For the latest news visit qchron.com LIVING IN ROCHDALE VILLAGE • SPRING 2020
QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, March 26, 2020 Page 22
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Rochdale resident Ida Van Smith registered with Smithsonian’s Women in Aviation and Space History By Susan Van Brackle There were up to 140 active clubs and associations operating in and around the Rochdale Village community at one point during the cooperative’s history. One group’s activities were so unique that its main focus was to teach children how to f ly. Not just have kids believe they could fly but to literally have them enter a plane’s cockpit, ascend to the heavens and f ly. In 1967, Ida Van Smith, became founder and president of the Ida Van Smith Flight Clubs, Inc., which established its first location in Group 4, Building 15 at Rochdale Village. Who was Ida Van Smith and why is she important to the legacy of the cooperative? Ms. Smith grew up in Lumberton, North Carolina and was exposed to aviation at a very early age. Around the age of three or four, her dad would take her to a small airfield where they would watch planes together. Ida marveled at the pilots, their ability to maneuver the crafts carefully into the sky and later return them safely on the ground again. She became captivated by the miracle of f light and knew one day she would pilot a plane too. In the case of Ms. Van Smith, a dream deferred was not a dream denied. Her goal to f ly did not happen immediately although it did occur in appropriate time.
Ms. Van Smith at the age of 50 made the move to take f lying lessons at an airport in Fayetteville, North Carolina well after graduating with an undergraduate degree from Shaw College, a master’s degree from
Queens College, years of marriage, child raising and a full career. As she practiced, she noticed little children gathering along the airport fence to watch her. Later in life, she came to realize that these children had
never seen an African-American female pilot and they were just as enchanted by the idea of f light as she was when a little girl. At the end of each practice session, she’d engage the children in conversation to hear about their interest in flying. While her father accompanied her to the airport to watch planes in her formative years, she’d noticed that the children had no adult supervision with them. That’s when she decided to form the Ida Van Smith Flight Clubs for Children with the goal of introducing kids to the field of aviation. Ms. Van Smith went on to open more than 20 f light clubs for African-American children aged 13-19 to acquaint them with the field of aeronautics. Additionally, she taught introductory aviation at York College-CUNY and hosted a cable television access show in the 1970’s. Ida Van Smith died in 2003 and is listed in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Archives under Women in Aviation and Space History. In addition to numerous awards, Ms. Van Smith is also a member of the prestigious Tuskegee Airmen’s Black Wings, Negro Airman International and the Ninety-Nines. Ms. Ida Van Smith is not a hidden figure but a shining star to Rochdale Village and the world.
If you require assistance, my team is here for you. You can contact my office at tel: 718-206-2068 or adams@council.nyc.gov.
Council Member Adrienne Adams 165-90 Baisley Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11434