Amelia Earhart, Where Are You?

Facilitator: Sara Hoffman, 970-217-8762, hoffmyers@aol.com Dates: Thursdays, February 12 — February 26, 2026 (3 Weeks) Time: 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM Optional Texts: “The Aviator and The Showman, Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage That Made An American Icon” (2025) and “East To The Dawn, The Life of Amelia Earhart” (1999). Additional Course Materials to be distributed by the facilitator Presentations: None—discussion encouraged Location: Foxtail 2, Senior Center, Class Limit: 25-30

Amelia Earhart’s fame soared highest when she vanished. She was already well known as an author, social worker, and feminist, but her disappearance over the Pacific Ocean secured her place as a worldwide heroine. Born on July 24, 1897, in Atchison, Kansas, Earhart began flying in her 20s. In 1928, she was the first female pilot to fly across the Atlantic. Nine years later, she set out to cross the Pacific, confident that her plan would succeed. “Please know I am quite aware of the hazards,” she said. “I want to do it because I want to do it.” But she didn’t do it. Her plane disappeared near Howland Island where she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, were scheduled to refuel. Since then, the public has gone wild imagining what might have happened. Did she and Noonan survive? Were they captured by the Japanese? Did Earhart return to the United States and live under an assumed name? Did the plane, which has never been found, crash and sink into the ocean? Join us as we dig through the theories and examine Earhart’s life as a global celebrity.