July 17, 2021 • 34 mins
Join us on the pod today as we tell you about the stories of two amazing women in American history.
You'll learn about the second Paul Revere who rode her horse all through the night for over 40 miles which is more than three times further than Revere rode that one night in history. Her name was Syil Ludington and she was just 17 years old.
Our next story is all about a girl who ran to catch a train and caught the eye of her school's track coach. The only problem? It was 1926 and girls didn't run track. Elizabeth "Betty" Robinson was too fast to ignore and quickly became the fastest woman in the world at the 1928 Olympic Games. Her story doesn't end there though, because she had another Olympic run in her future but not before battling incredible odds to get there.
Sources:
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Pearl (00:00):
I just, I feel like, I feel like I need a segue from
nothing into actual podcasting.
Yeah.
It's too awkward for.
I mean, I make it awkwardanyways.
Uh, welcome back to the storieswe forgot.
This is your favorite podcastwith my amazing husband, AIJ
Hearst
AJ (00:16):
and my beautiful wife, Pearl Hearst.
Welcome to season two, episode
Pearl (00:22):
you guys, we have a ride.
we have Seasons.
Now once again, we are armchairexperts and you are welcome to
learn these stories along.
with.
It's a
AJ (00:40):
we don't know what we're talking about.
Pearl (00:42):
a history gas by non historians for non historians.
So if you're a historian, golook somewhere else.
for the rest of you you'rewelcome.
Okay.
AJ (00:52):
Well, it was a momentous week for us.
Pearl (00:55):
Yes,
AJ (00:56):
because we're officially old.
Pearl (00:58):
This is true.
AJ (01:00):
We now have a team.
Pearl (01:01):
Yeah So she turned 13 and one of the, one of the things
that we wanted to do with her istake her out.
to A fancy restaurant,
AJ (01:09):
yeah, this is a pretty fancy restaurant,
Pearl (01:11):
Well, yeah.
We want her to take her to arestaurant where she could, I
mean, this isn't the kind ofrestaurant you can take three
little boys to,
AJ (01:18):
I'm trying to picture
Pearl (01:19):
they would have been miserable and so expensive.
it would have been so expensive.
Uh, so yeah, we we took her tothis restaurant that we really
liked to go to in a nearby townand she got to order a fancy
mocktail that came in a martiniglass.
AJ (01:34):
Yeah That's pretty
Pearl (01:35):
and She got what is your, what does she eat?
AJ (01:40):
Well, she was raving even, even this morning, she was
raving about the chicken liverpatch.
Pearl (01:47):
I mean, she's got pretty Epicurean tastes That's all I'm
going to say
AJ (01:52):
That's a$5
Pearl (01:53):
hell Yeah.
You know, violet is, she's afoodie through and through And,
uh, yeah, So So this restaurantis like a farm to table
restaurant and everything supernice and and yeah, amazing.
So it, yeah, she got to order, Ithink she wore like black and
scallops and all sorts ofbizarre things to go with them.
(02:14):
And it.
was, it was, it was really cute,you know, take a new teenager
out to a fancy restaurant.
AJ (02:21):
Yeah.
I think it was a birthdayhighlight for her.
That was pretty fun.
Pearl (02:25):
Uh, so without yeah.
Why don't you just go ahead andtell us your, uh, history
AJ (02:29):
this day in history, history, history, Okay.
Uh, yeah, this was one that cameup that I had never heard about.
I always like it when there's astory that I really haven't ever
heard about.
July 16th, 1863, draft riotscontinue to rock New York city.
This is from history.com therethis day in here.
(02:51):
The draft riots enter theirfourth day in New York city in
response to the enrollment actfrom March 3rd, 1863.
Although avoiding militaryservice became much more
difficult.
Wealthier citizens could stillpay a commutation fee of$300 to
stay at home, which in 18 63,300 bucks was probably quite a
(03:12):
bit of money.
Irritation with the draft, whichI didn't even know there was a
draft during the civil.
Pearl (03:18):
Right.
Yeah,
AJ (03:19):
I guess it makes sense.
I think
Pearl (03:21):
I just, I feel like I hadn't really ever heard of it.
You always here
AJ (03:25):
the draft in world war two and Vietnam, but not much about
the draft in the civil war.
So it makes sense though.
September, 1862.
Pearl (03:36):
Let's see.
Wait, so$300 in 1862 isequivalent in purchasing power
to about$8,070 today.
AJ (03:46):
So you could pay$8,000 to not have to go to
Pearl (03:50):
Yeah.
So yeah, that's a little bit ofa rich person tax.
AJ (03:54):
I know, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
If you're rich, you can juststay home.
the irritation with the draftdovetailed, with opposition to
the emancipation proclamation ofSeptember, 1862, which made
abolition of slavery, thecentral goal of the war for the
union, particularly vocal intheir opposition, where the
(04:16):
democratic Irish, who felt thewar was being forced upon them
by Protestant Republicans andfeared that emancipation of
formerly enslaved people wouldjeopardize their jobs.
Pearl (04:27):
Oh, take jobs away, from the Irish.
AJ (04:29):
right?
We're probably doing a lot ofthe menial labor at the time.
I would discontent simmereduntil the draft began among the
Irish new Yorkers on July 11th,two days later, a mob burned the
draft office triggering nearlyfive days of violence.
Pearl (04:44):
Wow
AJ (04:45):
At first, the targets included local newspapers,
wealthy homes, well-dressed menand police officers, but the
crowd's attention soon turned toAfrican-Americans.
Several black people werelynched and businesses.
Employing black people wereburned.
A black orphanage was alsoburned, but luckily the children
escaped.
Pearl (05:04):
Wow.
AJ (05:05):
Yeah, it was a pretty big
Pearl (05:06):
pretty Obscene level of misdirection there.
AJ (05:10):
Right, right.
Not until July
Pearl (05:14):
17th.
don't want to be drafted.
So they burned down anorphanage.
AJ (05:19):
Yeah.
I mean, there was obviouslysome, uh, racism simmering
there.
Pearl (05:26):
Wow.
AJ (05:26):
and yeah, I mean, obviously this isn't a very comprehensive
article, so, you know, I mean,is it really just.
Irish new Yorkers or just kindof everybody joined in on it or
do people come from out of town?
Like what's going on here?
Not until July 17th with theviolence contained by the
(05:47):
arrival of union troops, somefresh from the battlefield at
Gettysburg, more than 1000people died.
And property damage top to$2million, which obviously would
be a lot more than that today.
But 1000 people died in thisviolence over five, almost six
days.
(06:07):
I saw that number in a dish.
Pearl (06:09):
never heard of this store.
I feel like we need to do anactual podcast on this story
because this is like, That'scrazy.
AJ (06:16):
So stay tuned for an upcoming full podcast.
And it says the draft wastemporarily suspended and a
revised conscription began inAugust as a result of the riots
and the delicate politicalbalance in the city.
Relatively few new Yorkers wereforced to serve in the union
army.
Pearl (06:33):
Hmm.
AJ (06:34):
1000 people dead from these draft riots in New York city.
Wow.
Never heard that story That'scrazy.
Pearl (06:43):
Yeah.
Good, good pick their age.
AJ (06:47):
I thank you.
Pearl (06:48):
uh my stories, uh, I actually have two shorter
stories today Okay.
and these stories are kind of inhonor of our daughter turning
13.
These are kind of some girlpower stories.
So, uh, I flexed weirdly.
AJ (07:04):
Girl power.
I'm
Pearl (07:06):
sorry.
Are you supposed to say that?
AJ (07:07):
wanted to do something, but then it just felt really weird
and I hesitated and then it justmade it even more awkward.
Pearl (07:14):
Yeah.
Oh, so, yeah, the first one thatwe're going to start with, the
first story that we're going tostart with is actually it starts
with us.
and uh, the poem goes like,this.
Listen, my children.
And you shall hear of themidnight ride of Sybil
Ludington.
That's right.
AJ (07:35):
That does
Pearl (07:36):
not Paul Revere.
Okay.
Paul Revere did have a midnightright?
Civil
AJ (07:41):
be fair.
What do you rhyme with SybilLudington.?
Pearl (07:45):
Sybil Ludington's ride wasn't at midnight, but it
wasn't 9:00 PM and it wasraining.
So.
