Evelyn Harris was born in 1897. Her father was the treasurer of the Brattleboro Savings Bank. Her Brother, Fred Harris, was a year and a half older and went on to become a Brattleboro legend. He graduated from Dartmouth College, became President of the Brattleboro Outing Club, organized the construction of the ski jump named after him, founded the Retreat Meadows Air Field, became a pilot and was a famous New England sportsman.
Evelyn Harris, Fred’s little sister, was just as driven and motivated as Fred but she did not have the same opportunities. While Fred attended Dartmouth College and became an investment banker and real estate developer; Evelyn went to Miss Porter’s School for Young Women. From there she attended the progressive Finch School in New York City. While both programs emphasized women’s rights; neither provided paths to independent, professional careers.
One hundred years ago a successful woman was one who married well and raised a family. Evelyn Harris did not fit that formula. She was an outdoor adventurer more in the mold of Amelia Earhart than a woman looking for an eligible husband.
During World War I, while men went to war, Evelyn volunteered at the Fort Dix military base in New Jersey. In 1919 an airplane was hired by the Valley Fair to offer rides to adventurous fairgoers. Evelyn was the first passenger, male or female, to fly in a plane over Brattleboro. In 1920 she went on a six week horseback riding exploration of the Canadian Rockies and British Columbia. In 1921 she traveled through northern Europe for three months and flew in a plane from Paris to London over the English Channel.
In 1921 Evelyn and Fred competed in male and female Lake Placid Cross Country Skiing competitions; both came in first place. In 1922 she drove an automobile to Boston to take interior decorating classes. When she was in town, during winter break, she took school children on ski outings. She was a member of the Brattleboro Outing Club and participated in all of its activities.
In 1922, when Evelyn was 25 years old, the Outing Club decided to formally establish an Aviation Field on the northern end of the Retreat Meadows. This area had been used unofficially by pilots for a few years and Fred and Evelyn Harris were the major organizers of the project.
Airplanes were relatively new inventions. They were not reliable and many people remained afraid of them as they often broke down and became uncontrollable.
On August 18 the Brattleboro Aviation Field at the Retreat Meadows was dedicated and 3000 people came to see flying stunts done by seven different planes. Evelyn Harris opened the festivities by raising the American flag at the beginning of the day’s speeches. The Governor of Vt., James Hartness, attended and many people became airplane passengers for the first time.
As the day was winding down, one last plane ride was begun…Evelyn Harris climbed into a biplane with two other passengers and the pilot began his take off at the northern end of the Meadows. Tragically, the plane did not gain enough height and one wing clipped an elm tree. The plane veered to the right, crossed the West River, hit an electric power line and crashed to the earth. The two passengers were killed instantly; the pilot was able to jump from the plane just as it hit the ground and received minor injuries. Evelyn was trapped in the burning plane and the pilot went back to pull her out of the wreckage, but she was badly injured. She was rushed to the hospital, but died early the next morning.
Evelyn Harris’s life was cut short. Sadly, she died at the age of 25. When researching her life we began to wonder what she would have done next. Would she have become a pilot herself? Her interests were traversing the mountains, chasing adventures, flying through the sky and pursuing outdoor challenges. She was a public, independent soul at a time when that was not the norm.