2023 Chautauqua: American Aviation: Barnstorming to Mach 1 - Dr. Doug Mishler as CHUCK YEAGER

Schedule of Workshops and Evening Performances

NEW LOCATION

All workshops and evening performances will be held at the Albert Johnson, Sr. Conference Center, 91 NE Maine Street, Lawton. The Conference Center is on the EAST side of the Douglass Learning Center on Gore Blvd. in Lawton.

Workshops: 10:00 am - 11:00 am & 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Evening Performances: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
 

Tuesday, June 20

• Workshop: 10:00-11:00 am 

Selene Phillips- Practicality Meets High Fashion: Women’s Aviation Uniforms: We’ll take a look at women aviators’ stylish journey from A-2 leather aviator jackets, to the trainee’s Khaki slacks (called “general’s pants”), to single-breasted Air Force Blues.

• Workshop: 2:00-3:00 pm

Doug Mishler - Chuck Yeager, “The Beast,” and Beyond:  This multi-media workshop will be an in-depth focus on Yeager’s test pilot years with all its ups and downs - from the start in Ohio flying the first Jets in 1945, on through the X-1 and X-1A days to his F-104 crash in 1963.

• Performance: 7:00-8:30 pm – Albert Johnson, Sr. Auditorium

Elsa Wolff as AMELIA EARHART

Wednesday, June 21

• Workshop: 10:00-11:00 am 

Ilene Evans - The Tuskegee Airmen Legacy:  Black Wings in Blue Skies – stories behind the black pilots trained in the Civilian Training Programs.  These men changed America’s policies toward African Americans and shattered long held assumptions about their abilities in advanced science and military operations.

• Workshop: 2:00-3:00 pm 

Elsa Wolff - Amelia Earhart:  The Final Flight into Mystery - “What happened to Amelia?” Eight decades later and we still want to know.  Theories are many, from the plausible to the outrageous. Learn about Amelia’s last flight and the theories behind her disappearance including the newest developments in the on-going search.

• Performance: 7:00-8:30 pm – Albert Johnson, Sr. Auditorium 

Selene Phillips as EULA “PEARL” CARTER SCOTT 

Thursday, June 22

• Workshop: 10:00-11:00 am

Karen Vuranch - Fly Girls:  In World War II, aviation was a new and growing field.  Air power would prove to be an important weapon of modern warfare and every pilot in the Army Air Forces and the Navy was needed in Europe and the Far East.  The WASP, Women Air Service Pilots, was formed to for women pilots to serve in non-combat positions. Over 1,000 women ferried planes to war zones, tested aircraft, towed targets for practice and completed a number of other tasks. This workshop will look at the WASP organization and the brave women who served.

• Workshop: 2:00-3:00 pm 

Selene Phillips - Miles and Miles of Clear Oklahoma Skies:  Set in rural 1920s Oklahoma, the 2009 movie Pearl explores the life of the youngest pilot in American History.  The workshop will discuss this special movie, filmed in Oklahoma and created by Chickasaw Nation Productions, and the girl who became a commercial pilot and local barnstorming celebrity before reaching adulthood thanks to her father and a special relationship with Wiley Post. .

• Performance: 7:00-8:30 pm – Albert Johnson, Sr. Auditorium

Ilene Evans as ROSE COUSINS 

Friday, June 23

• Workshop: 10:00-11:00 am 

Doug Mishler - The Cold War and the Race for Space:  A brief overview of what led to this intriguing part of the cold war competition and the characters and issues that were involved.

• Workshop: 2:00-3:00 pm

Ilene Evans - The Mystery and Adventure of Flight:  This workshop includes both literature and cinema – from Captain Midnight (the old-time radio show) to the Great Flying Ace (Snoopy) with excepts of film and aerial photography, poems, songs, and the wonder of flight.

• Performance: 7:00-8:30 pm – Albert Johnson, Sr. Auditorium 

Karen Vuranch as JACQUELINE COCHRAN 

Saturday, June 24

• Workshop: 10:00-11:00 am

Elsa Wolff - Women Aviators of WWII: A Brief and Personal look at women pilots from Europe during the 2nd World War - Hear dramatic first-person narratives from one of the infamous “Nachthexen” (Night Witches) of Russia; one of the ATA Ferry Pilots from England and Hanna Reitsch, German aviator and test pilot during WWII.

• Workshop: 2:00-3:00 pm

Karen Vuranch - Women of NASA:  Since the 195’s, America has been sending astronauts to space.  As nation, we watched space orbits and moon landings with fascination.  Although the early astronauts were men, over the years many women have been a part of the space program.  They served as engineers, technicians and specialists in many fields. But in 1983, Sally Ride became the first woman astronaut. Since then, many women have been on space missions.  This workshop will explore the contributions of women to NASA.

• Performance: 7:00-8:30 pm – Albert Johnson, Sr. Auditorium

Dr. Doug Mishler as CHUCK YEAGER