AJ (07:52):
Same night?
Pearl (07:53):
Not, not the same night,
AJ (07:54):
All right.
Pearl (07:56):
Not the same issue, not the same night, but so I believe
that Paul Revere road, I believethe Paul Revere wrote in 1775
AJ (08:06):
quick Google search
Pearl (08:08):
No, no, This is just off the top of my head.
I'm pretty sure it's 1775, but acouple of years later, Uh, so
what happened with Paul Revere?
He's obviously a much morewell-known statesman and then
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrotea very famous poem about him,
that schoolchildren memorizedfor decades.
So, I mean, that's a little bitabout how we know about Paul
(08:30):
Revere story.
Sybil Ludington.
Story is much more obscure andthere's much less, uh, less than
we know about.
Sybil Ludington.
In general.
And I believe it was one of
AJ (08:43):
ringing a bell for me.
Pearl (08:44):
Yeah, exactly.
I know.
I think there's actually astatue of her in Boston.
I think we've actually seen itYou're doing like the freedom
trail in Boston.
one
AJ (08:53):
Quite possibly, probably like who?
Civil
Pearl (08:56):
war.
AJ (08:56):
Cool.
There's a, there's a statue.
Pearl (08:59):
Yeah.
You know, sometimes when you'redoing all that, like historical
tours or something, you're justlike never heard of that person.
Nope.
Never heard of that person.
Right.
Let's take a picture of powerbeer.
No, actually I think we do havea picture of violet as a toddler
in front of civil Luddingtonstatue.
I feel like we should lookthrough our pictures.
Cause it was, it was a littlegirl.
And we're like, oh, let's take abig girl with the girl the girl
(09:21):
in the revolutionary war.
So, this story of civilLuddington is not super long or
well known.
I believe it was like her greatgrant, her grandson or, I think
it was a grandson who actuallywrote about this story to a
newspaper or something manyyears after the effect.
it was more of like a familystory that was passed around.
(09:45):
Right.
But Sybil Ludington.
Was born in 1760 As the oldestof 12 children to Colonel
Luddington.
And, uh, I don't know if he wasColonel Weddington when she was
born, but, you know, uh, so curlLuddington had a whole bunch of
militia that he led Americanmilitia during the revolutionary
(10:08):
war and one night at around
AJ (10:13):
yeah.
Pearl (10:14):
So one night at around 9:00 PM on April 26th, 1777.
Uh, it was by this time, civilis 17 years.
old And her father receives newsthat apparently the British are
marching toward a supply Depotthat supplied the continental
(10:34):
army in Danbury, Connecticut.
Uh, so they have to say savethis supply Depot, otherwise the
British are just going to comein, and completely burn it and
ransack take away a valuableresource.
So, civils father needs to Rousethe militia and the surrounding
countryside.
But he also needs to plan out,uh, the plan of attack and get
(10:59):
everything figured out.
AJ (11:01):
Right,
Pearl (11:02):
So.
Uh, so what he does is he putshis oldest daughter, on a horse
and he
AJ (11:07):
12 kids,
Pearl (11:08):
got 12 kids.
Neil, this one is 17.
I mean, that's like 40
AJ (11:13):
in 1776 years.
Pearl (11:15):
Yeah.
Uh, So he, uh, he, he tellscivil what needs to happen.
And she hops on her horse andshe rides all through the night.
She rides a 40 mile In thesurrounding countryside she
rides.
And you can actually today this.
is, I think it's the site of a50 K it's uh, it's a, like a run
(11:40):
that people can sign up for anultra marathon.
AJ (11:43):
Oh.
Was just say that's gotta besome like an ultra marathon.
Yeah.
Pearl (11:46):
Yeah.
And where they run the loop,that civil Luddington.
Ram.
Yeah.
Yeah, Yeah.
It is kind of fun.
Yeah so she got on her horse andshe just ran from small little
cluster.
Of, of, uh, houses to small andcluster of houses.
And she went to uh, the, thetalent she went to where went
(12:06):
from Kent, which is, I think,where the farm was.
I couldn't find Ken on a map,but now there's, I think it's
Luddington Ville.
So I would assume that's whereit was.
AJ (12:18):
That's a mouthful Luddington
Pearl (12:20):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So from Luddington, Ville tocaramel, to.
Uh, my whole pack to my Hopeckfalls to Kent cliffs, to farmer
mills, to storm and back to Kent
AJ (12:33):
40 miles is a long
Pearl (12:35):
miles.
is a really long time in thedark
AJ (12:39):
at, at night in the rain,
Pearl (12:41):
the rain uphill.
Both ways.
Yeah.
So she just ran she ran herhorse, the entire loop.
and Just banged on doors with astick and yelled.
The British were burning Danburyand everyone knew what to do,
you know, go to ColonelLennington
AJ (12:57):
hop off at each place and make sure people actually wake
up.
Pearl (13:01):
got off.
I think she just like ran, youknow,
AJ (13:04):
handful of rocks
Pearl (13:05):
the, had the horse.
I think she just had a longstick and she was running with
the horse, The horse was runningdoor to door,
AJ (13:12):
more efficient than I would've been, I guess
Pearl (13:14):
But.
So just for context, Paul Revereroad, about 12 miles,
AJ (13:18):
that's it
Pearl (13:19):
Yes.
So Lee Sibel Lemington's ridewas crazy.
I think after, after the war, Ithink she got to meet, uh,
general Washington.
AJ (13:31):
Oh, really?
Pearl (13:31):
She had a little bit of, you know,
AJ (13:33):
a little bit of notoriety
Pearl (13:34):
of notoriety from that.
But yeah, that's the story ofcivil Luddington.
She was technically the secondPaul Revere, but she kind of out
Paul revered, Paul Revere.
you know, She she did that racea couple of times or she did
that, that uh, length a coupleof times over.
and
AJ (13:54):
You know, there's probably a lot more stories like this of
people doing similar.
I mean, they didn't exactly havean emergency
Pearl (14:02):
alert yeah.
So by the time she arrived homeat Dawn most of the 400 militia
men had been roused and theywere there with her father and
they went off and.
Did cool things.
So I don't think they wereactually in time to beat the
British to Danbury, but I thinkthat they was instrumental in
(14:22):
something.
Yeah.
I don't remember uh, the cool,the cool part of the story isn't
whether or not they won, whichspoiler they did eventually we
don't have a British accent.
So that's your first clue or Iguess we don't have a Canadian
accent.
Maybe that's the first.
AJ (14:39):
Yeah.
Pearl (14:40):
Yeah.
So that's the story of civilWeddington.
Second Paul Revere.
AJ (14:45):
That's a great, that's a great story.
Yeah.
Or as Paul Revere, the firstcivil lighting.
Pearl (14:49):
Well, you know, was a great spin to put on.
It The first symbol Luddingtonwas a name.
Paul Revere,
AJ (14:54):
if only her name would ride better.
Pearl (14:57):
Great.
And What did, what kind of apoem are you going to put with
Longfellow?
heard the stories.
He was like, oh, civilLennington Bad-ass but you know,
I just can't take anything rideWith civil
AJ (15:07):
civil Luddington wrote a ton.
Uh that's all I got
Pearl (15:10):
that's a terrible.
rhyme.
You are not a poet.
right The
AJ (15:16):
show it
Pearl (15:17):
next, oh my gosh, please stop Next.
The next story that I have, thenext story is about the first
faiths are you interrupt me withsound
AJ (15:31):
I was going to try and give you like a drum roll or
something.
You were
Pearl (15:33):
the next story is about the first fastest woman in the
world.
AJ (15:37):
First fastest
Pearl (15:39):
fastest woman.
AJ (15:41):
I want to hear this story.
Pearl (15:43):
So, Yeah.
So back in back in the 1920s,there was a huge, uh, I feel
like, I feel like the context tothe story is a little bit
important just to visualize thetime that this story happened
in.
So, women's fashion in the 1920schanged dramatically between the
19 teens and the 1930s.
(16:04):
Right.
So they went from havingmultiple layers of clothing,
heavy, long Hamline.
and, uh, being very restrictiveto things, you know, things are
very restrictive, to physicalactivity, To short hem lines and
lighter fabrics.
I'm
AJ (16:24):
able to picture the two in my,
Pearl (16:27):
just as like a comparison early, early 19.
