The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star

And just like Lady Lindy, Lily Dare had caught the attention of the public. Everybody in the country had read about the Texas Star and seen photographs of this beautiful, exotic-looking woman dressed in her trademark flying costume: white leather helmet, goggles, and white flying suit with a long, flowing red scarf looped around her neck. Known as the “fastest woman in the world,” she had participated in all the major women’s long-distance air competitions and flown as a stunt pilot in the dogfighting scenes of Howard Hughes’ famous war movie, Hell’s Angels. What’s more, she was a founding member of The Ninety-Nines, an association of pioneer women trying to fly high in a man’s world. It hardly seemed possible that a nationally famous female pilot was actually bringing her flying circus to Darling, which was definitely not the biggest small town in the state of Alabama.

But in fact, this glamorous, exciting woman was coming to Darling! And as everybody in town knew by now, she probably wouldn’t be coming if it hadn’t been for Mildred Kilgore’s husband Roger, who was president of the local Lions. Roger had met the Texas Star a couple of years before when she put on an aerobatic show at a national Lions Club convention in San Antonio, Texas. It was said that Roger—a silver-tongued charmer with a strong resemblance to the new screen sensation, Clark Gable—had sweet-talked Miss Dare into bringing her Dare Devils to the Watermelon Festival. That’s what the men were saying at Bob’s Barbershop, anyway, punctuating their remarks with knowing nods and sly winks. This was according to Lizzy’s boyfriend, Grady Alexander. Lizzy hadn’t believed it, though. The idea seemed so ridiculous. Why, Roger and Mildred had been married for nearly fifteen years! Everybody said they were a perfect couple.

Miss Dare was due to land her airplane, which was also called the Texas Star, on the grassy airstrip just west of the fairgrounds on Thursday morning, with other members of the team flying in later that day. The fun was scheduled to start on Thursday evening, with a special showing of the movie Hell’s Angels at the Palace Theater, which Miss Dare was expected to attend. On Friday, there would be airplane rides for anybody who could pay a penny per pound of his own weight for twenty minutes aloft—or her own weight, if any woman was brave enough to hop in that plane. And on Saturday afternoon, there would be an air show with Lily Dare and Rex Hart.

But the Texas Star and the King of the Air weren’t the only attractions. A well-known aerialist, stuntwoman Angel Flame, would also perform, doing headstands, wingwalking, wingdancing, and other high-flying acrobatics. She would also execute her incredible “Dive of Death,” a free fall from an altitude of 10,000 feet. At the last moment, just when everyone thought she must surely perish in her plunge, she would open a parachute. And then of course, there was the field show, with a magic act for the kids, a car crash, and a clown.

LILY DARE, THE TEXAS STAR

& THE DARE DEVILS

FLYING CIRCUS!

Darling Airfield. Fri. & Sat. July 15–16

Friday

Airplane Rides All Day, a Penny a Pound!

SATURDAY AIR SHOW

Admission: $1 Per Carload

(Load ’Em Up, Folks—No Limit on # Per Car)

Single Admission: 35 Cents

PROGRAM

9 a.m.–12 p.m. Airplane rides.

2:30 p.m. Miss Lily Dare, the Texas Star, will perform a stunning aerial ballet of loops, tail spins, whip tails, barrel rolls, upside-down flying and other thrilling stunts.

3 p.m. Dare Devil Angel Flame will perform incredible wingwalking acrobatics 1000s of feet in the air while you hold your breath.

3:30 p.m. Rex Hart, King of the Air, will perform more aerial stunts in his C3R Stearman, ending with his famous dead-stick landing. You’ll be gasping every minute! You won’t believe your EYES!

4:00 p.m. Special on-field show. Drawing for a free airplane ride. Magic show for the kids and a Pony Express Race! This will WOW you—worth the price of admission all by itself! (Remember, just a buck for your flivver, fully loaded!)

4:30 p.m. Incredible Dive of Death! Parachute jump by Angel Flame, holding a smoking flare in each hand. She will land on a MATTRESS provided by Mann’s Mercantile in Darling!

5:30 p.m. Grand Finale! Aerial dogfight between the Texas Star and the King of the Air, as performed in the films Hell’s Angels and Dawn Patrol! Ends with a skywriting flourish!

Purchase a new or used car from Kilgore Motors by Sat. July 16 and get a free airplane ride!



And if this weren’t enough excitement, there was also going to be a party, a fancy black-tie affair given by Mildred and Roger Kilgore, who had a reputation for giving the best parties in the entire town of Darling. At the party, the Dahlias planned to present Miss Dare with a beautiful Texas Star hibiscus: Hibiscus coccineus, according to Miss Dorothy Rogers. The hibiscus, which had a gaudy red blossom, would be planted in the garden at the Dahlias clubhouse, with a plaque honoring Miss Dare’s visit. And because the Dare Devil Flying Circus was coming to Darling at the invitation of Roger Kilgore, Mildred had invited Miss Dare and Miss Flame to stay at the Kilgore home. (Mr. Hart and the rest of the team would be staying with the airplanes, at the airstrip.)

With a frown, Lizzy looked down at her list, wondering if she had reminded Aunt Hetty about the plant. “Aunt Hetty, did I ask you to pot up the Texas Star for the presentation?”