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Violet Cowden Collection

 Collection
Identifier: WV 0399

Content Description

The collection includes a photograph of Cowden in cockpit, circa 1943; a portrait photograph of her in A-2 leather jacket, undated; a photograph of her on wing of plane, circa 1943; a photograph of Cowden while parachuting, 2006; a photograph of Cowden after completing a tandem jump, 2006; an oral history transcript, 3 May 2007; a DVD "Wings of Silver: the Vi Cowden Story", located in WV0002 General Printed Materials and Video Recordings Collection.

Dates

  • circa 1943
  • 2006

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information. Please see our Sensitive Materials Statement.

Biographical / Historical

Violet Thurn Cowden (1917-2011) of South Dakota served in the WASP from 1943 to 1944. Violet Thurn Cowden was born in South Dakota to a farming family. She graduated from high school in 1934 and enrolled at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota. She graduated in 1936 and worked as a teacher in town. While there, she took flying lessons and earned her private pilot's license.

When war was declared, Cowden enlisted in the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Serviceâ€"United States Navy). Before her basic training, she was contacted by the WASP and accepted into class 44-W-4. She began training at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, in March of 1943. She graduated in August 1943 and was sent to Love Field in Dallas, Texas, where she ferried planes. She also completed pursuit school in Brownsville, Texas.

When the WASP was disbanded in December of 1944, Cowden spent a year in New York City where she worked for an airport in a non-flight position. She later moved to California and started a ceramics business with a fellow WASP and a high school classmate. Cowden remained active in WASP alumnae affairs, having served as the president of the regional and national organizations.

Extent

0.21 Linear Feet (2 folders )

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

  • License: This record is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Creative Commons license.

Related Materials

"Wings of Silver: The Vi Cowden Story" DVD in WV 0002 General Printed Materials and Video Recordings Collection.

Condition Description

The condition is good.

Offensive Language Statement

The UNC Greensboro University Libraries collects, preserves, and makes accessible unique and historical materials for learning and research. The nature of historical materials is such that some material may represent positions, norms, and values that are offensive and objectionable. These materials represent the opinions and actions of their creators. By providing access to these records in our reading room and through our digital collections, we recognize that archives and rare books can play a vital role in holding those creators accountable and in helping us learn from the past.

Our finding aids and other collection descriptions may occasionally re-use language provided by creators or former holders of the materials, but we strive to place outdated or offensive terminology in context. That said, we recognize that we may not always make the right decision and welcome feedback from all sources so we can learn and adjust our practices. Please contact us at scua@uncg.edu if you encounter problematic language in our finding aids or other collection description. We will review the language and, as appropriate, update it in a way that balances preservation of the original context with our ongoing commitment to describing materials with respectful and inclusive language.

Processing Information

Processed by Matthew McCarthy.

Title
Violet Cowden Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Matthew McCarthy
Date
2022 August
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives Repository

Contact:
P.O. Box 26170
320 College Ave.
Greensboro NC 27402-6170 US
336-334-5246