Charlotte Fogg Frye
Born in Wichita, Kansas, Charlotte Barbara Fogg moved to Atlanta in 1898. She married Augustus Frye, M.D. in 1916 and lived in Griffin until her death in 1983. With instructions from Beeler Blevins and Wesley Raymond at Candler Field, Atlanta, she learned to fly in 1931, after discovering that her physician husband had been taking flight lessons.
At the time there were six licensed women pilots in Georgia. Mrs. Frye became a charter member and vice president of the Georgia chapter of the Ninety-Nine's and served as governor of the Southeastern Section in 1941.
She was a member of the Atlanta Aero Club, the Georgia chapter of the. National Aeronautical Association, USA, and the Carolina Aero Club. Frye flew in air shows and took leading roles in promoting aviation in Georgia in the 1930s--"the best years and happiest years--when we were flying." Charlotte Frye was the only woman pilot sworn in during the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of airmail service in May 1938.
She flew the mail from Griffin to Atlanta and became one of the first female airmail pilots. Mrs. Frye's husband, and her son Augustus Frye Jr., Chattanooga surgeon, were fliers, her daughter a flying enthusiast. A second son, Warren, worked with Lockheed. She relinquished her license when the United States entered WWII and all private pilot licenses were revoked. Charlotte Frye was enshrined May 18, 1991, as one of Georgia's pioneer women pilots and one who actively promoted aviation in her state during the 1930s.
Janet Harmon Bragg
Enshrined 2000
Janet Harmon Bragg was born in Griffin, Georgia and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She became a Registered Nurse in the early 1930s. In 1933, at the age of 21, Janet Harmon Bragg started flying lessons and soon earned a Private Pilot License. She then persuaded the Village of Robins, Illinois to provide land for an airport and helped to found the Challenger Flying Club based at Robins Airport.
Bragg encouraged other women to take flying lessons. The Challenger Flying Club grew. When not working or flying, Janet Harmon Bragg was active in politics. When our nation began to prepare for WWII, Janet was very actively promoting both black men and women for active roles in military aviation. Janet Bragg was instrumental in the U.S. Army Air Corps' opening flight training for black pilots at five locations, including Tuskegee Institute.
Janet Harmon Bragg spent the major part of her life encouraging blacks to become active in aviation. She was an active pilot for over 35 years, earned a Commercial Pilot License and logged over 2,000 flying hours.
In 1984, Bragg was honored by the University of Arizona Black Alumni Association as the first black woman to receive a commercial pilot's license in the USA. She was also presented the Certificate of Appreciation by the FAA and awarded the Bishop Wright Air Industry Award for her contributions to aviation by the U.S. Department of Transportation.