Reinhold, Ruth Aviation Collection

RUTH REINHOLD AVIATION COLLECTION FM MSS #14 TITLE: The Ruth Reinhold Aviation Collection [b. 1902 – d. 1985] DATE RANGE: 1857 - 2006 CALL NUMBER: FM MSS #14 PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 24 linear ft. (21 boxes plus oversized items) PROVENANCE: Donated by Ruth Reinhold. Donated to the Arizona Historical Society in 2012 by the Arizona Historical Foundation. COPYRIGHT: The Arizona Historical Society owns the copyright to this collection. RESTRICTIONS: This collection is unrestricted. CREDIT LINE: The Ruth Reinhold Aviation Collection, FM MSS 14, Arizona Historical Society-Papago Park. PROCESSED BY: Michaelanne E. Ehrlich, May 2006 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Ruth Reinhold (1902-1985), a pioneer of aviation history, was one of the first woman pilots in Arizona. Born and raised in Boston, Ruth studied fine arts at Boston University and the University of California at Los Angeles before moving to Arizona in 1933. Her first trip to Phoenix’s then small Sky Harbor airport led to a meeting with the airport manager to arrange for flying lessons. Several weeks later, the fiery Reinhold was completing her first solo flight. Ruth’s professional career progressed when she began work at Sky Harbor airport for Copperclad Airlines. Her duties included bookkeeping, answering phones, and helping with aircraft maintenance all for $7.50 per week. The added incentive was two hours of flying time. The incentives soon paid off as Ruth obtained both a commercial and private pilot’s license. She left secretary work behind and never looked back. Over the next thirty-five years Ruth taught students, demonstrated and sold aircraft for her co-owned company Associated Aircraft Service, and worked in charter and executive flying that took her from coast to coast. She marked many milestones in aviation, from barnstorming to teaching pilots to fly four-engine bombers during World War II in the Civilian Training Program. She probably was best known for being Barry Goldwater’s pilot for 20 years. The two had met in the 1930’s and their friendship grew when Ruth trained Barry before the start of WWII to help him upgrade to a commercial pilot’s license. This made her the natural choice not only to train other members of Barry’s family in flight but also to serve Reinhold, Ruth- 1 of 25 Arizona Historical Society at Papago Park, 1300 N. College Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281 Phone: 480-929-0292 ext. 174, Email: [email protected] as his personal pilot. Ruth worked as Senator Goldwater’s private pilot during his 1958, 1968, and 1972 campaigns for U.S. Senate and assisted by flying short trips for colleagues and Barry himself during the presidential campaign of 1964. She adhered to a demanding schedule that took the Senator and his strategists across the state and the country. In addition to her work as a pilot, Ruth also served on the Phoenix Aviation Advisory Board, the Arizona Department of Transportation Board, and she was the first female member on the Arizona Department of Aeronautics Board. She was a member of several organizations to include the OX-5 Club and the Ninety-Nines Organization of Women Pilots. In 1969, Ruth received the OX-5 Club Amelia Earhart Pioneering Achievement Award for 35 years of dedication to aviation. Ruth’s passion for Arizona history and a collection of stories from different airstrips, pilots, and townspeople grew into a desire to gather and produce a book detailing Arizona’s prominent place in early aviation history. Her efforts culminated in Sky Pioneering published in 1982. To this day it is the most comprehensive account of Arizona’s place in aviation history. The Ruth Reinhold collection includes extensive research notes and correspondence, original newsletters and manuals, organizational records of early Arizona airlines, and over a thousand extraordinary photographs. These include breathtaking surveys of Arizona landscapes, photos of people, aircraft, and events documenting Arizona aviation history. SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE: This collection includes correspondence to and from Ruth Reinhold, personal and business financial information and manuscripts but the bulk of the material is comprised of substantial research files collected and used by Reinhold in the process of writing her book Sky Pioneering. Within the research file series are correspondence from witnesses and historians, news clippings, notes, and statistics on various airports, pilots, events, and general aviation topics. The Ruth Reinhold Aviation Collection also contains over a thousand rare photographs of pilots, airplanes, events, and spectacular sights in the early days of Arizona aviation. This collection is arranged in seven series. Series I: Personal; Series II: Correspondence; Series III: Research; Series IV: Manuscripts; Series V: Ephemera