I like Cindy-Vicky

Today I want to explain how my family influenced my life’s passion. People who know me think that my passion for aviation was due to my brother. My brother flew a plane before he drove a car. I don’t remember anything about his flying days. He got his private license and flew for a few years.

He became an aeronautical engineer and worked for Boeing for 40 years. Today he is retired but is a Docent and researcher at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. When I was in Seattle he gave me a tour at this wonderful museum.
Today he has many other interests and I think I’m more into aviation then he is. All he remembers about our Aunt Vicky is the saddle she kept in my parent’s basement. Vicky had her own horse but when she was separated from her husband she bounced from place to place. One of those places was my parents home. I also remember the saddle but nothing else comes to mind about Vicky. I was about 5 when she lived in Chicago. My brother is two years older and he doesn’t remember anything either.
I know I went on a family vacation to see Aunt Vicky. I was about six when we visited her in San Diego. Vicky had remarried a man named George LaMonte. I don’t remember anything about that trip or George.

It wasn’t till my dad passed away that I developed my interest in aviation and Vicky. Dad had possession of an old suitcase of Vicky. I went through the newspapers, pictures and medals of Vicky’s interesting life. I became enthralled with Vicky and aviation.
In future posts I will explain what I found in this magical suitcase.
It wasn’t until the last few posts that I realized I was finding myself as I learned about aviation and Vicky. I know now that I am Cindy-Vicky or Vicky-Cindy and that I am beginning to like the person I became. I never felt that way before.

I am grateful for technology that has taken me back decades and yet me also helped me live in the present.

Thank you for reading and following. I wish you all:
BLUE SKIES AND SOFT WINDS THAT TAKE YOU THROUGH THIS FASCINATING RIDE…CALLED LIFE.

Family Florsheim

Today I want to explain how my family influenced my life’s passion. People who know me think that my passion for aviation was due to my brother. My brother flew a plane before he drove a car. I don’t remember anything about his flying days. He got his private license and flew for a few years.
He became an aeronautical engineer and worked for Boeing for 40 years. Today he is retired but is a Docent and researcher at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. When I was in Seattle he gave me a tour of this wonderful museum.
Today he has many other interests and I think I’m more into aviation then he is. All he remembers about our Aunt Vicky is the saddle she kept in my parent’s basement. Vicky had her own horse but when she was separated from her husband she bounced from place to place. One of those places was my parents’ home. I also remember the saddle but nothing else comes to mind about Vicky. I was about 5 when she lived in Chicago. My brother is two years older and he doesn’t remember anything either.
I know I went on a family vacation to see Aunt Vicky. I was about six when we visited her in San Diego. Vicky had remarried a man named George LaMonte. I don’t remember anything about that trip or George.

It wasn’t till my dad passed away that I developed my interest in aviation and Vicky. Dad had possession of an old suitcase of Vicky. I went through the newspapers, pictures, and medals of Vicky’s interesting life. I became enthralled with Vicky and aviation.
In future posts, I will explain what I found in this magical suitcase.
It wasn’t until the last few posts that I realized I was finding myself as I learned about aviation and Vicky. I know now that I am Cindy-Vicky or Vicky-Cindy and that I am beginning to like the person I became.

I am grateful for the technology that has taken me back decades and yet I also helped me live in the present.

BLUE SKIES AND SOFT WINDS THAT TAKE YOU THROUGH THIS FASCINATING RIDE CALLED LIFE.

Victorine Florsheim Lederer My Beautiful Aunt

My Aunt Vicky stopped flying in 1938. I found a form saying that she never renewed her medical. So, I assume that she wasn’t allowed to fly again.

  There wasn’t any information about her after 1938. I wonder if she assisted in the war effort. Maybe, she worked in the canteen where service men came to unwind. She never joined the Women’s Air Service Corp. because that her flying time was limited.

  In my mind, I think she experienced prejudice because she was Jewish. Maybe not but she never joined the 99s that was open to all women that had a license to fly. She was invited but maybe she was intimated because she didn’t feel comfortable with these more experienced pilots.

 World War 11 began in 1939 and I am curious what she did with the money she was paid by husband and his family. William C. Durant, the Founder of General Motors, and the brother-in-law of Vicky’s husband also paid her to stay away from her husband.

