A Step By Step Biography Of
The Original Irene Craigmile
Part I: The Beginning
According to record, the original Irene Craigmile was born 'Irene Madaline
O'Crowley' in Newark, New Jersey on October 1, 1904. Her true birth year was disputed however, and her
birth certificate was never located.
She
became 'Irene Craigmile' by marriage in 1927, then 'Irene Heller' by a second marriage in 1933. The
second marriage was annulled in 1940, re-enabling the name of 'Irene Craigmile' for further legal use.
The original Irene Craigmile was an only child. It was conveyed
how her Mother, Bridgette Doyle O’Crowley died when the original Irene was twelve years old.
During her childhood the original Irene was known by her maiden name 'Irene
O’Crowley,' although at some point she was given the family nickname of 'Bee.'
In
1920 the U. S. Census described the original Irene to be living with her Grandmother Sarah Rutherford O'Crowley, her Aunt
Irene Mary Rutherford O'Crowley, (the Attorney who would later become a Zonta Sister friend of Amelia's) and a live in housekeeper.
Their listed address was on Lombardy Street in Newark, New Jersey.
The original Irene had been taken in to be further raised by her Grandmother and Aunt because
her Father, Joseph Richard O’Crowley purportedly fell victim to alcoholism following her Mother's death.
Curiously, the 1920 Census listed the original Irene as "age 14."
The original
Irene was conveyed (questionably) to have been engaged to a physician in 1923, but
such a marriage never materialized.
The original Irene married Charles Craigmile in 1927, a respected Civil Engineer
in New Jersey from Rantoul, Illinois who was fifteen years older than she.
In 1928 the original Irene met the newly-famous pilot, Amelia Earhart and the already well
known New York pilot, Viola Gentry in Newark, New Jersey. The meeting took place at a Zonta banquet held in Amelia's honor.
The banquet was emceed by the original Irene's Aunt, Attorney Irene Rutherford O'Crowley, who had invited her Niece to attend.
In 1931 the original Irene's husband, Charles Craigmile suddenly and tragically
died of an appendicitis attack in Detroit while on a road trip with Irene. The two were returning to Newark from a visit with
Charles' parents at the time.
In
1932, not long after Amelia's solo-Atlantic conquest, the newly widowed and still bereaved original Irene Craigmile started
taking flying lessons on Long Island, New York. Her "pals," 1929 Ninety-Nines charter members and good friends Amelia
and Viola helped to arrange flying lessons for her. Viola's then husband, Jack was said to have been her first flying instructor,
although two pilots Amelia knew by the names of Carl Harper and Al Heller also instructed the original Irene from October
of 1932 to May of 1933.
In
1933, not long after earning her pilot's license on May 28, 1933, the original Irene realized herself to be pregnant out of
wedlock. In August of 1933 the original Irene eloped to Ohio to wed her child's Father, Al Heller.
In early March of 1934 the original Irene's Son, Clarence 'Larry' Heller
was born.
Part II: Conceptualizing Key Forensic Anomalies
No
clear childhood, grade school, high school, college, family group, or wedding photos of the original Irene were ever located
by research investigators.
As
well, photos identifying the Irene Craigmile who Joe Gervais met and photographed in 1965, do not precede 1945.
In other words, the Irene Craigmile who retired U. S.
Air Force Major Joe Gervais met and photographed in 1965, appears nowhere in photographs identified as Irene Craigmile prior
to the 1940s.
Even though they were historically supposed to have been the same person, prior to 1945 two
different women other than the one Joe Gervais met and photographed in 1965 were alternately identified as the same Irene
Craigmile, according to the life-long photo history of Irene Craigmile Bolam. One was the original Irene, the other one was
not.
Again, after 1940 photos of the original
Irene Craigmile are no longer seen in the photo record of Irene Craigmile's (later 'Bolam') person.
By the late 1990s, after over two decades of researchers off
and on debating the point, it began to appear evident how the Irene Craigmile Bolam who Joe Gervais met and photographed in
1965, had been the woman Formerly Known As Amelia Earhart after all. The forensic
argument evolved to include solid deductive reasoning logic, and revealing physical and character trait comparisons. Apparently,
and for reasons not clearly ascertained, the original Irene Craigmile's identity was newly attributed to Amelia Earhart some
time after Amelia turned up 'missing' in 1937. It was further determined how such a transfer had to have taken place during
the World War Two era.
Part III: Retracing The Steps (Some repeated info shown in a different light.)
