Oral history interview with Ann M. Bohrer

Collection

Identifier: SR 9361

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Ann Mary Bohrer was conducted by Patricia Keith at the Troutdale Airport in Troutdale, Oregon, on May 12, 1980, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library’s oral history program. A transcript is available.

In this interview, Bohrer discusses her early interest in aviation, and that of her brother, Walt Bohrer, including hanging out at the Vancouver Airport and taking flying lessons in Portland from Tex Rankin and Hans Mirow. She shares her experiences as a woman pilot trainee in the 1920s and 1930s. She talks about doing stunt flying, about doing parachute jumps, and about close calls she experienced while flying. She closes the interview by discussing the changes in planes during her time as an aviator.

Dates

1980 May 12

Creator

Bohrer, Ann (Interviewee, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Biographical note

Ann Mary Bohrer was born in Hancock, Michigan, in 1904. The next year, her family relocated to Portland, Oregon. She and her brother, Walt Bohrer, took flying lessons from Tex Rankin and Hans Mirow in the 1920s and 1930s. She also worked as Rankin's secretary. She wrote for Western Flying and Sportsman Pilot, and also co-wrote several books on aviation with Walt Bohrer, including "Twenty Smiling Eagles," "Tales Up" and "This is Your Captain Speaking." From 1946 to 1976, she worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She was a member of the OX5 Aviation Pioneers, a national association of pilots who flew solo before 1940. She died in 1993.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (2 audiocassettes (55 min., 53 sec.) + transcript (27 pages))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Ann M. Bohrer conducted by Patricia Keith on May 12, 1980. Bohrer discusses her experiences as a woman aviator in Portland, Oregon, in the 1920s and 1930s.