Yeah.
Well, It is a Victoria.
It was Victorian era.
So early 19 hundreds, when womenwould go to the beach obviously
they'd be wearing like, youknow, 27 pounds of wool
clothing, but they would haveto, they'd usually, if they
wanted to go out deep, they'dusually have to hang on to it.
(16:48):
that was attached to.
her post up on the shore so theycould go out there and, you
know, play in the waves and notdrown,
AJ (16:55):
not drowning.
No, no.
It's 85 pounds of soaking wet
Pearl (17:00):
Yeah, because you know, they, they couldn't, They
couldn't show skin.
And if they didn't wear it.
dresses, they actually fashionactually moved in the direction
of starting to wear long bloomerkind of things.
wherever these really widelegged trousers and.
Yeah, just absolutely ridiculousstuff all the way to, you know,
(17:23):
by the 1930s or late 1920s, Ithink they were wearing like a
more traditional swimsuit whereI was shorts and a tank top,
essentially.
so massive transformation.
AJ (17:36):
That's a huge transition to make it a short period of time.
you know, side note, I see someof the old pictures of people at
the beach.
Pearl (17:45):
Uh huh.
AJ (17:45):
And I think about
Pearl (17:46):
looks
AJ (17:47):
I whine about being at the beach and being hot or Sandy or
uncomfortable, or
Pearl (17:53):
you imagine,
AJ (17:54):
I'm just trying to think of these people out in these cabins
with no power.
And they're still having a greattime at the beach.
need to buck up a
Pearl (18:02):
little bit Yeah.
Yeah.
So, uh, there's, there's a tonof change that happened
culturally during the 1920s,1920 I think is when women
actually earned the right to.
vote.
AJ (18:14):
Sounds right.
Pearl (18:15):
I mean, not earned the right to vote.
they were given the right tovote.
But you know, so there's,there's just a massive, there's
just a massive cultural shiftthat's happening during this
time.
And previous, prior to 1928,women were not allowed to
compete in the Olympics in anytrack and field.
events.
I think they could do archeryand horseback riding or maybe
(18:38):
archery and swimming, somethinglike that.
It was very, there's veryspecific events that women could
or could not compete in.
And that's, that was veryrecent.
Because women only began tocompete.
I think, in the 1920 or 1916Olympics in any capacity.
AJ (18:54):
Oh man.
That is not that long ago.
Pearl (18:57):
No.
Yeah, it really isn't.
Uh, so by the 1928 Olympics,there's been this massive
transformation what's okay forwomen to wear in public.
And As this transformationhappens more and more women are
able to do things athleticallybecause now they can, oh, they
can swim in the water.
They can't just like avoiddrowning, not just like a
(19:19):
competition to avoid drowning.
Now it's like, you can actuallysee.
AJ (19:23):
Yeah.
Pearl (19:24):
So, in 19, August 23rd, 1911, Betty Elizabeth, Betty
Robinson, she was known as BettyElizabeth Robinson was born and
That's stupid toy, man.
I'm getting so sick of it.
AJ (19:42):
It's like a child's first fire engine toy.
You're not
Pearl (19:46):
So Elizabeth Robinson was born in 1928 uh, on 1911, August
23rd, 1911, oh, August 23rdsalvage birthday,
AJ (19:56):
For the record,
Pearl (19:57):
Nevermind.
I'm going to edit that out.
AJ (19:59):
that's the mom making a mistake on the date for a child.
Pearl (20:03):
I'm going to Totally.
delete that.
Yeah.
So, so Elizabeth Robinson isborn in 1911 and by the time
she's 16.
She's seeing the world changearound her dramatically.
She gets a short haircut becauseprior to this women didn't have
short hair cuts.
(20:24):
they had long hair.
Very long hair in the Victorianera.
AJ (20:28):
a bun.
Pearl (20:29):
Yeah.
So she's got short haircut andprob based on, you know,
Culture.
She was probably wearing askirt, like a knee-length skirt
and maybe a cardigan orsomething.
I don't know.
And she was trying to catch atrain she's 16 years So she
starts running to catch trains,trains going to Chicago.
(20:50):
She needs to get on the trainand.
One of her biology teachers, aman named Charles Price sees her
out the window running.
And he's like, man, she'srunning really fast.
She's not going to catch atrain.
She's a girl, but she's running.
really fast.
And then, uh, a little bitlater, he goes and sits down in
his seat and Elizabeth or Bettyis sitting in the seat next So
(21:14):
she caught the train and he wasso impressed that he He had her,
he asked her if she wanted to,you know, if he could time her
running and, you know, she wasjust kind of like a
happy-go-lucky kid.
And she said, yes.
And so he timed her a couple oftimes, like running down the
corridors in school.
(21:35):
I don't know why he couldn'ttime her running out.
but you'd just,
AJ (21:39):
she wasn't allowed on the track or something.
I dunno.
Pearl (21:41):
yeah, I don't know.
but there weren't any women'strack and field teams at that
time.
Or they're not at their school.
It was a very, very obscuresports still.
AJ (21:50):
Yeah.
Pearl (21:51):
And he asked her if she, you know, he got up, got her a
spot on the boys track team attheir school.
So she starts talking.
at the very second track meetthat she ever ran.
She set a world record of a tieof, for a time of 12.2 seconds
in a hundred meter dash.
This is not against, This is nota co-ed track meet, right?
(22:15):
Yeah.
Uh, still, yeah, track a worldrecord, second track meet ever.
And because of that worldrecord, she automatically
qualified to go to the 1928Amsterdam Olympics.
AJ (22:28):
Wow.
Where was she from?
Pearl (22:30):
Oh
AJ (22:31):
I'm sorry.
You don't have to I'm justpicturing, like from small
towns.
Ohio.
to Amsterdam Maybe you said
Pearl (22:41):
Well, she's going in Chicago.
So that makes sense.
AJ (22:43):
Oh yeah, there you go.
Pearl (22:45):
The 1928.
Olympics Is the first Olympicsthat they're going to allow
women to be on the track andfield or to come compete in
track and field.
So she gets to go she is on theU S women's team.
that should compete in track andfield and she.
uh, she's one of five women.
So the U S sends five women tocompete in track and field.
(23:07):
And on the way to the Olympics,they took an ocean.
liner From the U S stamps hernow, because how else would you
get there?
I mean, you could fly but that'dbe crazy.
And
AJ (23:18):
I mean,
Pearl (23:19):
1928
AJ (23:21):
not like a whole team.
Maybe
Pearl (23:24):
Yeah, I guess I kind of need to look up history flying
really quick.
to finish this podcast.
AJ (23:28):
Well, I remember seeing there was a movie that we
watched where yeah, the wholeOlympics team was going across
on this giant ocean liner andyou're like, oh
Pearl (23:37):
what movie was that?
AJ (23:39):
gosh, I don't, I can't
Pearl (23:41):
Okay.
Well, well anyways, they had agreat time on the ocean.
liner.
AJ (23:45):
A long trip
Pearl (23:46):
It was a long trip.
There was alcohol flowing freelyand their treat of choice was
ice cream.
So everyone gained a lot ofweight.
AJ (23:56):
This is, I saw this, there was some movie that we watched.
Did I watch it with you?
And I
Pearl (24:00):
don't remember it at all.
Maybe wash
AJ (24:02):
because I remember them like all the, all the ice cream on
this liner and they, yeah,everyone like gained a bunch of
weight on their way to theOlympics.
Pearl (24:12):
I mean, can you imagine the Olympic team gaining a bunch
of weight from ice cream now?
They probably don't even look atice cream.
AJ (24:19):
Yeah.
Pearl (24:20):
Yeah.
So anyways she's got themetabolism of 17 year old.
She doesn't gain a much wage.
She does fine.
So she is the only one.
uh, from the U S who qualifiesto be in the finals.
because you
AJ (24:33):
all the others were dealing with tummy aches
Pearl (24:36):
gain too much weight from eating ice cream on the trip
AJ (24:41):
yeah, I mean a month long cruise.
I don't hear those are great foryour weight,
Pearl (24:47):
right?
Yeah.
So, they get to Amsterdam.
She's the first one to, our,she's the only one to advance to
the finals in the a hundredmeter dash.