According to a letter Amelia's past friend and famous pilot, Viola Gentry wrote to Joe Gervais
in 1966... Viola and Amelia first met the (original) person known as Irene Craigmile in 1928 at a Zonta banquet given in Amelia's
honor.
[Note: The Zonta organization was
and still is a distinguished international club for professional business women. The club was founded in Buffalo, New York
in 1919. In the 1930s Amelia Earhart and her friend, Attorney Irene Rutherford O'Crowley were two of its most prominenent
members, Amelia of course, easily having been the Zonta's most famous member then.]
Viola recalled how such a
Zonta banquet followed Amelia's Friendship flight. The newly famous Amelia joined the Zontas then, and as mentioned the banquet
for her had been emceed by Attorney Irene Mary Rutherford O'Crowley, the original Irene Craigmile's fairly prominent Aunt
who would remain a good friend of Amelia's.
At her young age in 1928 and not being a business woman, the original
Irene Craigmile was not a Zonta member. (The original Irene Craigmile never became a Zonta member.)
The original
Irene Craigmile was invited to Amelia’s Friendship flight banquet by her Attorney Aunt Irene so she could participate
in the festivities, and to hopefully meet Amelia. By way of her Aunt, the original Irene Craigmile was introduced to Amelia
Earhart and Viola Gentry at that time, according to Viola Gentry years later.
Again, after the original Irene
Craigmile’s husband Charles died in 1931... by the following October of 1932 Viola and Amelia were helping to introduce
the original Irene Craigmile to the world of flying airplanes. They did so at Floyd Bennett and Roosevelt Fields on Long Island,
New York. The original Irene Craigmile took her first flying lessons at those two airfields.
In the Spring of
1933 the original Irene Craigmile's pilot instructor was one Alvin Victor Heller. They hit it off, and soon the two were dating.
In late May of 1933 the original Irene Craigmile was awarded her pilot's license.
Not long after
the original Irene Craigmile was awarded her pilot’s license, she realized she was newly pregnant with Al Heller’s
child.
Al and the original Irene Craigmile eloped to be married shortly thereafter, and they were County Clerk
wed in the city of Columbus, Ohio in August of 1933.
Al Heller was a barnstorming pilot and flight instructor when
he met the original Irene Craigmile, and he continued to be one after they were married. His work required him to travel on
a regular basis.
When the original Irene’s Son, Clarence Alvin Heller (AKA Larry Heller) was born in early
March of 1934 in Newark, New Jersey, Father and husband Al Heller was "not in attendance."
By the late 1930s Larry Heller's Father, Al Heller had relocated to Buffalo, NY where he worked at the Curtis-Wright
aircraft facility. (By 1940, according to record, Al's marriage to the original Irene Craigmile had been annulled.)
Larry Heller, who was three to five years old in the late 1930s, later described
how he and his 'mother' relocated to Mineola on Long Island where they lived with his "Aunt Gert" during said time
period. He affirmed he was also often cared for by a woman named Mary Eubank during his childhood, a past schoolmate and friend
of the original Irene Craigmile's, while his 'mother' learned the banking business.
The annulment file from the original
Irene’s fairly brief and unstable marriage to Al Heller is substantial.
Curiously, it contains a statement from Al Heller describing his awareness, of how when the original Irene married
Charles Craigmile in 1927 she was pregnant with another man's child. (There are three terse letters from Al Heller to his
estranged wife, Irene in the annulment file. The file contains no letters written by Irene.)
Al Heller appeared to believe the original Irene miscarried the child she was carrying in 1927,
but that may not have been the case according to the O'Crowley's own family history. (See
further below.)
Part IV: Amelia's Personality and the ZONTA Organization
[NOTE: Amelia Earhart's personality was repeatedly described as one that commanded both public
and private sides to it. To public audiences and friends whom she admired and/or highly respected, she was always thoroughly
engaging and very polite, if not entirely demure. At the same time, in the hangars and on the airfields among mechanics and
other pilots, she was said to have been a tough competitor who was prone to rough ascerbic language use ('a sailor's cussing
vocabulary') and those who knew her well enough, few they were, knew not to cross her for fear of her demanding temperament
and the potential of its wrath.]
In 1937 Zonta member, Amelia Earhart suddenly turned
up missing during the final stages of her world flight attempt. She was soon described as 'lost at sea, likely to have perished.'
At the time Amelia turned up missing in 1937 she was the Zonta organization's
most famous member. From 1938 to 1940, Amelia's esteemed past Zonta friend, Attorney Irene Mary Rutherford O'Crowley served
as President of the Essex County Zonta Chapter in Newark, New Jersey.
