This week on SHLTMM Podcast, Gregg LeFevre, a renowned New York City artist, shares stories of his mother, Betty LeFevre. By way of Buffalo, NY, Betty was the eldest of five children working as a switchboard operator.She saw an ad about the WASP and her life started on an unimaginable trajectory. She was one of the first female pilots during WWII. Ten thousand women applied for the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) positions and one thousand were excepted. Before she knew it, she was on her way to Texas to train to become a pilot.
As host of SHLTMM, I wanted you to know that this episode of my podcast contains some graphic or sensitive content that some may find disturbing.
Gregg's podcast, "The Compulsive Storyteller" which can be found where ever you listen to podcast, is Gregg continuing the art of telling stories handed down from past generations. Worth a listen for sure. (Link is below.)
When Gregg was a little boy the family had moved to the Albany, New York area. Betty owned a plane, so who better to fly with his mom on a regular basis. He loved seeing the landscape from way up in the sky. It was quite an experience for a little boy. They'd go out to lunch and fly from one location to another. Gregg really cherishes his memories of his mom.
Gregg's parents were apparently too similar personalities to make a good match according to Gregg. When Betty was checked out of the WASP at the end of WWII, she received a job offer as the first ever female flight controller at LaGuardia Airport. Her husband sent her a telegraph ordering her to go back to buffalo and wait for him and not to take the job.
Gregg shares a few very telling stories about his mother's experience in the military. Unfortunately a strong, talented, fearless women had a tough time in a male dominated industry such as the military. Gregg often says, "she was a woman ahead of her time." Betty flew an AT-6 which was considered the best fighter training aircraft during WWII, P38 Fighter Bomber and more.
Over the 32 years that Gregg knew his mother, he laments "she never once said 'I'm sorry,' nor did she say so to my sisters or my father. That was a real disability she had. She was very proud." Unfortunately, Gregg's maternal grandmother held onto grudges similar to his mother. Anyone who went against his grandmother, they also were crossed off the list forever.
Being in the military was not always easy, the most challenging was when confronted by misogynistic men. That happened on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the harassment continued after the military while working in the real estate business.
"A woman who was strong and decisive and stood up for herself was basically a difficult woman," Gregg explains out of frustration.
Unfortunately, Betty LeFevre, even with all her accomplishments, was more unhappy than anyone could have understood.
I'm a public artist with permanent commissions around the world, a passion for the art world, entrepreneurship, multiculturalism, & stories.
I have completed over 200 permanently installed public art projects all over the world, many in the USA and a dozen in Manhattan. Library Walk, at Fifth and 41st, is the latest work of public art in NYC. Many of my projects are unique in that they consist of a series of bronze panels with text and imagery that are set in sidewalks, parks and plazas. Library Walk is two blocks long, and it's 96 bronze panels lead the viewer toward the front door of NY's central Schwarzman Library.
My public art is all about exploring the history and character of the places where it is set. I have a particular interest in telling the lost and forgotten stories from African American history, women's history, Hispanic history, natural history and those of other minority cultures.
I have also turned many my experiences in and around the world of art into a podcast of short personal stories that proves truth can be stranger than fiction. The Compulsive Storytelleris my podcast of intriguing comic, tragic and weird stories, many of which involve getting myself into and out of trouble. It is available on Apple, Spotify and most other platforms.
Reviews of my public artworks can be found in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, and many other newspapers, magazines and online publications.
Discover More
http://andrewslefevre.com/
https://www.gregglefevre.com/nyt-bronze-star
https://www.gregglefevre.com/nyt-what-lies-beneath
https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/the-great-library-way-1411003094
https://www.grandcentralpartnership.nyc/our-neighborhood/library-way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqwr1WdayQ0&feature=emb_imp_woyt
https://open.spotify.com/show/5MllPsrmeipHqZ0vtiw2Mx
https://www.thecompulsivestoryteller.com/