The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion (41 page)

Later, a few people who had paid a lot of money were able to go up in the B-17. The noise was deafening as it taxied down the runway and took off, and Sookie was nervous that it would never get off the ground. But at the last minute, it lifted up and flew out, headed over the mountains. If she had had any courage at all, she could have gone for a ride in it, but she was not brave enough for that.

As they left the exhibit, they stopped by the man seated at the long
table who had taken their money and stamped their hands, and Sookie thanked him. “Oh, it was just wonderful to see those planes in person and actually get inside one.”

The man smiled. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

Sookie looked back at the plane for the last time. “I’m just in awe at the bravery and skill those fliers must have had.”

Then Dee Dee piped up and said, “You know, you really should tell people going through that women flew these planes as well, especially the little girls. I think they would like to know that.”

The man’s smile hardened ever so slightly, and he looked right past her, as if he hadn’t heard a word, and motioned for the next person in line to step up. It was quite obvious that he had no intention of mentioning that fact.

Then Dee Dee did something that shocked her mother. Dee Dee looked at the man and said, “Asshole,” and turned around and walked away.

Sookie did not like bad language, but she heard herself add, “Macho asshole,” and followed her daughter, and they both burst out laughing.

They left the airport that day with a feeling of tremendous pride and with a deeper appreciation of what the WASPs had done. And now she had a clue as to what it must have felt like, risking your life day after day, and not even being appreciated. No wonder some of the gals were bitter.

Dear God, thought Sookie. Even after all these years, after so many of these women died flying for their country, these men still didn’t want to acknowledge it ever happened. Some things never change. Thank heavens for the younger generation.

P
OINT
C
LEAR
, A
LABAMA

T
HE MOMENT
S
OOKIE PICKED UP THE PHONE
,
SHE RECOGNIZED THE
voice.

“Hiya, kid!”

“Hello!”

“I’m calling to see if you want to come home with me.”

“When? Where?”

“To Pulaski.”

“Oh …”

“I just got off the phone with Pinks, who’s organizing it. This year, we’re having the WASP reunion in Pulaski. Can you come? There’s going to be a parade, and yours truly is grand marshal, and I want you to ride with me.”

“Oh, my gosh … well, yes! Of course! When?”

“August fourteenth.”

“I’ll be there.”

Sookie was so excited. She had wanted to go to Pulaski, but she hadn’t wanted to embarrass anyone by just showing up. Now she had an official invitation from Fritzi.

O
N
A
UGUST FOURTEENTH
, S
OOKIE
flew into Green Bay. Everybody was staying at the big Hyatt, and Sookie’s plane was late, so she was told to meet them at the hotel dining room, where they would be having lunch. As she walked in the door, she looked over and saw a group of women at a table in the corner and stood and watched them for a moment.

She realized that to a stranger, they would look like any group of old ladies having lunch. One would have no idea who they were or what they had done. The maître d’ came over and took Sookie over to the table, and Fritzi looked up and said, “Here she is! Pinks, Willy, this is Sarah Jane.”

She would have known them anywhere. Pinks looked just like her photos, and Willy was, of course, older but still a beauty. Later, she met her Aunt Gertrude, now a nun called Sister Mary Jude, for the first time. She had a face like a chubby angel on a tree, and she grabbed Sookie and hugged her. “Oh, you look just like her. Oh, you darling girl. Oh, if only Momma could have seen you!”

Someone sent over a bottle of champagne, and Fritzi lifted her glass and said, “Well, now that we are all here, here’s to all the great gals who have already gone upstairs, and here’s to us. We may not be as young and spry as we once were, but by God, as the song says, ‘We’re still here.’ ”

“Hear, hear,” they said as they all drank a toast.

“And here’s to Sophie’s girl, Sarah Jane. Welcome home.”

The next day, Sookie and all the ladies in their uniforms were picked up early in the morning and driven to Pulaski. As they drove into town, they were greeted by crowds of excited people, lined up on both sides of the streets, waving little American flags, yelling and applauding as they passed by. After the parade was over, they all went to the large auditorium at the Knights of Columbus Hall, where the official ceremony was to take place, and both walls were filled with large photographs of Avenger Field in Sweetwater and the girls and the planes they flew. Right in the front, on the right, was a large photograph of Sookie’s mother, Sophie, smiling, standing by her plane.

A
FTER EVERYONE WAS SEATED
, Fritzi got up and welcomed all the WASPs and their families to Pulaski and then sat down by Sookie in the front row.

There were a number of speeches from the mayor, the governor of Wisconsin, a few senators, and other dignitaries. After the governor spoke, everyone assumed it was over, but, suddenly, Pinks came out onstage with a twinkle in her eye. She looked like she was trying her best not to smile and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, there is someone backstage who has flown here today in order to deliver a special message.”

