DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of the story etched on the official marker for Jimmie Hudson Kolp, out of Wichita County. Now, before we get into this, I want you to understand something about the pioneer era of aviation. Most women were discouraged from participating altogether, or at best handed some subordinate role and told to be grateful for it.
Most women. Not all. A few brave ones flew anyway.
Jimmie Hudson Kolp was one of those few. She was born in 1904 in Copperas Cove, down in Coryell County. When she was eight years old, her family moved to Electra, and that's where her story really takes root.
For years, nothing unusual — and then 1928 arrives, and with it a chance meeting with a pilot. One conversation. One moment.
And just like that, something in Jimmie Hudson caught fire. She didn't wait around. April 9, 1929, she began flight instruction.
The aircraft? An Alexander Eaglerock biplane fitted with a Curtiss OX5 engine. You want to talk about learning to fly, that's where you start — up in a biplane, the wind finding every gap in your jacket, the whole rattling, magnificent contraption doing its best to stay in the sky.
That Christmas, her husband Charles — that's Charles Kolp, born in 1878 — gave her two gifts that together amounted to a life's calling. A single-engine Spartan aircraft. And 120 acres near Electra.
Those 120 acres would become Kolp Air Field. Charles, it seems, understood exactly who he'd married. When World War II came around, Kolp put that field to work.
She held events there to raise money for war bonds. And those same grounds were used to train Air Force pilots stationed at nearby Sheppard AFB. In a time when women were still being told to stand aside, Jimmie Kolp was running an airfield that was training the men going off to war.
And the records she holds — well. She was the first aviatrix in Wichita County, and among the first in the state and in the nation. She became the first woman commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Texas Civil Air Patrol.
These weren't honorary titles. She earned every one of them. Now here's where the story stretches out across the globe, because Jimmie Kolp's adventures took her just about everywhere.
In India, she met a female co-pilot for Indian Airlines — imagine that encounter, two women who refused to be grounded, finding each other on the other side of the world. In South Korea, she witnessed the released crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo return to the United States — she was there for that moment of history, watching it happen firsthand.
And in Australia — this is the one that gets me — her plane got stuck in the mud, and it was four escaped convicts who helped free it. Four escaped convicts. You genuinely cannot make that up, and with Jimmie Kolp, you don't have to.
Over her lifetime, she logged more than five thousand hours in the air. Five thousand hours. She was a state, national, and international supporter of aviation advances, and she spent forty years as a member and officer of the Ninety-Nines — the organization for female aviators founded by Amelia Earhart — advocating for women pilots every step of the way.
Jimmie Kolp died in 1970. Her last flight was herself, at the controls, flying to Dallas for medical attention. Even at the end, she flew herself.
She is buried in New Electra Cemetery, not far from the 120 acres where she once looked up and decided the sky was exactly where she belonged.
What the marker says
(1904-1970). During the pioneer era of aviation, most women were discouraged from participating or relegated to subordinate roles. In spite of these obstacles, a few brave women were among the first pilots. Born in 1904 in Copperas Cove (Coryell Co.), Jimmie Hudson moved with her family to Electra in 1912. She became fascinated with flight after a chance meeting with a pilot in 1928 and began flight instruction April 9, 1929, in an Alexander Eaglerock biplane with a Curtiss OX5 engine. For Christmas in 1929, her husband, Charles (1878-1947), gave her a single-engine Spartan aircraft and 120 acres near Electra that would become Kolp Air Field. During WWII, Kolp held events at the air field to raise money for war bonds, and the field was used to train Air Force pilots stationed at nearby Sheppard AFB. Kolp was the first aviatrix in Wichita County and among the first in the state and nation. She was also the first woman commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Texas Civil Air Patrol. Kolp's adventures took her all over the world, including India, where she met a female co-pilot for Indian Airlines; South Korea, where she witnessed the released crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo return to the U.S.; and Australia, where four escaped convicts helped free her plane, which was stuck in the mud. Kolp died in 1970 after flying herself to Dallas for medical attention. Over her lifetime, she logged more than 5,000 hours in the air and was a state, national and international supporter of aviation advances. She was a leading advocate for female pilots, serving 40 years as a member and officer of the Ninety-Nines, an organization for female aviators founded by Amelia Earhart. Jimmie Kolp is buried in New Electra Cemetery. (2020)