Curtiss-Wright Cadettes Material Fayram

During World War II, Curtiss-Wright addressed a labor shortage with the creation of the Curtiss-Wright Cadettes program to train women to take entry-level positions within the company and enable men who remained at the company to be promoted to more advanced positions. Louise Fayram McClain was accepted into the Curtiss-Wright Cadettes program at the University of Minnesota where she began studies in early 1943. After the ten month program, Fayram went to work in the engineering department at Curtiss-Wright in Columbus, Ohio in the landing gear and hydraulics section, working on the Helldiver and other aircraft. This collection consists of the following items relating to the Curtiss-Wright Cadettes: the April 1943 issue of the Minnesota Technalog (magazine produced by the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology) featuring an article, with photographs, about the Cadettes; Louise Fayram's certificate for the completion of the program's course on Aeronautical Engineering; a 1994 newsletter documenting the Cadettes Convention held that year in Columbus, Ohio; the August 1995 and Summer 2002 issues of the Cadette Gazette newsletter; and two photographs of former Cadettes (and spouses in one of the photos) taken in 1991 at a 48th Reunion for Minnesota Cadettes. The collection also includes a panoramic photo, measuring approximately 26 by 8 inches, which is a group portrait of Curtiss-Wright Cadettes at the University of Minnesota taken on June 24, 1943. Louise Fayram is pictured in the photograph.

During World War II, Curtiss-Wright addressed a labor shortage with the creation of the Curtiss-Wright Cadettes program to train women to take entry-level positions within the company and enable men who remained at the company to be promoted to more advanced positions. Between February 1943 and March 1945, 918 female college students, identified as mathematically advanced, took courses in aerodynamics, engineering, and design, completing more than two years curriculum in just ten months for the initial class, and even less for later groups, at seven universities (Purdue University, Cornell, Pennsylvania State University, University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, Rensselear University, and University of Texas). Curtiss-Wright paid for lodging and tuition for the participants as well as providing a stipend. Ultimately, 766 Cadettes graduated from the government-sponsored program and began work in one of the country's five Curtiss-Wright plants. Although Curtiss-Wright had promised additional funding to help the Cadettes complete their engineering degrees after the war, this does not appear to have materialized. Louise Fayram McClain began studying mathematics at the University of Denver in 1942 but left during her sophomore year after being accepted into the Curtiss-Wright Cadettes program at the University of Minnesota where she began studies in early 1943. After the ten month program, Fayram went to work in the engineering department at Curtiss-Wright in Columbus, Ohio in the landing gear and hydraulics section, working on the Helldiver and other aircraft. After the war, Fayram resumed her studies at the University of Denver and also worked as a draftsperson for Prouty Brothers Engineering Company and later Sterns Roger Manufacturing and Engineering. Upon graduating with her degree in mathematics, Fayram married and then moved to California and worked for Douglas Aircraft as a statistician doing master scheduling work but was forced to leave due to company policy when she became pregnant. Fayram McClain was prepared to challenge the policy in court, but was dissuaded by her lawyer who thought the suit would not succeed.