Jennifer Bean Bower, Award-Winning Author, Will Be The Featured Speaker

The International Women’s Air & Space Museum (IWASM) will host Dinner with a Slice of History April 29 featuring a special presentation by author Jennifer Bean Bower on her book, “North Carolina Aviatrix Viola Gentry: The Flying Cashier.”

Bower’s presentation will focus on Gentry's triumphs and tragedies in the world of aviation. From the moment Gentry decided to fly, she set a course for the sky and did not let anything - be it discrimination, financial hardship, misguided landings, crashes, physical limitations or tragedy - put an end to her dreams. She flew under both the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, became a well known celebrity and set the first official women’s solo endurance flight record. Gentry's story is one of determination and inspiration; it is a narrative that reveals the struggles of a working-class woman with an unyielding will to fly. Viola Gentry proved dreams do come true and contributed greatly to the history of aviation.

Jennifer Bean Bower is an award-winning writer, native Tar Heel, and graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Much of her research on Gentry was done at IWASM. Bower’s other works include “Animal Adventures in North Carolina,” “Winston & Salem: Tales of Murder, Mystery and Mayhem” and “Moravians in North Carolina.”

The mission of IWASM is to preserve the history of women in aviation and space and to document their continuing contributions today and in the future. In 1986 the museum opened in Centerville, Ohio.

Dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m., with the program beginning shortly thereafter. The cost for this event is $15 for IWASM members and $17 for non-members.

(Source: IWASM news release)

FMI: www.iwasm.org