“Flying for Fun” – Amelia Earhart on Stage in Poughkeepsie

By Bill Kleppel

Madison Square Garden? Carnegie Hall? Lincoln Center? Ha! When it comes to historical spectacles of the finest caliber, they have nothing on Poughkeepsie High School!

Earlier this year, I’d written a post on the Melody Fair, which took place at Poughkeepsie High School in 1958. Gracing the stage that night was Eleanor Roosevelt and Jackie Robinson.

The story I present to you now is just another ho-hum historical convergence that took place at Poughkeepsie High School.  And once again, Eleanor Roosevelt is involved.

It’s November 19, 1932. Franklin D. Roosevelt is at home in Hyde Park. He and Eleanor are making preparations for their move to the White House. FDR was declared the president-elect just 10 days earlier, beating Herbert Hoover in a landslide.

Guests at his home that day were the prominent publisher George Palmer Putnam… and his wife, Amelia Earhart! Earlier in May of the same year, Earhart had become the first woman in history to make a solo trans-Atlantic flight; departing from Newfoundland, and landing Ireland in just 15 hours.

And if that weren’t enough of a dinner guest list, the Roosevelt’s also entertained Waldorf Astor and his wife, Nancy Langhorne Shaw, or Lady Astor. Lady Astor was presently a member of the British House of Commons.

Later on the evening of the 19^th, a party including Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Astors, were driven to Poughkeepsie High School to be a part of Earhart’s lecture series, “Flying for Fun.”

Earhart had already become one of the most recognizable figures in the world. She’d met Eleanor soon after her famous flight, and they quickly became friends.  After her record setting feat, Amelia set up a national speaking tour. It was aimed toward women who were excited to learn more about aviation.

Eleanor was a member of the local Women’s City and County Club. The members of this organization put the Poughkeepsie show together, and started selling tickets in September at their office at 12 Cannon Street.

“If you travel faster than 40 miles an hour by auto, you are actually in more danger than if you travel at full speed in a plane,” Earhart proclaimed to a packed house at the high school. She also told the audience how air travel is much safer here in the United States as opposed to Europe. “I know your Poughkeepsie Airport (now called Hudson Valley Regional) because I landed here once in a storm. And the beacon light you have here is one of a chain extending down the coast.”

She delighted the attendees with graphic descriptions of her flying exploits, including her famous flight from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland to Culmore, Northern Ireland.

To the surprise of many, Lady Astor took the stage after Earhart to speak of the need for women in politics: “We have let men go on far too long thinking that we are the weaker sex… Men have been trying for too long to manage such difficult and complex things…” She concluded by saying, “I am a politician, and am not ashamed to admit it!” to rapturous applause from the crowd.

Eleanor introduced Earhart and Astor to the audience. The soon-to-be First Lady was praised by both for being an accomplished educator, business woman, and leader.

Eleanor’s accomplishments accumulated and eclipsed those of most people over the next 30 years.

Eleanor and Amelia’s friendship flourished in the early to mid-1930’s. During a White House dinner in April of 1933, they decided to lead the party to the nearest airfield. In formal dinner attire, the two entered the cockpit of a waiting plane for an impromptu flight to Baltimore and back!

It’s unfortunate that Amelia Earhart is better known for her mysterious disappearance while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 than her ground-breaking achievements before it. She was a trailblazer who influenced so many during her relatively short life.

And while in the midst of carving out this amazing legacy, she happened to spend one special night on stage with two other legendary women at our high school right here in Poughkeepsie.

(A great thank you to library patron Beverly Allyn for bringing this story to our attention; we never would’ve known about this historic event if it weren’t for Beverly.)

References

• Pinchot, Ben. “Amelia Earhart: Image and Icon.” Image and Icon | 1International Center of Photography, 9 Feb. 2025, www.icp.org/exhibitions/amelia-earhart-image-and-icon.
• “Roosevelt Extends Stay in Washington.” Pro Quest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 Nov. 1932, www.proquest.com/hnpnewyorktimes/docview/99757944/C8549415F8054082PQ/1?accountid=38287&sourcetype=Historical%20Newspapers.
• “Miss Earhart Spans Sea in 15 Hrs.” Historical Newspapers from 1700s-2000s - Newspapers.Com, Daily News, 1932, www.newspapers.com/image/415039079/.
• “Amelia Earhart, Lady Astor Speak Here.” Historical Newspapers from 1700s-2000s - Newspapers.Com, Poughkeepsie Eagle News, 21 Nov. 1932, www.newspapers.com/image/114100933.
• “High School, Poughkeepsie NY.” CONTENTdm, Charles W. Hughes, mainandmarket.poklib.org/digital/collection/pokschools/id/147/rec/131. Accessed 17 Sept. 2025.
• “Fly With Amelia Earhart.” Historical Newspapers from 1700s-2000s - Newspapers.Com, Poughkeepsie Eagle News, 17 Nov. 1932, www.newspapers.com/image/114099936.
• “Pilots in Evening Gowns: When Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt Took to the Skies.” Kwww.Amightygirl.Com, 20 Apr. 2025, www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=25357.
• “First Lady Flies with Miss Earhart.” ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The New York Times, 21 Apr. 1933, www.nypl.org/research/collections/articles-databases/proquest-historical-newspapers.