Although
Attorney Irene's true Niece, the original Irene Craigmile never was a Zonta member, Irene-Amelia became a distinguished Zonta
member after joining in 1945. She also served as a Zonta "International Relations Chairperson," cited for her ability
to speak several languages.
[NOTE: Back in 1928 after Amelia Earhart first became
famous, a co-worker of hers from Denison House in Boston described her friend, Amelia to a newspaper. In her June 22,
1928 interview for the paper, Pauline Coleman included this remark about Amelia: "...she speaks five languages fluently
and her pilot's license is written in the five languages which she speaks."]
Part
V: Separation of Church and State
In July of 1941, United States Presidential Cabinet Member and Secretary of the Treasury Henry P. Morgenthau Jr.
issued Seton Hall University President, Monsignor James Francis Kelley of Rumson, New Jersey a commendation award for 'three
years of patriotic service.'
Three
years earlier, in 1938 as recorded by Dictaphone during a meeting held by the same U. S. Secretary of the Treasury Henry P.
Morgenthau Jr., record transcripts include Morgenthau replying to a query generated by Eleanor Roosevelt. The First Lady's
query pertained to questions about the 1937 disappearance of Amelia Earhart. In his officially recorded response Henry Morgenthau
avoided offering specific details to First Lady Roosevelt. Rather, he plainly indicated he could not release certain withheld
information about Amelia's loss saying, "I hope I've just got to never make it public." Mr. Morgenthau also curiously
remarked "Amelia Earhart absolutely disregarded all orders" adjacent to the time of her disappearance, and how if
what really happened were to be made public, "any reputation she's got is gone." The official authenticated transcript of the entire conversation bears the date of 'May 13, 1938.'
In 1982 when a newspaper reporter asked Monsignor James
Francis Kelley (who Sec. Treas. Morgenthau issued the commendation award to in 1941) about his recently deceased good friend,
Irene Craigmile Bolam having been the former Amelia Earhart..., Monsignor Kelley responded by saying, "I could not state
my feelings. Doing so would violate everything I learned in the confessional." The quote appeared in newsprint.
Part VI: Things The Future Held In Store
In 1984 when an elderly past friend and former legal
clerk of Attorney Irene Rutherford O'Crowley's was queried about Irene Craigmile Bolam's life, in a reply letter she wrote
she included her own "I'm confused" admission. The friend, one Lucy McDannel who was by then in her eighties, had
worked with Attorney Irene from the 1920s to the late 1930s.
Lucy McDannel confirmed how Amelia’s friend,
Attorney Irene Mary Rutherford O'Crowley (b.1885-d.1974) had been a "very dear friend" of Lucy's as well.
Lucy McDannel wrote how Attorney Irene had served as a legal contract adviser for Amelia Earhart's famous luggage line.
Its corporate headquarters was based in Newark, NJ into the 1960s. She also mentioned Attorney Irene's past alliance with
the Zontas, and her friendship with one Nina Price, a well known publicist and Zonta member who had also been a good friend
and business associate of Amelia's.
Strangely enough, Lucy McDannel also described the "Irene Craigmile"
she knew of as "Irene Jr.," and recalled her as "16 or 17 years old in 1940." She referred to "Irene
Jr." as somewhat of an 'errand runner' and 'helper' for both Attorney Irene, and for Attorney Irene's prominent physician
brother, a well know Urologist by the name of Dr. Clarence Rutherford O'Crowley.
It is noticeable in Lucy McDannel's 1984 letter how she makes no mention
of the original 'Irene Craigmile' who would have turned age thirty in 1934. (Or twenty-eight according to the 1920 U. S. Census.)
So much is why she was confused. Lucy McDannel could only attribute the Irene Craigmile she recalled, to have been the much
younger "Irene Jr."
It
appears to have been the case, how during the early World War Two years the original Irene Craigmile was no longer attentive
within her own extended family realm. What became of her has never been authoritatively described.
As well, no
O'Crowley family records list such a person as an "Irene Jr." The inference indicates the "Irene Jr."
girl as a past non-disclosed reality. Within the O'Crowley family realm of her era, it later appeared she was not the only
non-disclosed reality.
In 1984 Lucy McDannel also described how in 1930 Dr. Clarence O'Crowley and his Wife, Violet adopted a 'Son'
and named him 'Clarence Jr.' (Dr. O'Crowley turned age fifty in 1930, and Clarence Jr. was he and his
wife, Violet's only child.) In 2006 the 1934 born original Irene Craigmile's Son, Larry Heller described
'Clarence Jr.' as 'several years older' than he.
