Who Was Georgia Priest?

Georgia Priest was a Montana news writer who used the pen name "Betty Butte" when she wrote for the Anaconda Standard newspaper. Before marriage she was known as Georgia Emerson of Anaconda, a busy mining town in western Montana.

In the years just after 1900, very few women in the United States flew airplanes or wrote about aviation, so Georgia's work as both a journalist and a pilot made her stand out. Her flying shows helped people in Montana see that women could be daring aviators as well as respected professionals.

Georgia the Writer: "Betty Butte"

Georgia's newspaper pen name, "Betty Butte," connected her to the city of Butte and to her readers across Montana. As Betty Butte, she reported on people, events, and new ideas, including the exciting world of early aviation.

At a time when most reporters were men, Georgia showed that a woman could successfully cover stories about machines, travel, and adventure. Her work helped more Montanans learn about airplanes and the pilots who flew them.

Falling in Love with Flying

Georgia was fascinated by airplanes from the moment she first saw them take off, and she loved watching them climb into the sky. In the winter of 1917, she took her first airplane ride in Venice, California, as a passenger in a plane operated by the Crawford Airplane Company.

That first trip in 1917 was her "maiden voyage" in the air, and she later said she was hooked on flying from then on. After that experience, she no longer wanted to just watch airplanes; she wanted to learn how to fly them herself.

A Family Who Loved the Sky

Georgia's husband was also an aviator and shared her enthusiasm for flying, so airplanes became an important part of their family life. Together they traveled to airfields and fairs where they could fly and give demonstration rides.

Georgia even took her baby daughter, Jimmie, up in an airplane when the child was still an infant. She said that when Jimmie was about four months old and they flew to around 2,500 feet, the baby seemed to enjoy every minute of being in the air.

The Helena State Fair Flight of 1920

In 1920, Georgia became the first woman aviator to perform at the Helena State Fair, held at the State Fairgrounds near Montana's capital city. Crowds filled the fairgrounds to watch her fly and to see what they had only read about in newspapers.

Most people in the audience had never seen a woman pilot before, so her performance surprised and thrilled them. Georgia did risky aerial stunts, such as steep climbs, sharp turns, and dives, that "knocked the socks off" the crowd and showed that women could handle an airplane with skill and courage.

Photographs from the time show Georgia in classic early-aviator gear: a leather flying cap, goggles, and a flight jacket, much like famous pilots of the era. In those pictures you can see curls escaping from under her cap and dark lipstick, small details that remind us she was combining a dangerous new job with the style of a modern woman of the 1920s.

Women and Aviation in Her Time

When Georgia began flying, aviation was still new and risky, and only a few women in the world had pilot training or flew in shows. Most airplanes were made of wood, wire, and fabric, and pilots had very simple instruments and almost no safety equipment.

Because of this, every flight was a test of both the pilot's skill and the airplane's strength, and accidents were common in the 1910s and early 1920s. Georgia's flights, especially at a big public event like the Helena State Fair, helped challenge the idea that only men could take on such dangerous work.

Remembering Georgia Priest Today

Today, Georgia Priest is remembered in Montana as a pioneer who combined journalism and aviation at a time when women rarely did either. Stories about her 1920 flight at the Helena State Fair still appear in state history materials and kids' history websites.

Her example encourages students to see that curiosity and courage can lead to new paths, no matter what others expect. When we learn about early pilots like Georgia, we can better understand how aviation grew and how women helped shape that history from the very beginning.

Key Terms for Students

Aviator

A person who flies an aircraft; another word for pilot.

Pen name

A name a writer uses instead of their real name when publishing articles or stories.

Maiden voyage

A person's or vehicle's first trip, especially the first flight or first journey.

State fair

A large yearly event where people gather to see exhibits, contests, shows, and sometimes airplane demonstrations.

Aerial stunt

A planned, daring move performed in an aircraft to entertain an audience, such as dives, sharp turns, or loops.