and Personal Memorabilia, Series VI: Photographs, and Series VII: Oversized Items. Series I: Personal The first series includes personal family documents and biographies of Ruth as well as her personal financial records and last will and testament. The series contains several files of paperwork, proceedings, and projects from numerous public boards and committees that Ruth served, including the Arizona Pilots’ Association, the Arizona Department of Aeronautics, and the Arizona Department of Transportation. Included also in the business subseries are the financial statements and tax records for Reinhold’s own companies Ace Court and Associated Aircraft Sales, Inc. Box Folder Title Dates 1 1 Personal: Awards and Commendations 1963 - 1980 Reinhold, Ruth- 2 of 25 Arizona Historical Society at Papago Park, 1300 N. College Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281 Phone: 480-929-0292 ext. 174, Email: [email protected] 2 Personal: Biographical Material 1968 - 2006 3 Personal: Richard and Ruth Reinhold Personal September 25, 1945 – Financial Records January 16, 1984 4 Personal: Reinhold Family Documents 1900 – 1963 5 Personal: Will, Ruth Reinhold 1980 6 Personal: Boards and Committees, Arizona August 22, 1973 – Corporation Commission October 8, 1974 7 Personal: Boards and Committees, Arizona March 24, 1975 – Department of Transportation February 10, 1976 8 Personal: Boards and Committees, Arizona January 25, 1979 – Pilots’ Association May 25, 1982 9 Personal: Boards and Committees, Arizona June 19, 1968 – Department of Aeronautics (1 of 2) May 10, 1974 10 Personal: Boards and Committees, Arizona May 1968 – Department of Aeronautics (2 of 2) May 7, 1974 11 Personal: Boards and Committees, Arizona 1974 - 1977 Department of Transportation 12 Personal: Boards and Committees, Central April 15, 1982 – Arizona Museum of History Aviation Heritage October 24, 1984 Committee 13 Personal: Boards and Committees, City of March 1979 – Phoenix Aviation Department (1 of 2) December 1982 14 Personal: Boards and Committees, City of January 1983 – Phoenix Aviation Department (2 of 2) June 1985 15 Personal: Boards and Committees, Maricopa September 18, 1974 – Association of Governments October 7, 1974 16 Personal: Boards and Committees, OX5 1969 – 1985 Aviation Pioneers, Arizona Wing 17 Personal: Business, Ace Court Financial 1946 - 1949 Ledgers (1 of 2) 18 Personal: Business, Ace Court Financial 1950 – 1958 Ledgers (2 of 2) 19 Personal: Business, Ace Court Tax Returns 1950 – 1957 20 Personal: Business, Associated Aircraft Sales, September 28, 1944 – Inc. Correspondence January 20, 1953 21 Personal: Business, Associated Aircraft Sales, April 16, 1946 – Inc. Financials and Tax Returns September 30, 1949 22 Personal: Business, Associated Aircraft Sales, November 10, 1949 – Inc. Insurance Policies 1955 23 Personal: Business, Associated Aircraft Sales, August 14, 1945 – Inc. Invoices April 1, 1951 24 Personal: Business, Associated Aircraft February 28, 1947 – Service, Inc. Financials and Tax Returns (1 of 2) February 29, 1948 Reinhold, Ruth- 3 of 25 Arizona Historical Society at Papago Park, 1300 N. College Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281 Phone: 480-929-0292 ext. 174, Email: [email protected] 25 Personal: Business, Associated Aircraft March 31, 1948 – Service, Inc. Financials and Tax Returns (2 of 2) February 28, 1949 26 Personal: Business, Associated Aircraft 1945 – 1947 Service, Inc. Inventory 27 Personal: Business, Goldwater Campaign November 4, 1964 – Flight Summary November 5, 1968 28 Personal: Projects, Aerozona: A Historical January 12, 1985 – Perspective April 1986 29 Personal: Projects, Catalina Street October 30, 1984 – November 8, 1984 30 Personal: Projects, Douglas Municipal Airport November 22, 1973 – Historical Landmark May 27, 1976 31 Personal: Projects, Sky Harbor Airport Noise May 18, 1983 – Abatement April 7, 1985 32 Personal: Projects, Terminal Control Area, Sky September 28, 1979 – Harbor Airport March 29, 1983 Series II: Correspondence Series II contains correspondence to and from Ruth Reinhold both personal and relating to the research for her manuscripts. These files are organized alphabetically by last name and then chronologically within the file. Letters not containing a last name reference are organized by first name. Items of interest include files containing numerous letters of correspondence with both Bert Fireman, then Director at the Arizona Historical Foundation, and Senator Barry Goldwater. Correspondence regarding the publication and permissions for Sky Pioneering contain letters to and from University of Arizona Press, copy editors, and interested aficionados. Box Folder Title Dates 2 1 Correspondence: A May 8, 1968 – June 6, 1984 2 Correspondence: B March 2, 1934 – May 18, 1984 3 Correspondence: C September 21, 1933 – May 22, 1984 4 Correspondence:

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