  I surmise she used the money to travel and then to learn to fly. She probably used up all the money. She moved around to different addresses like her brothers, her sisters and my parent’s home.

  Obviously, she was broke but she still lived the high life. During the war Vicky still wore silk stockings that were hard to find. Nylon was invented in 1935. Silk was used for parachutes and silk was hard to find.

  Vicky also loved to drink Courvoisier an expensive Cognac. It must have been hard to find but Vicky had to live well. Some of these statements are family lore. Maybe not. I know she lived at my parents’ home and that my mother didn’t like Vicky. This must have caused a lot of tension because Vicky was my father’s sister.

  I remember seeing a saddle in our basement. My father told me that she owned a horse even in though The Depression was causing everyone a difficult life. I have no idea how she was able to live so high. Jewish women in the 30s didn’t travel and fly planes they just married and had children. I think my grandmother and grandfather weren’t thrilled with her lifestyle.

 I picture Vicky as a strong and courageous woman. She sure was different from other women of her generation. That’s why I love her and feel that I’m like her. It’s hard to determine that because I barely knew her.

  I never even knew that she was a pilot until 1986 when my father died. It was at this time that I received her memorabilia. It was filled with pictures and newspaper reports of her flying days.

  There are many gaps in my research, and I am curious if my thoughts are true. I think I am like her in many ways. I am willing to try new things and I never quit.

 See my post called Vicky- Cindy or Cindy-Vicky to learn more about my thoughts. Maybe, I just want to be like her but maybe I’m not. My parents rarely talked about her, so I had to rely on the memorable I received.

  The puzzle of Vicky’s life concerns me. I wish I had asked my parents or Vicky’s sister about her. I never did so I have to rely on her memorabilia and my imagination. Someday I hope to fill in the pieces about the puzzle of Vicky. For now, I have to be satisfied with the Vicky that I think I know.

more about me

My fun loving aunt

Cindy-Vicky at the controls. I don’t know why they wouldn’t let me fly the plane out of the museum

 

I am watching a DVD about the brave women of the Powder Puff Derby and thinking about my Aunt Vicky. She was not a famous pilot but she must have been very brave. I wonder how my grandparents felt. They must have been so scared for their daughter. I think they must have disapproved. I think about my father and her sister. He probably was worried about his sister. I wish that I had asked my dad about Vicky. My  grandparents died before I was born and I didn’t know Vicky till I was about six years old. When my father died I received Vicky’s memorabilia. I didn’t even know she was a pilot. I was amazed. I began researching about Vicky but I found out that she sure wasn’t in the same category as the women pilots I have profiled. Still she was famous to me. Everything about Vicky fascinated me. She was a small women like several women racers. Then the similarities disappear. Or do they? She flew a plane during the Golden Age of Aviation. Imagine my aunt was famous in my eyes.

I try to think how she became a pilot. My grandparents weren’t rich and no one was adventurous in the family. Yet, Vicky did the unusual.

I believe she became a pilot after her second husband walked out on her. Her husband’s family was wealthy and he was related to William C. Durant, the founded General Motors. Both families paid her to stay away from her husband. I think that Vicky used that money to travel around the world. After her travels she became a pilot. Was she running away from sadness or was she an adventurous soul? I will never know but I dream about her often. I am strong and tenacious just like Vicky but I don’t think I am running away from anything. I am running toward new ideas. I guess I am Cindy-Vicky or Vicky-Cindy.  

Writing is a good outlet for me to say what I can’t say in person. Thank you for this opportunity to tell you about Vicky and I am happy that I can communicate these feelings to others. Writing is fantastic outlet me.

Maybe I am Vicky

Vicky in her cloche hat and lovely fur

I am watching a DVD about the brave women of the Powder Puff Derby and thinking about my Aunt Vicky. She was not a famous pilot but she must have been very brave. I wonder how my grandparents felt. They must have been so scared for their daughter. I think they must have disapproved. I think about my father and her sister. He probably was worried about his sister.

I wish that I had asked my dad about Vicky. My grandparents died before I was born and I didn’t know Vicky till I was about six years old. When my father died I received Vicky’s memorabilia. I didn’t even know she was a pilot. I was amazed. I began researching about Vicky but I found out that she sure wasn’t in the same category as the women pilots I have profiled. Still she was famous to me. Everything about Vicky fascinated me. She was a small women like several women racers. Then the similarities disappear. Or do they? She flew a plane during the Golden Age of Aviation. Imagine my aunt was famous in my eyes.

