Oral history interview with Nona L. Goard, 1976 November 5
Table of Contents
Overview of the Collection
- Interviewee
- Goard, Nona L. (Nona Leshia), 1908-1986
- Title
- Oral history interview with Nona L. Goard
- Dates
- 1976 November 51976-11-051976-11-05
- Quantity
- 0.1 cubic feet, (1 audiocassette (31 min., 42 sec.))
- Collection Number
- SR 9129
- Summary
- Oral history interview with Nona L. Goard, conducted by Charles Digregorio on November 5, 1976. Goard discusses her experiences as a wing walker, parachute jumper, and stunt flier in St. Paul, Minnesota, from 1926 to 1932.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Biographical Note
Nona Leshia Goard, nee Malloy, was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota, in 1908. In 1922, her father moved the family to Portland, Oregon. At age 16, Nona Goard ran away from home to St. Paul, Minnesota, where she began taking flying lessons from Captain Joseph Westover. She performed as a wing walker, parachute jumper, and stunt pilot. At the close of the 1930s, she returned to Portland and opened a parachute-packing business. At the time, she was one of only 10 women in the United States to hold a parachute-packing license. In the early 1950s, she opened the Nona School of Dress Design, a fashion design school for girls, with locations in Moro and Lake Oswego, Oregon.
She married four times, outliving all her spouses, and had one child. She was also known as Nona L. Stack, Nona L. Plamondon, and Nona L. Skow. She died in 1986.
Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com; information provided by Goard in her interview; "For Nona, a 1500 foot Jump into the Nearest Field," by Frances Blakely, Oregon Daily Journal, June 1, 1954, Women's Section, Page 1; "Ninety Nines to Honor Air Daredevils," by Helen L. Mershon, Oregon Daily Journal, June 18, 1963, Page 15.
Other Descriptive Information
An incomplete transcript (16 pages) is available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Content Description
This oral history interview with Nona L. Goard was conducted by Charles Digregorio on November 5, 1976, at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, as part of the oral history program at the society's research library.
In this interview, Goard discusses learning to fly with Captain Joseph Westover in St. Paul, Minnesota, beginning in 1926. She talks about performing as a wing walker and parachute jumper from 1926 to 1932. She then talks about the design school for girls that she opened in Moro and Lake Oswego, Oregon, and describes her commute between the schools in her Cessna 140 airplane. She also talks about having her identity stolen in the 1930s and describes how she resolved the situation. She closes the interview by describing how to wingwalk.
Use of the Collection
Alternative Forms Available
Audio available online in OHS Digital Collections.
Preferred Citation
Oral history interview with Nona L. Goard, by Charles Digregorio, SR 9129, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Restrictions on Use
Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the estate of Nona L. Goard. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted, https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/
Administrative Information
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Aeronautics--Study and teaching--United States
- Air pilots--Oregon
- Parachuting--United States
- Recreational aviation--Oregon
- Women air pilots--Oregon
- Women stunt performers--United States
Personal Names
- Goard, Nona L. (Nona Leshia), 1908-1986
Form or Genre Terms
- interviews
- oral histories (literary genre)
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Digregorio, Charles (interviewer)