In 2003 Clarence Jr.'s Daughter, Peggy O'Crowley remarked how it was always "a family bone of contention"
as to whether or not her Father was a legitimate O'Crowley. (Such might explain what became of the original Irene O'Crowley
Craigmile's 1927 pregnancy described by Al Heller in their annulmant file.)
"Irene
Jr." appeared to have somewhat served as a 'nanny baby-sitter' for the original Irene Craigmile's Son, before Irene-Amelia
segued into his life to serve as his permanent mother-figure.
Somewhat contrary to, yet also in line with a statement
he made in 2004 about being aware of more than one woman identified as his 'Mother' in the 1982 New Jersey Tribune series...
in 2006 Larry Heller only recognized the younger version of the "Early 1940s Family Identified Irene" (AKA 'Irene
Jr.') as his 'early childhood Mother,' while also indicating he grew up believing he only had one Mother.
Of course,
according to the forensic analysis it became clear how in the past more than one woman had employed his Mother's identity,
while it also appeared as possible if not probable, how by design throughout his childhood as he grew, it was meant for the
original Irene's Son, Larry Heller to believe he only had 'one mother.'
Larry Heller affirmed how by 1945 he'd been sent to live and be educated at a boarding school. He eventually served
in the Air Force, and went on to become a Pan Am pilot of globe traveling 747s. He also became a helicopter pilot. Today he
is retired, is a pretty good golfer, and spends time between his homes in Florida and New York.
Larry Heller always maintained he held no photos of his Mother pre-dating 1947.
Part VII: Irene Goodnight
To recap: So far four different 'Irenes' have been discussed
within the context of this story. They are: (1.) The original Irene Craigmile (2.) Attorney Irene Mary Rutherford O'Crowley
(3.) Irene-Amelia AKA The '1945-1982 identified Irene Cragmile' AKA the former Amelia Earhart (4.) Irene Jr.
To also recap: In 2006 Larry Heller identified a woman in photographs who
was not the original Irene Craigmile, nor the Irene Craigmile who Joe Gervais met and photographed in 1965... to have been
his early childhood mother. Since 2002 the woman Larry Heller identified as his 'Mother' from his early childhood, has been
conveyed by researchers to have most likely been the "Irene Jr." who Attorney Irene's past friend, Lucy McDannel
referenced and described as "16 or 17 years old in 1940."
Most importantly, in her 1984 letter Lucy McDannel wrote, "In
1945 Irene Sr. (AKA 'Attorney Irene Rutherford O'Crowley') was not intimate with Irene Jr. otherwise she would not have called
on me or the attorney Bee Parvin for certain complexities."
It was ascertained how "Irene Jr."
had moved away in 1945. Research yielded the possibility of her briefly relocating to Scotland while still single, in all
likelihood while 'with child.' To further such an ascertainment, after giving birth to her child and having it placed fo adoption,
Irene Jr. returned to the United States where she took up residence in Connecticutt.
Dr. Clarence O'Crowley's adopted Son, Clarence Rutherford O'Crowley Jr. and 'Irene Jr.' were
not genetically related, but they were fairly close age wise, and they grew up in close proximity to one another into the
1940s.
In 2003 Peggy O'Crowley mentioned how her Father, Clarence
Rutherford O'Crowley Jr. resided in Connecticut.
In
Randall Brink's 1994 W.W. Norton book, Lost Star Mr. Brink attributed Connecticut
as the last place of residence for the potential former Amelia Earhart he referenced.
Randall Brink was invited to the 1982 Memorial Dinner given for Irene Craigmile Bolam, when
the ascertained Irene Jr.'s older image appeared on the program cover identified as the newly deceased 'Irene Craigmile Bolam.'
The Irene Craigmile Bolam who Joe Gervais met and photographed
in 1965, (Irene-Amelia) mainly resided in New York and New Jersey from the 1940s on, until she died in 1982. She and her British
husband, Guy Bolam also had a home in North Carolina. She was also very fond of Scotland and traveled there to visit friends
whenever she could. It has been furthered how among the reasons Irene-Amelia did travel there, included the "certain
complexities" Lucy McDannel referenced in her 1984 letter, as they pertained to Attorney Irene Mary Rutherford O'Crowley
no longer being intimate with 'Irene Jr.'
