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The cover story of our July issue ("The Flying Omlies") features our city's "First Family of Flight" — Phoebe and Vernon Omlie, who were internationally known aviators. Now look, I expect you to read the story, so I'm not going to give away too much here, except to note that they are both buried in Midtown at Forest Hill Cemetery.
Unless you know precisely where to search, their grave markers aren't that easy to find, tucked into the shadow of the giant Harahan monument in the southern part of the sprawling cemetery. A large stone simply says OMLIE on one side, and it's adorned with a carved symbol of a flying clock — designed to portray the passage of time (or, in their case, "time flies").
In front of this are two smaller, rather humble markers, and it's easy to pass them over. At first glance, a visitor may feel disappointed that two people who gained such fame in their lifetimes are buried beneath such plain little tombstones.
But each stone carries a simple ornament that gives a clue about their past. As you can see here, Vernon's marker mentions his World War One background, his rank as Captain, and carries a symbol of a winged propeller. This is actually the insignia of the U.S. Army Air Service, as these pilots were called before the 1926 formation of the U.S. Army Air Corps (which later became the U.S. Air Force, of course).
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It's Phoebe's marker, however, that might make one pause. Above her name is what appears to be a rather elaborate compass. A natural symbol, I suppose, for a woman who set records with her air exploits.
But that's actually much more than a compass. It's the official symbol of the Ninety-Nines, a group of women fliers established in 1929, and one which remains active to this day, with some 150 chapters around the globe. The group originally was composed of just 99 women, hence the unusual name, and that odd symbol in the very middle of the compass is actually a 9 on top of another 9. (Just take my word for it, or look it up, if you don't believe me).
It makes perfect sense that this symbol would mark the last resting place of Phoebe Omlie, since she was a charter member of this club, along with another flier by the name of Amelia Earhart. Perhaps you've heard of her?
Phoebe and Vernon lived a life that most of us can only imagine. Read all about them in the current issue of our magazine.
