Sandstone in Summers County, West Virginia — The American South (Appalachia)

Lelia Pearl Bragg Laska Chamberlain

Photographed By J. J. Prats, July 25, 2021

1. Lelia Pearl Bragg Laska Chamberlain Marker

Inscription.
Born 1909 in Summers County, she learned to fly airplanes in 1933. One of few women instructors in the pre-WWII Civilian Flight Training Program, during the war she was in Women Airforce Service Pilots and a Pentagon cryptologist. In 1946, she became the first woman to solo a single-engine plane up the Alaska Highway. Honored by FAA as Pioneer Alaskan aviator, she died in 2012.

Erected 2020 by Summers County Historical Society and West Virginia Archives and History.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Women. In addition, it is included in the West Virginia Archives and History, and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) series lists. A significant historical date for this entry is November 22, 2012.

Location. 37° 46.446′ N, 80° 53.456′ W. Marker is in Sandstone, West Virginia, in Summers County. Marker is at the intersection of West Virginia Route 20 and River Road (Local Route 20/7), on the left when traveling south on State Route 20. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Sandstone WV 25985, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. William Richmond Homeplace / Sandstone Falls (approx. 0.3 miles away); Batteaux on the New (approx. 0.7 miles away); Sandstone School

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(approx. 0.7 miles away); Brooks Overlook-Welcome (approx. 2.8 miles away); Andrew & Charles Lewis March (approx. 4.8 miles away); Fayette County / Summers County (approx. 5.6 miles away); In Remembrance of the First WV Fish and Game Warden (approx. 7 miles away); Summers County Courthouse (approx. 7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sandstone.

Regarding Lelia Pearl Bragg Laska Chamberlain. Pearl Bragg Chamberlain: “every hour spent in the air gave a person an extra day on earth.” She lived to age 103.

Also see . . .
1. Pearl Laska Chamberlain. Wikipedia entry (Submitted on May 17, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

2. Lelia Pearl Bragg Laska Chamberlain 2012 Obituary. Legacy website entry:
Excerpt:

Gracious and even-tempered, Pearl allowed no nonsense when it came to flying, but asserted that every hour spent in the air gave a person an extra day on earth. A life member of the 99's (the association of women pilots), she did not follow the cult of Amelia Earhart (ten years her senior) whom she met, but did not know personally. “She got lost,” was Pearl’s final assessment of “AE,” whom she recognized as an important
Photographed By J. J. Prats, July 25, 2021

2. Lelia Pearl Bragg Laska Chamberlain Marker
pathfinder in women's aviation. The wearing of slacks was Amelia's greatest contribution to women, insisted Pearl, who said it was just as easy to fly in a skirt as well. Pearl insisted that Jacqueline Cochran, a few years older than she, and Jerri Cobb, much younger, were the best women pilots of the era.

(Submitted on August 9, 2021.)

Pearl Laska as WASP trainee image. Click for full size.

Collection of Bessewisser99 via Wikimedia Commons, circa 1944

3. Pearl Laska as WASP trainee

In 1946 she was first woman to solo a single-engine airplane (a 1939 Piper J4) up the Alaska Highway. The FAA recognized her achievements as a pioneer Alaska aviator in 2006.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 17, 2022. It was originally submitted on August 9, 2021, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 300 times since then and 52 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 9, 2021, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.