It is also possible after her brief
stay in Scotland, Irene Jr. relocated back to the U. S. where she took up residence at Monsignor Kelley's Rumson, New Jersey
home, or at one of Irene-Amelia's homes.
In 1945 a future pilot named Grace McGuire was born in Scotland. She was adopted and raised there
in the town of Kirn. She visited New Jersey in the early 1960s. There she took her first flying lessons at Red Bank Airport
just before she turned eighteen.
In the late 1960s, while in her early twenties Grace McGuire permanently relocated
from Scotland to Rumson, New Jersey, the same home town of the aforementioned
Monsignor James Francis Kelley, (1902-1996) the distinguished Catholic Church emissary and a former President of Seton Hall
University, and long time good friend of Irene-Amelia's.
After
earning her pilot wings, Grace McGuire eventually purchased a Lockheed Electra airplane identical to the model once owned
by Amelia Earhart. For a time, Grace McGuire's Lockheed Electra Model 10E was being stored in a hangar in Connecticut.
In the 1970s Grace McGuire, who bore a striking resemblance to Amelia Earhart,
was identified as a 'good friend' of Amelia's survived Sister, Muriel Earhart Morrissey.
After initially refusing to comment about it to the press in 1982, in 1991
Monsignor James Francis Kelley finally admitted during a taped interview how his dear late friend, the same "Irene Craigmile
Bolam" who Joe Gervais met and photographed in 1965... indeed had been the former Amelia Earhart. He had also mentioned
how after the war she stayed with him for "three or four weeks" as he helped her with her new identity, and he also
afforded her ongoing counseling and 'spiritual guidance' afterwards. Monsignor Kelley also described how for her own non-specified
reasons, she no longer wished to be known as 'Amelia Earhart.'
Adversaries to the 'Earhart survived' theory tried to claim Monsignor Kelley was 'mentally
crippled' with old age dementia and senility, and the Monsignor 'made up' the story about his long time dear friend Irene
Craigmile Bolam having been the former Amelia (Irene-Amelia) to inflate his attention starved ego.
As mentioned, it was known how Monsignor Kelley had not only served as Irene-Amelia's
confessor, but he also served as her ongoing therapist. Kelley, a highly educated man held doctorates in psychology and philosophy.
Listening to his 1991 recorded interview, Monsignor Kelley speaks with unassuming sureness as he discusses his late close
friend, Irene Craigmile Bolam, AKA 'Irene-Amelia.' Monsignor Kelley's Sister Gertrude was also a good friend and later-life
traveling partner of Irene-Amelia's. It was suspected, but never verified by Larry Heller that Mosnignor Kelley's Sister Gertrude
had been the "Aunt Gert" Larry Heller described, with whom he and Irene Jr. took up residence for awhile in the
late 1930s to early 1940s in Mineola on Long Island, New York.
In 2006 the National Geographic Channel was clearly informed about the 1997-2004 forensic analysis,
the 2002 discovery of plural Irene Craigmiles who had shared the same identity, the realized fraud of the 1982 Tribune series,
and the information yielded about Irene-Amelia by Monsignor James Francis Kelley. The channel also agreed to cover the multiple
Irene's discovery in its upcoming Earhart special. Instead, by the time it's 'Unsolved History' Amelia Earhart special aired
in 2006, National Geographic had ultimately chose not to address any of these more recently learned of 'Earhart case'
issues. Rather, it diminished the true historical value of the decades old Irene-Amelia conveyance, and barely afforded it
more than a few minutes of airtime.
Part VIII: Irene-Amelia, Muriel Grace, Irene Jr., Grace, and Larry
As mentioned, and more:
In the late 1960s the Scotland born pilot, Grace McGuire relocated to Monsignor Kelley's home
town of Rumson, New Jersey.
Grace McGuire owns a Lockheed Electra. She named it "Muriel" after Amelia
Earhart’s Sister, Muriel Grace Earhart Morrissey.
Grace is friends with the original Irene Craigmle's Son,
Larry Heller, and she also affirmed herself to have known the Irene Craigmile Bolam who Joe Gervais met and photographed in
1965, (AKA Irene-Amelia.)
Grace
McGuire was also good friends with Amelia's now late Sister, Muriel Grace Earhart Morrissey. Some researchers believe it to
be no coincidence how Grace McGuire was named "Grace."