And he runs out there to, youknow, getting ready for the a
hundred meter dash And becauseshe's 16 and I don't know if
you've ever interacted with 16year
AJ (25:08):
olds,
Pearl (25:08):
but they're, they're a little ditzy and clueless.
They, they tend not to takethings quite as seriously as
they should.
She grabbed two left shoes andshe, I mean, she just railed,
they're both barefoot with twoleft shoes, I guess.
And so they, someone had to runback and grab another shoe for
her and the very, you know,right before they're getting
ready to get in the startingposition, she gets a shoe.
(25:29):
So she nearly misses her chanceto make history.
yeah.
So, Betty gets into startingposition and she takes off and
wins gold.
She is still.
The youngest hundred meterchampion in Olympic history, at
17 years old.
AJ (25:45):
That's amazing.
Pearl (25:47):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So she she beat all the otherwomen.
She was very close between the US and Canada, but Elizabeth was
the winner and you lookconfused.
AJ (25:58):
It's just kind of an amazing story.
I've never heard of it.
Pearl (26:01):
Yeah.
Plot twist.
So she comes home and she, oh,also, uh, she was in a relay
team and they won silver at thatsame Olympics.
so not, not a terrible careerfor her so far at the ripe old
age of 17, So she comes homefrom this, uh, from the Olympics
(26:21):
and she's a celebrity we're nowin, you know, The the stock
market crashes, and hero figuresin American culture were really
big at that time because, youknow, it was kind of like a
distraction from real life.
And so 1931 she's getting readyfor the 1932 Olympics and she
(26:42):
goes for a plane ride with hercousin.
He is an accomplished by plane.
Pilot and they get up about 400feet in the air and the plane
takes a nosedive 400 feet in theair and it crashes real bad.
AJ (27:00):
Why, why couldn't you just stop at the gold medal?
Pearl (27:03):
We're not done yet.
So the plane, plane nosedivesWhen people come to the crash,
you know, restaurateurs come tothe crash.
She is so badly injured thatthey assume that she's dead.
She's got a terrible gash herlegs are all busted up She's got
multiple really seriousinjuries.
They sent her off to the themorgue.
But fortunately
AJ (27:22):
they literally
Pearl (27:23):
yeah, they, they literally assume that she was
dead.
I don't, I don't think theyexactly had paramedics.
at this scene necessarily youknow?
Yeah.
So she goes to the morgue andfortunately someone realizes
that she is still faintlyhanging onto life.
So for the next 11 weeks, and Ihave pictures of her in the
hospital, I have pictures of theplane crash.
(27:43):
all of this stuff.
AJ (27:44):
20, 20 years old.
Pearl (27:47):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, she's hanging on to lifeover the next 11 weeks.
She's going to be in and out ofa coma.
And then she does not walk fortwo years.
AJ (28:00):
Wow.
Pearl (28:00):
And when she does finally walk, her healed leg is half an
inch shorter.
AJ (28:05):
Oh yeah.
Pearl (28:06):
So this is like, I mean, this is, it's really done a
number on her, but apparentlyshe she just, you know, took one
step at a time.
And First, she was you know,walking every day and then she
was just running a little bitevery day and running a little
bit more every day.
And she, I think she just kindof had an epiphany about the
(28:27):
role of women in sports and justwhat an incredible opportunity
it was to kind of shape historylike this.
So she starts running again andshe she's so badly injured that
the, the main thing that'sholding her back is that she
cannot get down into thestarting crouch.
(28:49):
Cause she can't.
bend her knee like that.
So
AJ (28:52):
she has a short leg
Pearl (28:53):
she's also that, uh, she can't get down into the starting
crouch which is a pretty massiveit's a pretty massive handicap
for that level of running.
So, but then it occurs to her.
That is as long as she's not inthe starting position, she can
run in a relay race.
Because in a relay race, onlythe starting runner has to start
(29:16):
in a crouch position.
AJ (29:17):
Right.
Pearl (29:18):
So she starts training again and she makes the women's
Olympic relay team for the 1936Olympics.
Uh, which is still really,really fast.
I mean, she's.
just,
AJ (29:32):
I mean, the crazy thing is to think that if she hadn't had
that accident, I mean, a womangoing from 17 years old 21 25,
she would've gottensignificantly faster.
Pearl (29:47):
Yeah.
Right.
Well, I don't think that she gotslower.
because the competition now isreally stiff.
You know, the world has seen anAmerican woman win in this
event.
So American women are inspiredto compete in this event are
inspired to compete in theOlympics in track and field.
Uh, So she, she goes back.
(30:08):
She wants to go back to theOlympics with this team.
Even though she's going, she'sofficially on the Olympic team,
the U S Olympic committee wouldnot pay Uh, for the women to go
to the Olympics.
They would pay for the men'strack and field team, but they
wouldn't pay for the women'strack and field team.
So all of the women had to comeup with their own travel money.
(30:32):
Now Elizabeth obviously did notbecome a millionaire because,
uh, for winning her firstOlympic gold medal she actually
became a huge medical liabilityfor our family because she had a
massive injury.
Her, her miracle bills havetaken a huge toll on her family.
And her father lost his jobbecause of the great depression,
you know, so she basically soldAnything that she could, she
(30:56):
sold a bunch of ribbons and pinsas she collected at the 28
games.
She did not sell her gold medal.
and she found work as asecretary to pay her way, over
to the, 1936 Olympics.
AJ (31:09):
Yeah.
Pearl (31:09):
So just barely, barely she covers her travel costs and
she makes it to Berlin.
There's a lot of the picturesfrom Berlin of Betty Robinson
show her smiling, uh, so much sothat the New York times
nicknamed her smiling, Bettyand.
AJ (31:24):
witty, witty
Pearl (31:26):
real, real creative on their part.
And her team.
So she is, she was the thirdrunner in her.
It was a four time, 100 relay.
She was the third runner and shegets the Baton.
and she runs as hard as she can.
She passes it off in the U S uh,wins gold.
AJ (31:43):
They win gold.
Pearl (31:45):
win gold.
So she now officially has wonsilver and two gold medals in
the Olympics.
And, uh, it wasn't until itwasn't until 1971 that the us
Olympic committee inducted herinto their hall of fame.
But yeah, so she's, she's in thehall of fame, you know, cause
she dramatically changed the U Sperception of women in sporting
(32:11):
events.
She was young and beautiful andathletic and incredibly fast.
And, uh, she kind of appeared asthe first of something in
American history and allowedAmerican women to kind of
picture themselves.
Following in her footsteps andgirls too, to think of
(32:31):
themselves as something otherthan decorative objects.
So I just thought that wasreally, it was a really, cool
story.
It's kind of a crazy example of,
AJ (32:38):
that's an
Pearl (32:38):
overcoming incredible odds and, uh, yeah, two great
two great stories there aboutAmerican women that, uh, just,
yeah.
AJ (32:47):
Yeah.
I mean, it's kind of sad tothink what Betty
Pearl (32:51):
actually, the same age.
That's kind of the funny thingis right at her first Olympics,
she was 17 and at, uh, whencivil Wedington road, she was
also 17.
AJ (32:59):
Yeah.
I was gonna say it's, it's kindasad to think about what Betty
Robinson could have done if shehadn't had that Plane crash.
But at the same time, I mean,what an incredible story of
overcoming the odds.
Yeah.
Just the terrible things thatcan happen to you in an instant
(33:19):
and come back to win gold again.
I mean, that's just, that's anincredible story.
Pearl (33:26):
Yeah.
So, I mean, she, she gotmarried, she had two solar with
a man named Richard Schwartz andthey I think she was, I think
she coached.
Uh, track and field for women inS and, a was a speaker.
And, you know, just
AJ (33:42):
Boy, how would you like that to be your coach?
Like this living legend?
Pearl (33:45):
The first one?
Yeah,
AJ (33:47):
of course.
Probably nobody even knew aboutit at the time.
You know what I mean?
My guess is she probably wasn'tlike,
Pearl (33:53):
I think she was probably pretty quickly eclipsed in
Olympic history, but for a shortwhile she was the first fastest
woman in the world.
AJ (34:02):
That's a really cool
Pearl (34:03):
story.
AJ (34:04):
Where'd you find that story?
Pearl (34:06):
The internet.
So there you have it
AJ (34:10):
Great stories, Pearl.