They all looked down at the program, but this speaker was not listed, so they wondered who it could be. As soon as the woman walked out onstage, there was a loud gasp and then spontaneous applause. They all recognized the U.S. astronaut immediately. She smiled, looked out at the crowd, and then said:

“Good morning, I’m Sally Ride. I came here today to say something long overdue on behalf of all the women in the military who are flying today, and that is … thank you. At a time when your country needed you, you stepped up to the task and proved that women could fly and do it magnificently. You faced and overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles with grace, bravery, and courage. Your sacrifices, determination, and refusal-to-fail attitude opened doors that now allow women like myself to fly higher than we ever dared to dream. And so as those of us in the space program today and in the future head off for the moon and the stars and beyond, know that you and all the WASPs were truly the wind beneath our wings. God bless you.”

As she walked off and waved good-bye, the recording of Bette Midler singing “Wind Beneath My Wings” started playing over the loudspeaker.

What a day!

That night, the town threw a huge party for the WASPs out at Zeilinski’s Ballroom. The place was packed, and when the band leader saw Fritzi walk in, he stopped the music, and everyone applauded as she made her way through the crowd. “Hiya, pals!” Sookie didn’t know if they knew who she was or if they were just the friendliest people in the world, but she had never been hugged so much in her life. Pretty soon, the music started up again, and a large, jolly woman
with a gold tooth grabbed Sookie, and off they went on the dance floor, dancing the polka. She
guessed
that’s what it was.

Later, after Sookie had a chance to catch her breath, she noticed the long table laden from one end to the other with food. And she thought Southerners ate a lot! She grabbed a plate and started eating the most delicious something with mustard and sauerkraut. She didn’t know what it was, but it was all good. She watched as Fritzi and all the others danced. They looked like they were having the time of their lives.

After being grabbed and whisked around the room by at least a hundred different people, including one eight-year-old boy, Sookie realized she couldn’t blame her failure at ballet on her genetics. The Polish were very good dancers.

About an hour later, a man approached the bandstand and said something to the bandleader, and after the next song, the bandleader went up to the microphone and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a special request for a song. Where is Sister Mary Jude?” The crowd roared and applauded. Sister Mary Jude was eating, but being a good sport, went up to the stage, took the accordion, and started a rousing rendition of “The Wink-a-Dink Polka.” The next thing she knew, Sookie was out on the floor again, dancing to “The Oh, Geez, You Betcha Polka.”

T
HE NEXT DAY
,
AFTER THE FORMER
WASP
S HAD GONE HOME AND ALL
the banners were taken down, Fritzi called Sookie at the hotel, sounding as chipper as ever.

“Hiya, pal, did you survive the evening?”

“Oh, yes, but I’m still in bed. What a party!”

“Well, get your duds on and come on downstairs, because I have another little surprise for you.”

When Sookie reached the lobby, Fritzi was outside in a car waiting for her. “Get in,” she said.

Sookie said, “Where are we going?”

“Ah-ha. That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

The old Phillips 66 filling station had been closed for years, and all that was left was the shell of a building and the cement ramp where the gas pumps had once stood, but as they drove up to the front, Sookie suddenly heard the Andrews Sisters singing “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.” Then she saw the huge banner draped across the front:

WELCOME TO THE ALL-GIRL FILLING STATION

Then the three women and one lone man who had been waiting for them came over to the car, all talking at once. As Fritzi and Sookie got out, Fritzi was grinning from ear to ear and said, “Sarah Jane, I
want you to meet your Aunt Tula. This is Wink’s wife, Angie, and you know Sister Jude, and this one old geezer is Nard, Tula’s husband. He just came over to set up the speakers. He’s not staying. No men allowed.”

Nard laughed. “Okay, Fritzi, I’m leaving, but it sure was nice to meet you.”

Tula just stared at Sarah Jane and then burst into tears. “Oh, honey,” she said. “You look so much like Sophie.” Then she grabbed her and almost squeezed the life out of her. Fritzi said, “Don’t kill her, for God’s sake.”

When they walked around to the back of the station, Sookie saw that the ladies had set up a big table full of more food. Fritzi explained, “Every three or four years, the gals and I try to get together for a little reunion.”

Tula chimed in, “And this year is so special, because you’re with us, Sarah Jane.”

Fritzi looked at the table. “Yeah, usually we don’t get Tula’s homemade sausages or her cabbage rolls.”

“Or her paczki … oh, boy,” said Gertrude, eyeing the plate piled high with homemade Polish doughnuts.

After Sookie sat down, she said, “I just want you to know I’m honored to be here, and thank you so much for inviting me. Life is so strange. A few years ago, if someone had told me that I would be at this reunion today, I wouldn’t have believed them in a million years.… And yet, here I am!”

“And we’re so glad you are here. When Fritzi told us about you, we were all just dying to meet you, but she didn’t tell us how much you look like your mother,” Angie said. “Oh, Sarah Jane, I wish you could have known her. She was so pretty.”