Ever since Irene-Amelia was first implicated to have been the former Amelia
Earhart in 1970, Muriel Grace Earhart Morrissey admitted when asked, how she had known and been in touch with Irene Craigmile
Bolam (Irene-Amelia) through her own Zonta club circles. Today Amelia Earhart is still revered as one the the Zonta organizations
most famous past members, and Zonta boasts its own Amelia Earhart Scholarship Foundation.
In 1985 Grace McGuire and Muriel Grace Earhart Morrissey traveled to Hawaii together to commemorate
the fiftieth anniversary of Amelia Earhart's Hawaii to Oakland solo flight.
In 1986 Grace
McGuire traveled to Howland Island, the 1937 destination Amelia never made it to. On Howland Grace was photographed waving
the flag of her birthplace of Scotland, along side the state flag of Kansas, Amelia's birth place.
It has long
been noticed how Grace McGuire bears an uncanny resemblance to Amelia Earhart.
In March of 1998 Muriel Grace Earhart
Morrissey died at the age of ninety-eight years.
In 2006 Grace McGuire and her good friend, the original
Irene Craigmile's Son, Larry Heller had intended to fly around the world together in Grace's Lockheed Electra. Mr. Heller
was to serve as Grace's navigator. The plan had been to commemorate the 2007 70th anniversary of Amelia’s world flight
with their flight’s success.
Their plan ultimately fell through. Still, it all ended as hard not to notice;
the bizarre coincidental friend and familial connections of Irene-Amelia, Amelia's Sister Muriel Grace, Grace McGuire, Larry
Heller, Amelia's past friend in the late Attorney Irene O'Crowley, Monsignor James Francis Kelley, the storied Irene Jr.,
and Amelia's other past friend, who was the original Irene Craigmile.
With these odd and less-than-defined
family and friend connections, and the three generations of physical appearance similarities between Amelia, Irene Jr., and
Grace McGuire... in the midst of it all, the somehow existence of a biological
mother, daughter, and granddaughter relationship the public never knew about appears as possible, or even plausible.
* *
*
Some Notes:
"Of course
I knew Irene. She was a Sister Zonta." Amelia's Sister, Muriel
Grace Earhart Morrissey refers to Irene Craigmile Bolam in a quote from The Woodbridge New Jersey News Tribune, 1982.
(Note: It was reported how Grace McGuire also knew Irene Craigmile Bolam.)
Regarding the prestigious
'Wings Clubs' in New York and Washington, and who used to show up there now and then, consider the following:
"(Peter) Busatti [who had known Mrs. Irene Craigmile Bolam for many years] said he accompanied Mrs. Bolam to the Wings
Club in New York City on one occasion. He said a full length portrait of Amelia Earhart hangs in the room dedicated in her
honor. "'It was a dead ringer for Irene,'" he said. "'Sometimes I thought she was, sometimes I thought she
wasn't.'" "'I told her she looked like Amelia Earhart and she said, 'No, I don't look like her.'" Busatti said.
At a Wings Club event in Washington, Busatti mentioned admirals and generals seemed to know her." "Once when he
asked her directly [if she was formerly known as Amelia Earhart] she replied ""When I die you'll find out.""
1982 Woodbridge New Jersey, News Tribune.
See the 1986 Howland Island photo, and read about Grace McGuire's
'Wings Club' meeting in the 'Wilder Network' at www.wildernetwork.org/Grace.html
[NOTE: The WILDER Network
is a Super organization. The word "WILDER" stands for "World International Lyme Disease Emergency Rescue Network."
Grace McGuire is a WILDER VIP.] The following can be read on its Website:
"In the midst of her
search for an aircraft, McGuire attended a function at the Wing's Club in New York, where she met Muriel Earhart Morrissey,
Earhart's sister."
""(Grace) ...it was instant love. We hit it off right away."" The meeting
led to a friendship that would last for years."
""...I reminded her of Amelia, but she said that
wasn't the only reason she liked me,"" said McGuire, of the woman (Muriel Grace) who became one of her staunchest
project supporters."
Below can be read on the WILDER hompage:
"Grace is amazing!
She is an inspiration! Is it just a coincidence that she loves to fly, and that she is called Amelia Earhart's look-alike?
...Or that she decided to complete Amelia's fateful trip?
Was it just a coincidence when Grace found a duplicate
of Amelia's aircraft, one of only 15 Lockheed Electra L-10E's, made in 1935? ...Or that she became fast friends
with Amelia's sister, Muriel? ...And that Grace named her L-10E aircraft 'Muriel'?
We think not! In fact, the more
you learn about Grace, the more clear it becomes that Grace McGuire's dreams are truly her destiny."