Pearl (34:11):
If you're still
AJ (34:12):
goes out to Violet's 13th birthday.
Pearl (34:14):
this one goes out to Violet's 13th birthday.
If you're still listening weapplaud you.
We salute you.
And we ask that you, commentreview and,
AJ (34:25):
Don't forget to share it with your Bye-bye.
I just, I feel like, I feel like I need a segue from
nothing into actual podcasting.
Yeah.
It's too awkward for.
I mean, I make it awkwardanyways.
Uh, welcome back to the storieswe forgot.
This is your favorite podcastwith my amazing husband, AIJ
Hearst
AJ (00:16):
and my beautiful wife, Pearl Hearst.
Welcome to season two, episode
Pearl (00:22):
you guys, we have a ride.
we have Seasons.
Now once again, we are armchairexperts and you are welcome to
learn these stories along.
with.
It's a
AJ (00:40):
we don't know what we're talking about.
Pearl (00:42):
a history gas by non historians for non historians.
So if you're a historian, golook somewhere else.
for the rest of you you'rewelcome.
Okay.
AJ (00:52):
Well, it was a momentous week for us.
Pearl (00:55):
Yes,
AJ (00:56):
because we're officially old.
Pearl (00:58):
This is true.
AJ (01:00):
We now have a team.
Pearl (01:01):
Yeah So she turned 13 and one of the, one of the things
that we wanted to do with her istake her out.
to A fancy restaurant,
AJ (01:09):
yeah, this is a pretty fancy restaurant,
Pearl (01:11):
Well, yeah.
We want her to take her to arestaurant where she could, I
mean, this isn't the kind ofrestaurant you can take three
little boys to,
AJ (01:18):
I'm trying to picture
Pearl (01:19):
they would have been miserable and so expensive.
it would have been so expensive.
Uh, so yeah, we we took her tothis restaurant that we really
liked to go to in a nearby townand she got to order a fancy
mocktail that came in a martiniglass.
AJ (01:34):
Yeah That's pretty
Pearl (01:35):
and She got what is your, what does she eat?
AJ (01:40):
Well, she was raving even, even this morning, she was
raving about the chicken liverpatch.
Pearl (01:47):
I mean, she's got pretty Epicurean tastes That's all I'm
going to say
AJ (01:52):
That's a$5
Pearl (01:53):
hell Yeah.
You know, violet is, she's afoodie through and through And,
uh, yeah, So So this restaurantis like a farm to table
restaurant and everything supernice and and yeah, amazing.
So it, yeah, she got to order, Ithink she wore like black and
scallops and all sorts ofbizarre things to go with them.
(02:14):
And it.
was, it was, it was really cute,you know, take a new teenager
out to a fancy restaurant.
AJ (02:21):
Yeah.
I think it was a birthdayhighlight for her.
That was pretty fun.
Pearl (02:25):
Uh, so without yeah.
Why don't you just go ahead andtell us your, uh, history
AJ (02:29):
this day in history, history, history, Okay.
Uh, yeah, this was one that cameup that I had never heard about.
I always like it when there's astory that I really haven't ever
heard about.
July 16th, 1863, draft riotscontinue to rock New York city.
This is from history.com therethis day in here.
(02:51):
The draft riots enter theirfourth day in New York city in
response to the enrollment actfrom March 3rd, 1863.
Although avoiding militaryservice became much more
difficult.
Wealthier citizens could stillpay a commutation fee of$300 to
stay at home, which in 18 63,300 bucks was probably quite a
(03:12):
bit of money.
Irritation with the draft, whichI didn't even know there was a
draft during the civil.
Pearl (03:18):
Right.
Yeah,
AJ (03:19):
I guess it makes sense.
I think
Pearl (03:21):
I just, I feel like I hadn't really ever heard of it.
You always here
AJ (03:25):
the draft in world war two and Vietnam, but not much about
the draft in the civil war.
So it makes sense though.
September, 1862.
Pearl (03:36):
Let's see.
Wait, so$300 in 1862 isequivalent in purchasing power
to about$8,070 today.
AJ (03:46):
So you could pay$8,000 to not have to go to
Pearl (03:50):
Yeah.
So yeah, that's a little bit ofa rich person tax.
AJ (03:54):
I know, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
If you're rich, you can juststay home.
the irritation with the draftdovetailed, with opposition to
the emancipation proclamation ofSeptember, 1862, which made
abolition of slavery, thecentral goal of the war for the
union, particularly vocal intheir opposition, where the
(04:16):
democratic Irish, who felt thewar was being forced upon them
by Protestant Republicans andfeared that emancipation of
formerly enslaved people wouldjeopardize their jobs.
Pearl (04:27):
Oh, take jobs away, from the Irish.
AJ (04:29):
right?
We're probably doing a lot ofthe menial labor at the time.
I would discontent simmereduntil the draft began among the
Irish new Yorkers on July 11th,two days later, a mob burned the
draft office triggering nearlyfive days of violence.
Pearl (04:44):
Wow
AJ (04:45):
At first, the targets included local newspapers,
wealthy homes, well-dressed menand police officers, but the
crowd's attention soon turned toAfrican-Americans.
Several black people werelynched and businesses.
Employing black people wereburned.
A black orphanage was alsoburned, but luckily the children
escaped.
Pearl (05:04):
Wow.
AJ (05:05):
Yeah, it was a pretty big
Pearl (05:06):
pretty Obscene level of misdirection there.
AJ (05:10):
Right, right.
Not until July
Pearl (05:14):
17th.
don't want to be drafted.
So they burned down anorphanage.
AJ (05:19):
Yeah.
I mean, there was obviouslysome, uh, racism simmering
there.
Pearl (05:26):
Wow.
AJ (05:26):
and yeah, I mean, obviously this isn't a very comprehensive
article, so, you know, I mean,is it really just.
Irish new Yorkers or just kindof everybody joined in on it or
do people come from out of town?
Like what's going on here?
Not until July 17th with theviolence contained by the
(05:47):
arrival of union troops, somefresh from the battlefield at
Gettysburg, more than 1000people died.
And property damage top to$2million, which obviously would
be a lot more than that today.
But 1000 people died in thisviolence over five, almost six
days.
(06:07):
I saw that number in a dish.
Pearl (06:09):
never heard of this store.
I feel like we need to do anactual podcast on this story
because this is like, That'scrazy.
AJ (06:16):
So stay tuned for an upcoming full podcast.
And it says the draft wastemporarily suspended and a
revised conscription began inAugust as a result of the riots
and the delicate politicalbalance in the city.
Relatively few new Yorkers wereforced to serve in the union
army.
Pearl (06:33):
Hmm.
AJ (06:34):
1000 people dead from these draft riots in New York city.
Wow.
Never heard that story That'scrazy.
Pearl (06:43):
Yeah.
Good, good pick their age.
AJ (06:47):
I thank you.
Pearl (06:48):
uh my stories, uh, I actually have two shorter
stories today Okay.
and these stories are kind of inhonor of our daughter turning
13.
These are kind of some girlpower stories.
So, uh, I flexed weirdly.
AJ (07:04):
Girl power.
I'm
Pearl (07:06):
sorry.
Are you supposed to say that?
AJ (07:07):
wanted to do something, but then it just felt really weird
and I hesitated and then it justmade it even more awkward.
Pearl (07:14):
Yeah.
Oh, so, yeah, the first one thatwe're going to start with, the
first story that we're going tostart with is actually it starts
with us.
and uh, the poem goes like,this.
Listen, my children.
And you shall hear of themidnight ride of Sybil
Ludington.
That's right.
AJ (07:35):
That does
Pearl (07:36):
not Paul Revere.
Okay.
Paul Revere did have a midnightright?
Civil
AJ (07:41):
be fair.
What do you rhyme with SybilLudington.?
Pearl (07:45):
Sybil Ludington's ride wasn't at midnight, but it
wasn't 9:00 PM and it wasraining.
So.
AJ (07:52):
Same night?
Pearl (07:53):
Not, not the same night,
AJ (07:54):
All right.
Pearl (07:56):
Not the same issue, not the same night, but so I believe
that Paul Revere road, I believethe Paul Revere wrote in 1775
AJ (08:06):
quick Google search
Pearl (08:08):
No, no, This is just off the top of my head.
