On the Banks of Yesteryear â Plane sewing Ida Holdgreve works on cloth for airplane wings in the new Wright Brothers Airplane Factory. (Photo submtited) The Holdgreve family, front from left, Casper, Sophia, Louise and Sophia; and back, Ida, Anthony, Casimir, Rose, Charles, Anna and Otto. (Photo submitted)
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2 The classified ad in the Dayton newspaper sought someone for “Plain sewing.” Young Ida Holdgreve, an accomplished seamstress, figured she could do the job. She applied and was hired. However, the ad in the Dayton newspaper had a spelling error. “Plain” sewing should have read “plane” sewing. Twenty-nine year old Ida Holdgreve had applied for, and gotten, a job as head seamstress at the Wright Brothers Airplane Factory.
Jim Krumel: Smithsonian Magazine tells Delphos woman’s story
Jim Krumel
Robert Holdgreve grew up in the 1930s and early ’40s listening to stories about how his great-aunt, Ida Holdgreve, worked alongside Orrville and Wilbur Wright when they were building airplanes.
The 91-year-old Delphos resident thought he had heard all of the stories until several weeks ago when he received a copy of the March 15 edition of the Smithsonian Magazine, which is the official journal of the prestigious Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
In it was the headline and story: “How Ida Holdgreve’s Stitches Helped the Wright Brothers Get Off the Ground.” It went on to recognize her as the first female worker in the American aviation industry.