ts), entertaining, developing and educating the girls.
They worked to instill in the young high school girls the self confidence, knowledge, social consciousness and citizenship necessary for responsible adulthood.
Doris Larimore performed this valuable service starting in 1949 and continued for 30 years until the final class in 1979. Many of the later members were daughters of the original members of the Wing Scouts, including Mary Elizabeth Schopp, the daughter of Clarice Strode Moore.
Editor’s note: See photograph on page 5A of this week’s issue of The Times.
◊◊◊
Editor’s note: James F.
Hales is an author and historian in northwest Arkansas who writes a monthly column for the Rogers Morning News.
Opinion, Pages 4 on 12/08/2010