I'm pretty sure it's 1775, but acouple of years later, Uh, so
what happened with Paul Revere?
He's obviously a much morewell-known statesman and then
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrotea very famous poem about him,
that schoolchildren memorizedfor decades.
So, I mean, that's a little bitabout how we know about Paul
(08:30):
Revere story.
Sybil Ludington.
Story is much more obscure andthere's much less, uh, less than
we know about.
Sybil Ludington.
In general.
And I believe it was one of
AJ (08:43):
ringing a bell for me.
Pearl (08:44):
Yeah, exactly.
I know.
I think there's actually astatue of her in Boston.
I think we've actually seen itYou're doing like the freedom
trail in Boston.
one
AJ (08:53):
Quite possibly, probably like who?
Civil
Pearl (08:56):
war.
AJ (08:56):
Cool.
There's a, there's a statue.
Pearl (08:59):
Yeah.
You know, sometimes when you'redoing all that, like historical
tours or something, you're justlike never heard of that person.
Nope.
Never heard of that person.
Right.
Let's take a picture of powerbeer.
No, actually I think we do havea picture of violet as a toddler
in front of civil Luddingtonstatue.
I feel like we should lookthrough our pictures.
Cause it was, it was a littlegirl.
And we're like, oh, let's take abig girl with the girl the girl
(09:21):
in the revolutionary war.
So, this story of civilLuddington is not super long or
well known.
I believe it was like her greatgrant, her grandson or, I think
it was a grandson who actuallywrote about this story to a
newspaper or something manyyears after the effect.
it was more of like a familystory that was passed around.
(09:45):
Right.
But Sybil Ludington.
Was born in 1760 As the oldestof 12 children to Colonel
Luddington.
And, uh, I don't know if he wasColonel Weddington when she was
born, but, you know, uh, so curlLuddington had a whole bunch of
militia that he led Americanmilitia during the revolutionary
(10:08):
war and one night at around
AJ (10:13):
yeah.
Pearl (10:14):
So one night at around 9:00 PM on April 26th, 1777.
Uh, it was by this time, civilis 17 years.
old And her father receives newsthat apparently the British are
marching toward a supply Depotthat supplied the continental
(10:34):
army in Danbury, Connecticut.
Uh, so they have to say savethis supply Depot, otherwise the
British are just going to comein, and completely burn it and
ransack take away a valuableresource.
So, civils father needs to Rousethe militia and the surrounding
countryside.
But he also needs to plan out,uh, the plan of attack and get
(10:59):
everything figured out.
AJ (11:01):
Right,
Pearl (11:02):
So.
Uh, so what he does is he putshis oldest daughter, on a horse
and he
AJ (11:07):
12 kids,
Pearl (11:08):
got 12 kids.
Neil, this one is 17.
I mean, that's like 40
AJ (11:13):
in 1776 years.
Pearl (11:15):
Yeah.
Uh, So he, uh, he, he tellscivil what needs to happen.
And she hops on her horse andshe rides all through the night.
She rides a 40 mile In thesurrounding countryside she
rides.
And you can actually today this.
is, I think it's the site of a50 K it's uh, it's a, like a run
(11:40):
that people can sign up for anultra marathon.
AJ (11:43):
Oh.
Was just say that's gotta besome like an ultra marathon.
Yeah.
Pearl (11:46):
Yeah.
And where they run the loop,that civil Luddington.
Ram.
Yeah.
Yeah, Yeah.
It is kind of fun.
Yeah so she got on her horse andshe just ran from small little
cluster.
Of, of, uh, houses to small andcluster of houses.
And she went to uh, the, thetalent she went to where went
(12:06):
from Kent, which is, I think,where the farm was.
I couldn't find Ken on a map,but now there's, I think it's
Luddington Ville.
So I would assume that's whereit was.
AJ (12:18):
That's a mouthful Luddington
Pearl (12:20):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So from Luddington, Ville tocaramel, to.
Uh, my whole pack to my Hopeckfalls to Kent cliffs, to farmer
mills, to storm and back to Kent
AJ (12:33):
40 miles is a long
Pearl (12:35):
miles.
is a really long time in thedark
AJ (12:39):
at, at night in the rain,
Pearl (12:41):
the rain uphill.
Both ways.
Yeah.
So she just ran she ran herhorse, the entire loop.
and Just banged on doors with astick and yelled.
The British were burning Danburyand everyone knew what to do,
you know, go to ColonelLennington
AJ (12:57):
hop off at each place and make sure people actually wake
up.
Pearl (13:01):
got off.
I think she just like ran, youknow,
AJ (13:04):
handful of rocks
Pearl (13:05):
the, had the horse.
I think she just had a longstick and she was running with
the horse, The horse was runningdoor to door,
AJ (13:12):
more efficient than I would've been, I guess
Pearl (13:14):
But.
So just for context, Paul Revereroad, about 12 miles,
AJ (13:18):
that's it
Pearl (13:19):
Yes.
So Lee Sibel Lemington's ridewas crazy.
I think after, after the war, Ithink she got to meet, uh,
general Washington.
AJ (13:31):
Oh, really?
Pearl (13:31):
She had a little bit of, you know,
AJ (13:33):
a little bit of notoriety
Pearl (13:34):
of notoriety from that.
But yeah, that's the story ofcivil Luddington.
She was technically the secondPaul Revere, but she kind of out
Paul revered, Paul Revere.
you know, She she did that racea couple of times or she did
that, that uh, length a coupleof times over.
and
AJ (13:54):
You know, there's probably a lot more stories like this of
people doing similar.
I mean, they didn't exactly havean emergency
Pearl (14:02):
alert yeah.
So by the time she arrived homeat Dawn most of the 400 militia
men had been roused and theywere there with her father and
they went off and.
Did cool things.
So I don't think they wereactually in time to beat the
British to Danbury, but I thinkthat they was instrumental in
(14:22):
something.
Yeah.
I don't remember uh, the cool,the cool part of the story isn't
whether or not they won, whichspoiler they did eventually we
don't have a British accent.
So that's your first clue or Iguess we don't have a Canadian
accent.
Maybe that's the first.
AJ (14:39):
Yeah.
Pearl (14:40):
Yeah.
So that's the story of civilWeddington.
Second Paul Revere.
AJ (14:45):
That's a great, that's a great story.
Yeah.
Or as Paul Revere, the firstcivil lighting.
Pearl (14:49):
Well, you know, was a great spin to put on.
It The first symbol Luddingtonwas a name.
Paul Revere,
AJ (14:54):
if only her name would ride better.
Pearl (14:57):
Great.
And What did, what kind of apoem are you going to put with
Longfellow?
heard the stories.
He was like, oh, civilLennington Bad-ass but you know,
I just can't take anything rideWith civil
AJ (15:07):
civil Luddington wrote a ton.
Uh that's all I got
Pearl (15:10):
that's a terrible.
rhyme.
You are not a poet.
right The
AJ (15:16):
show it
Pearl (15:17):
next, oh my gosh, please stop Next.
The next story that I have, thenext story is about the first
faiths are you interrupt me withsound
AJ (15:31):
I was going to try and give you like a drum roll or
something.
You were
Pearl (15:33):
the next story is about the first fastest woman in the
world.
AJ (15:37):
First fastest
Pearl (15:39):
fastest woman.
AJ (15:41):
I want to hear this story.
Pearl (15:43):
So, Yeah.
So back in back in the 1920s,there was a huge, uh, I feel
like, I feel like the context tothe story is a little bit
important just to visualize thetime that this story happened
in.
So, women's fashion in the 1920schanged dramatically between the
19 teens and the 1930s.
(16:04):
Right.
So they went from havingmultiple layers of clothing,
heavy, long Hamline.
and, uh, being very restrictiveto things, you know, things are
very restrictive, to physicalactivity, To short hem lines and
lighter fabrics.
I'm
AJ (16:24):
able to picture the two in my,
Pearl (16:27):
just as like a comparison early, early 19.
Yeah.
Well, It is a Victoria.
It was Victorian era.
So early 19 hundreds, when womenwould go to the beach obviously
they'd be wearing like, youknow, 27 pounds of wool
clothing, but they would haveto, they'd usually, if they
wanted to go out deep, they'dusually have to hang on to it.
