Flight has always been the dream of men. Since the time of Chinese military kites, mankind has utilized the air as a method of war, exploration, travel, and thrill. Pushed to the side were women. Before 1908, no woman had ever soloed in an airplane. In September of 1908, Thérèse Peltier, a French woman, set that record with a 200 metre flight in a Voison boxwite at Turin, Italy. Two years later, two women in the United States would follow Peltier into the sky: Blaunche Stuart Scott and Bessie Medlar Raiche. Bessie Raiche changed the world through her adventurous early life, daring flights, and unique later life. Bessie Medlar Raiche was born Bessie F. Raiche in April of 1875. Her parents, Elizabeth and James Medlar lived in Beloit, Wisconsin
