“Go and compete. We can marry at the end of August. You could still coach if you want to. You don’t need a college degree for that.” He laced her fingers through his own, and his hands were cool and dry. How did he always manage to stay so calm and collected? A lifetime with Bill would be safe and happy. How could it not be?
And I won’t be a burden on my family anymore. The temptation to alleviate her father’s worries pulled at her.
“Yes, of course.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled close to him. He tilted her head back and kissed her.
“You’re shaking,” he said.
“I can’t help it. I’m so excited.” She pulled back and looked around the airfield like she’d forgotten where they were and then started to pull on her leather flying cap. “My stomach is already flipping before I’ve even gone up into the air.”
“Forget the plane. Let’s go celebrate now.”
“No, this’ll just take a minute, and I’m so hot. I’ll yell the news from the plane to everyone below.”
“Well, in that case.” He laughed and kissed her on the nose. “Be sure to wave at me from up there.”
She opened the car door and stepped onto the grass not far from where her cousin’s sporty little red Waco biplane waited. Wilson and his friend Harold were inspecting the control panels in the pilot’s cockpit.
“Hey, Betty,” called Wilson. “I had some trouble getting her started a few minutes ago, but it looks like we’re back in business.”
Bill stepped from the car and cupped his hand around his mouth to shout, “Take care of this girl. She’s going to be my bride.”
“No kidding.” Wilson looked at Betty, eyebrows raised. “Wow, congratulations! You still want to go up? Don’t you two have something better to do now?”
“We’ll have all summer to celebrate, but I’ve been dreaming of cool air over the lake all morning,” she said. “Want me in front here?” She gestured toward the front seat and Wilson nodded.
Harold dropped to the ground and backed away, waving. “Yeah, it’ll be perfect up there. You two kids have fun.”
From his seat behind Betty, Wilson saluted Harold and Bill and then flipped the switch to start the plane’s engine. The roar of the propeller filled the air. Betty arranged her goggles over her eyes before blowing a kiss to Bill as the little plane sped down the runway and then lurched upward. There was a blur of parched grass and the field dropped away. Betty’s stomach flipped as the small plane rose. The miracle of flying never failed to leave her breathless. She allowed her gaze to leave Bill and she watched the houses and buildings of Harvey and Riverdale shrink to something resembling a child’s doll village. From above, the missing sections of roofs on abandoned factory buildings gaped; dusty yards littered with abandoned tires, broken appliances, and other garbage became visible. Acme Steel’s smokestacks belched out wisps of black smoke. Automobiles crept along the ribbons of roads like ants. Ahead, Lake Michigan glittered across the horizon, tiny white sailboats dotting its surface like pieces of confetti. The air cooled and the tiny blond hairs on Betty’s forearms rose in goose pimples in the sudden coolness of the altitude. She was on top of the world and let out a loud cheer.
Wilson hooted in response and put the plane into a dive to show off his latest maneuvers. Betty grabbed on to the edges of her seat as the plane began a steep decline. For several minutes he wowed her with a series of steep ascents and descents, and she laughed and laughed, loving the exhilaration that filled her with each new trick.
They had just reached the top of an ascent when a jolt shuddered through the plane. The propeller in front of Betty stuttered and then appeared motionless. An eerie silence surrounded them.
Betty sat straighter in surprise at this latest stunt.
Behind her, Wilson mumbled to himself. Everything felt suspended. Aware that she had stopped breathing, Betty exhaled and marveled at the stillness. Blue sky surrounded them, not a single cloud in sight. A perfect day to be in the air.
And then the plane tilted downward.
Sharply.
Before she could register what was happening, they were plunging toward the earth. Where was Bill? Could he see what was happening? The tops of trees, mere pinpricks moments ago, now swelled like opening umbrellas as they hurtled toward them. A riot of sounds filled Betty’s ears, but it wasn’t from the propeller—it was the roar of rushing air, Wilson shouting, and her own screaming.
THE CHICAGO EVENING STANDARD
July 1, 1932
“Girl Olympian Mistaken for Dead”
Harvey—When Mr. Fisher, the undertaker at Oak Forest Funeral Home, received the lifeless body of a young girl taken from the wreckage of a plane, he paused before preparing her for the Great Beyond. Even in her grievous state, she looked familiar. It was at that moment that he noticed her chest rising and falling and called for emergency services, thereby narrowly averting a tragic mistake!
So who was this hapless victim?
None other than Miss Betty Robinson, whose infectious smile and fleet feet captured the nation’s heart after she won a gold medal in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam.
On Sunday, June 28, Miss Robinson, 20, had joined her cousin Wilson Palmer, 18, in his plane for a short ride to escape the heat. After several minutes in the air, the engine stalled at a height of 400 feet before plummeting into a nearby marshy field. A witness found Palmer alive and took him to Ingalls Memorial Hospital, where he is in serious but stable condition with a fractured jaw and broken legs.
Miss Robinson, currently a coed at Northwestern University, remains in a coma at Oak Forest Infirmary. Doctors are not yet commenting on the extent of her injuries, but her accident has shaken her former Olympic teammates and coaches. Major Gen. Douglas MacArthur, head of the 1928 Olympic team, expressed his