(16:48):
that was attached to.
her post up on the shore so theycould go out there and, you
know, play in the waves and notdrown,
AJ (16:55):
not drowning.
No, no.
It's 85 pounds of soaking wet
Pearl (17:00):
Yeah, because you know, they, they couldn't, They
couldn't show skin.
And if they didn't wear it.
dresses, they actually fashionactually moved in the direction
of starting to wear long bloomerkind of things.
wherever these really widelegged trousers and.
Yeah, just absolutely ridiculousstuff all the way to, you know,
(17:23):
by the 1930s or late 1920s, Ithink they were wearing like a
more traditional swimsuit whereI was shorts and a tank top,
essentially.
so massive transformation.
AJ (17:36):
That's a huge transition to make it a short period of time.
you know, side note, I see someof the old pictures of people at
the beach.
Pearl (17:45):
Uh huh.
AJ (17:45):
And I think about
Pearl (17:46):
looks
AJ (17:47):
I whine about being at the beach and being hot or Sandy or
uncomfortable, or
Pearl (17:53):
you imagine,
AJ (17:54):
I'm just trying to think of these people out in these cabins
with no power.
And they're still having a greattime at the beach.
need to buck up a
Pearl (18:02):
little bit Yeah.
Yeah.
So, uh, there's, there's a tonof change that happened
culturally during the 1920s,1920 I think is when women
actually earned the right to.
vote.
AJ (18:14):
Sounds right.
Pearl (18:15):
I mean, not earned the right to vote.
they were given the right tovote.
But you know, so there's,there's just a massive, there's
just a massive cultural shiftthat's happening during this
time.
And previous, prior to 1928,women were not allowed to
compete in the Olympics in anytrack and field.
events.
I think they could do archeryand horseback riding or maybe
(18:38):
archery and swimming, somethinglike that.
It was very, there's veryspecific events that women could
or could not compete in.
And that's, that was veryrecent.
Because women only began tocompete.
I think, in the 1920 or 1916Olympics in any capacity.
AJ (18:54):
Oh man.
That is not that long ago.
Pearl (18:57):
No.
Yeah, it really isn't.
Uh, so by the 1928 Olympics,there's been this massive
transformation what's okay forwomen to wear in public.
And As this transformationhappens more and more women are
able to do things athleticallybecause now they can, oh, they
can swim in the water.
They can't just like avoiddrowning, not just like a
(19:19):
competition to avoid drowning.
Now it's like, you can actuallysee.
AJ (19:23):
Yeah.
Pearl (19:24):
So, in 19, August 23rd, 1911, Betty Elizabeth, Betty
Robinson, she was known as BettyElizabeth Robinson was born and
That's stupid toy, man.
I'm getting so sick of it.
AJ (19:42):
It's like a child's first fire engine toy.
You're not
Pearl (19:46):
So Elizabeth Robinson was born in 1928 uh, on 1911, August
23rd, 1911, oh, August 23rdsalvage birthday,
AJ (19:56):
For the record,
Pearl (19:57):
Nevermind.
I'm going to edit that out.
AJ (19:59):
that's the mom making a mistake on the date for a child.
Pearl (20:03):
I'm going to Totally.
delete that.
Yeah.
So, so Elizabeth Robinson isborn in 1911 and by the time
she's 16.
She's seeing the world changearound her dramatically.
She gets a short haircut becauseprior to this women didn't have
short hair cuts.
(20:24):
they had long hair.
Very long hair in the Victorianera.
AJ (20:28):
a bun.
Pearl (20:29):
Yeah.
So she's got short haircut andprob based on, you know,
Culture.
She was probably wearing askirt, like a knee-length skirt
and maybe a cardigan orsomething.
I don't know.
And she was trying to catch atrain she's 16 years So she
starts running to catch trains,trains going to Chicago.
(20:50):
She needs to get on the trainand.
One of her biology teachers, aman named Charles Price sees her
out the window running.
And he's like, man, she'srunning really fast.
She's not going to catch atrain.
She's a girl, but she's running.
really fast.
And then, uh, a little bitlater, he goes and sits down in
his seat and Elizabeth or Bettyis sitting in the seat next So
(21:14):
she caught the train and he wasso impressed that he He had her,
he asked her if she wanted to,you know, if he could time her
running and, you know, she wasjust kind of like a
happy-go-lucky kid.
And she said, yes.
And so he timed her a couple oftimes, like running down the
corridors in school.
(21:35):
I don't know why he couldn'ttime her running out.
but you'd just,
AJ (21:39):
she wasn't allowed on the track or something.
I dunno.
Pearl (21:41):
yeah, I don't know.
but there weren't any women'strack and field teams at that
time.
Or they're not at their school.
It was a very, very obscuresports still.
AJ (21:50):
Yeah.
Pearl (21:51):
And he asked her if she, you know, he got up, got her a
spot on the boys track team attheir school.
So she starts talking.
at the very second track meetthat she ever ran.
She set a world record of a tieof, for a time of 12.2 seconds
in a hundred meter dash.
This is not against, This is nota co-ed track meet, right?
(22:15):
Yeah.
Uh, still, yeah, track a worldrecord, second track meet ever.
And because of that worldrecord, she automatically
qualified to go to the 1928Amsterdam Olympics.
AJ (22:28):
Wow.
Where was she from?
Pearl (22:30):
Oh
AJ (22:31):
I'm sorry.
You don't have to I'm justpicturing, like from small
towns.
Ohio.
to Amsterdam Maybe you said
Pearl (22:41):
Well, she's going in Chicago.
So that makes sense.
AJ (22:43):
Oh yeah, there you go.
Pearl (22:45):
The 1928.
Olympics Is the first Olympicsthat they're going to allow
women to be on the track andfield or to come compete in
track and field.
So she gets to go she is on theU S women's team.
that should compete in track andfield and she.
uh, she's one of five women.
So the U S sends five women tocompete in track and field.
(23:07):
And on the way to the Olympics,they took an ocean.
liner From the U S stamps hernow, because how else would you
get there?
I mean, you could fly but that'dbe crazy.
And
AJ (23:18):
I mean,
Pearl (23:19):
1928
AJ (23:21):
not like a whole team.
Maybe
Pearl (23:24):
Yeah, I guess I kind of need to look up history flying
really quick.
to finish this podcast.
AJ (23:28):
Well, I remember seeing there was a movie that we
watched where yeah, the wholeOlympics team was going across
on this giant ocean liner andyou're like, oh
Pearl (23:37):
what movie was that?
AJ (23:39):
gosh, I don't, I can't
Pearl (23:41):
Okay.
Well, well anyways, they had agreat time on the ocean.
liner.
AJ (23:45):
A long trip
Pearl (23:46):
It was a long trip.
There was alcohol flowing freelyand their treat of choice was
ice cream.
So everyone gained a lot ofweight.
AJ (23:56):
This is, I saw this, there was some movie that we watched.
Did I watch it with you?
And I
Pearl (24:00):
don't remember it at all.
Maybe wash
AJ (24:02):
because I remember them like all the, all the ice cream on
this liner and they, yeah,everyone like gained a bunch of
weight on their way to theOlympics.
Pearl (24:12):
I mean, can you imagine the Olympic team gaining a bunch
of weight from ice cream now?
They probably don't even look atice cream.
AJ (24:19):
Yeah.
Pearl (24:20):
Yeah.
So anyways she's got themetabolism of 17 year old.
She doesn't gain a much wage.
She does fine.
So she is the only one.
uh, from the U S who qualifiesto be in the finals.
because you
AJ (24:33):
all the others were dealing with tummy aches
Pearl (24:36):
gain too much weight from eating ice cream on the trip
AJ (24:41):
yeah, I mean a month long cruise.
I don't hear those are great foryour weight,
Pearl (24:47):
right?
Yeah.
So, they get to Amsterdam.
She's the first one to, our,she's the only one to advance to
the finals in the a hundredmeter dash.
And he runs out there to, youknow, getting ready for the a
hundred meter dash And becauseshe's 16 and I don't know if
you've ever interacted with 16year
AJ (25:08):
olds,
Pearl (25:08):
but they're, they're a little ditzy and clueless.
They, they tend not to takethings quite as seriously as
they should.
She grabbed two left shoes andshe, I mean, she just railed,
they're both barefoot with twoleft shoes, I guess.