I try to think how she became a pilot. My grandparents weren’t rich and no one was adventurous in the family. Yet, Vicky did the unusual.

I believe she became a pilot after her second husband, Ward Lederer, walked out on her. Her husband’s family was wealthy and he was related to William C. Durant, the founded General Motors. The Lederer and the Durant family paid her to stay away from her husband. I think that Vicky used that money to travel around the world. After her travels she became a pilot. Was she running away from sadness or was she an adventurous soul? I will never know but I dream about her often. I am strong and tenacious just like Vicky but I don’t think I am running away from anything. I am running toward new ideas. I guess I am Cindy-Vicky or Vicky-Cindy.

I am happy that I can communicate these feelings to others. Writing is a good outlet for me to say what I can’t say in person.Thank you for this opportunity to tell you about Vicky and about myself. 

I have published another post called Vicky-Cindy and I may publish it again.

Vicky’s Letters to Me

When I was in college Vicky wrote many letters to me. I was very moved by them. This was when Vicky lived in San Diego with her husband George LaMonte.

I had never met George and she spoke very little about him. She seemed very happy and I was thrilled for her. After two failed marriages she seemed content.

She was so encouraging about my academic and social life. I was so touched.  She told me that she prayed for me every night. She wanted those prayers answered.

This letter was written in 1968 and I am glad that her prayers were answered. They were when answered when I received the “Treasure Box” filled with the stories of her life. This blog has changed my life because I know have the confidence in my life to pursue my dreams.

I wish I was with her before she died. She was cremated and I don’t remember my father talking about her death. Even then I knew I loved her. I felt I had a unique relationship with her. I called myself Cindy-Vicky and talked about my feelings in a previous post. I am crying as I let you know my feelings toward this special lady.

Flying In A Byplane

I took my first Biplane ride at DeKalb Airport. It was a wonderful sunny day and I stood in line to take my turn to ride in the Biplane. The pilot dressed as a pioneer pilot and it was so exciting. It was an half hour flight around the airport. At first I was scared but I got used to the flight. After a few minutes I got used to the flight and was so excited that I didn’t want to get off after the flight was over. I felt just like Vicky must of felt when she took her first flight.

Flying became my passion

Picture of Vicky at Tower of Pissa

I have never seen the Tower of Pissa…what a treat it would have been to travel with Vicky. I guess i was born in the wrong decade.Vicky-Cindy and Our Journey

Vicky’s pictures of her travels have no captions or any type of markings so I had to guess the location and year. I know that Ward, Vicky’s husband walked out on her in 1923. I know that because I found an article in the New York Times that described the incident. The date on the article as 1925 and it mentioned that Vick had been searching for Ward for two years. That would make the time of her travels as after 1925. As I had mentioned in previous posts that Vicky would not have been able to travel if her husbands family and the Durant family hadn’t paid her to stay away from her husband. So now her travels were approximately 1926 to 1929, or 1930. The dates are important to understand the crazy times. It was the Roaring 20’s before the crash. Maybe it was somewhat acceptable for a women to travel alone. She was 38 or 39 married but not living with her husband. It must have been a terrible time for Vicky. She was married but she was alone. So it was time for her to travel. Maybe it was really me travelling. I love to travel…meet new people and…learn new ways of living. I stare at Vicky’s pictures and I see a beautiful lady that wanted so much more out of life. I see a lady that was given a raw deed in life. I also see me and her together we deserved to get more out of life. I first met Vicky when I was about six. I never asked her about her travels or her flying. My parents never talked about her because she was The Black Sheep of the Family. My mother really disliked her because of her wild behavior.

As I researched all of Vicky’s paraphernalia and the web I pieced together as much as I could but it is the pictures that attracted me.  I don’t know if I am looking at me or Vicky. We do look somewhat alike but it’s not the resemblance that I see…it’s the sadness in her eyes. I see the needyness…and also the tenacious and adventurous attitude that I see. Or am I dreaming about the person I wish I had become.

I know that the pictures without captions are just pretty pictures to most people but to me they are treasures .