And so they, someone had to runback and grab another shoe for
her and the very, you know,right before they're getting
ready to get in the startingposition, she gets a shoe.
(25:29):
So she nearly misses her chanceto make history.
yeah.
So, Betty gets into startingposition and she takes off and
wins gold.
She is still.
The youngest hundred meterchampion in Olympic history, at
17 years old.
AJ (25:45):
That's amazing.
Pearl (25:47):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So she she beat all the otherwomen.
She was very close between the US and Canada, but Elizabeth was
the winner and you lookconfused.
AJ (25:58):
It's just kind of an amazing story.
I've never heard of it.
Pearl (26:01):
Yeah.
Plot twist.
So she comes home and she, oh,also, uh, she was in a relay
team and they won silver at thatsame Olympics.
so not, not a terrible careerfor her so far at the ripe old
age of 17, So she comes homefrom this, uh, from the Olympics
(26:21):
and she's a celebrity we're nowin, you know, The the stock
market crashes, and hero figuresin American culture were really
big at that time because, youknow, it was kind of like a
distraction from real life.
And so 1931 she's getting readyfor the 1932 Olympics and she
(26:42):
goes for a plane ride with hercousin.
He is an accomplished by plane.
Pilot and they get up about 400feet in the air and the plane
takes a nosedive 400 feet in theair and it crashes real bad.
AJ (27:00):
Why, why couldn't you just stop at the gold medal?
Pearl (27:03):
We're not done yet.
So the plane, plane nosedivesWhen people come to the crash,
you know, restaurateurs come tothe crash.
She is so badly injured thatthey assume that she's dead.
She's got a terrible gash herlegs are all busted up She's got
multiple really seriousinjuries.
They sent her off to the themorgue.
But fortunately
AJ (27:22):
they literally
Pearl (27:23):
yeah, they, they literally assume that she was
dead.
I don't, I don't think theyexactly had paramedics.
at this scene necessarily youknow?
Yeah.
So she goes to the morgue andfortunately someone realizes
that she is still faintlyhanging onto life.
So for the next 11 weeks, and Ihave pictures of her in the
hospital, I have pictures of theplane crash.
(27:43):
all of this stuff.
AJ (27:44):
20, 20 years old.
Pearl (27:47):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, she's hanging on to lifeover the next 11 weeks.
She's going to be in and out ofa coma.
And then she does not walk fortwo years.
AJ (28:00):
Wow.
Pearl (28:00):
And when she does finally walk, her healed leg is half an
inch shorter.
AJ (28:05):
Oh yeah.
Pearl (28:06):
So this is like, I mean, this is, it's really done a
number on her, but apparentlyshe she just, you know, took one
step at a time.
And First, she was you know,walking every day and then she
was just running a little bitevery day and running a little
bit more every day.
And she, I think she just kindof had an epiphany about the
(28:27):
role of women in sports and justwhat an incredible opportunity
it was to kind of shape historylike this.
So she starts running again andshe she's so badly injured that
the, the main thing that'sholding her back is that she
cannot get down into thestarting crouch.
(28:49):
Cause she can't.
bend her knee like that.
So
AJ (28:52):
she has a short leg
Pearl (28:53):
she's also that, uh, she can't get down into the starting
crouch which is a pretty massiveit's a pretty massive handicap
for that level of running.
So, but then it occurs to her.
That is as long as she's not inthe starting position, she can
run in a relay race.
Because in a relay race, onlythe starting runner has to start
(29:16):
in a crouch position.
AJ (29:17):
Right.
Pearl (29:18):
So she starts training again and she makes the women's
Olympic relay team for the 1936Olympics.
Uh, which is still really,really fast.
I mean, she's.
just,
AJ (29:32):
I mean, the crazy thing is to think that if she hadn't had
that accident, I mean, a womangoing from 17 years old 21 25,
she would've gottensignificantly faster.
Pearl (29:47):
Yeah.
Right.
Well, I don't think that she gotslower.
because the competition now isreally stiff.
You know, the world has seen anAmerican woman win in this
event.
So American women are inspiredto compete in this event are
inspired to compete in theOlympics in track and field.
Uh, So she, she goes back.
(30:08):
She wants to go back to theOlympics with this team.
Even though she's going, she'sofficially on the Olympic team,
the U S Olympic committee wouldnot pay Uh, for the women to go
to the Olympics.
They would pay for the men'strack and field team, but they
wouldn't pay for the women'strack and field team.
So all of the women had to comeup with their own travel money.
(30:32):
Now Elizabeth obviously did notbecome a millionaire because,
uh, for winning her firstOlympic gold medal she actually
became a huge medical liabilityfor our family because she had a
massive injury.
Her, her miracle bills havetaken a huge toll on her family.
And her father lost his jobbecause of the great depression,
you know, so she basically soldAnything that she could, she
(30:56):
sold a bunch of ribbons and pinsas she collected at the 28
games.
She did not sell her gold medal.
and she found work as asecretary to pay her way, over
to the, 1936 Olympics.
AJ (31:09):
Yeah.
Pearl (31:09):
So just barely, barely she covers her travel costs and
she makes it to Berlin.
There's a lot of the picturesfrom Berlin of Betty Robinson
show her smiling, uh, so much sothat the New York times
nicknamed her smiling, Bettyand.
AJ (31:24):
witty, witty
Pearl (31:26):
real, real creative on their part.
And her team.
So she is, she was the thirdrunner in her.
It was a four time, 100 relay.
She was the third runner and shegets the Baton.
and she runs as hard as she can.
She passes it off in the U S uh,wins gold.
AJ (31:43):
They win gold.
Pearl (31:45):
win gold.
So she now officially has wonsilver and two gold medals in
the Olympics.
And, uh, it wasn't until itwasn't until 1971 that the us
Olympic committee inducted herinto their hall of fame.
But yeah, so she's, she's in thehall of fame, you know, cause
she dramatically changed the U Sperception of women in sporting
(32:11):
events.
She was young and beautiful andathletic and incredibly fast.
And, uh, she kind of appeared asthe first of something in
American history and allowedAmerican women to kind of
picture themselves.
Following in her footsteps andgirls too, to think of
(32:31):
themselves as something otherthan decorative objects.
So I just thought that wasreally, it was a really, cool
story.
It's kind of a crazy example of,
AJ (32:38):
that's an
Pearl (32:38):
overcoming incredible odds and, uh, yeah, two great
two great stories there aboutAmerican women that, uh, just,
yeah.
AJ (32:47):
Yeah.
I mean, it's kind of sad tothink what Betty
Pearl (32:51):
actually, the same age.
That's kind of the funny thingis right at her first Olympics,
she was 17 and at, uh, whencivil Wedington road, she was
also 17.
AJ (32:59):
Yeah.
I was gonna say it's, it's kindasad to think about what Betty
Robinson could have done if shehadn't had that Plane crash.
But at the same time, I mean,what an incredible story of
overcoming the odds.
Yeah.
Just the terrible things thatcan happen to you in an instant
(33:19):
and come back to win gold again.
I mean, that's just, that's anincredible story.
Pearl (33:26):
Yeah.
So, I mean, she, she gotmarried, she had two solar with
a man named Richard Schwartz andthey I think she was, I think
she coached.
Uh, track and field for women inS and, a was a speaker.
And, you know, just
AJ (33:42):
Boy, how would you like that to be your coach?
Like this living legend?
Pearl (33:45):
The first one?
Yeah,
AJ (33:47):
of course.
Probably nobody even knew aboutit at the time.
You know what I mean?
My guess is she probably wasn'tlike,
Pearl (33:53):
I think she was probably pretty quickly eclipsed in
Olympic history, but for a shortwhile she was the first fastest
woman in the world.
AJ (34:02):
That's a really cool
Pearl (34:03):
story.
AJ (34:04):
Where'd you find that story?
Pearl (34:06):
The internet.
So there you have it
AJ (34:10):
Great stories, Pearl.
Pearl (34:11):
If you're still
AJ (34:12):
goes out to Violet's 13th birthday.
Pearl (34:14):
this one goes out to Violet's 13th birthday.
If you're still listening weapplaud you.
We salute you.
And we ask that you, commentreview and,
AJ (34:25):
Don't forget to share it with your Bye-bye.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.