Marie J. Towle (Grimm) Schuette
The Nation's Youngest Female Pilot
On August 4th, 1939, Mari
e Towle, became the youngest female solo pilot in the United States, at just 16 years old. Marie, who reached legal flight age on July 24th, 1939, celebrated her birthday by flying an airplane alone for the first time. Candidates for the solo, or basic license, must be 16 years old before being allowed to take the U.S. Department of Commerce examinations. The next 10 days were pretty exciting getting in the eight hours of solo flying necessary for license applicants. Despite her experience, Marie admitted to “feeling pretty nervous” on the day of her test.1 With Burleigh Putnam Jr., department inspector, on hand to do the judging, she put the airplane through a 10-minute flight and passed the examination with flying colors. Shortly after that, a wire from the U.S. Bureau of Air Commerce in Washington D.C., informed the Towle family that they had the youngest female pilot in the nation living under their roof. 1
Marie was a Wausau High School Junior when she earned her license, with plans to continue her progress in aviation. She planned first to go after her private pilot’s license, which requires 35 hours of solo flying, and then her commercial and transport pilot’s licenses for 60 and 200 hours, respectively.1 These goals would not be far-fetched for Marie to achieve considering that her father, Archie Towle, Alexander Municipal Airport Manager, was one of Wisconsin’s most notable fliers and President of the Wisconsin Aeronautics Association. Even her mother, Margaret Towle, had many flight hours of solo work to her credit. Marie’s love of flying was nurtured, by her father, from a young age. Flight was an ever-constant presence in their family and Marie’s life. Thus, when Archie tragically died after the plane he was piloting failed to recover from a power roll at the Alexander Municipal Airport in Wausau, Marie and her husband Lyle Grimm took over his flying service and the management of Alexander Municipal Airport.
While this was probably not what she had in mind that idyllic day she was asked what her future might hold in aviation, this path would lead to her becoming one of the most dominant figures in piloting and aviation for the next 70 years. Despite the ever-looming presence of Archie Towle’s death, Marie Towle broke the glass ceiling of aviation, which was, and often still is, considered a man’s world. According to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, In 2020 just 5% of pilots were women, and a mere 1.42% of captains were female.4 Marie Towle went on to own and operate her Grimm Flying Service Inc., one of Wisconsin’s largest flight schools, for 30 years, received almost countless aviation-related honors and awards, helped to organize and establish the Archie Towle Memorial Scholarship in memory of her father, and received various awards from the Civil Air Patrol, which serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force. These accomplishments and more are what make Marie, Wausau’s very own local aviation heroine.
Savior of the Wausau Municipal Airport
The Wausau Municipal Airport has been concerned with closure since the discussion of opening the Central Wisconsin Airport (CWA) began. A regional airport would relocate commercial flights and industry from Wausau Municipal Airport to CWA in Mosinee, Wisconsin. Concerns about the economy, tax increases, and even general-purpose use have been discussed repeatedly. In the 1960s and 70s, the Wausau Municipal Airport’s future was in jeopardy unlike ever before. 1968 mayoral candidate, Allen Shepherd, decided to run on lowering the tax rate in Wausau by demolishing the airport and selling the land off as residential real-estate developments.3 This plan received pushback from some members of the community, especially those heavily invested in aviation like Marie (Towle) Grimm. In an opinion piece for the Wausau Daily Record Herald, Marie Grimm wrote the following in response to Allen Shepherd’s proposal:
“May I comment on Mr. Shepherd’s solution to our tax problems by eliminating the Wausau Municipal Airport. This plan is the essence of shortsightedness! This kind of thinking will go a long way to change Wausau’s slogan from ‘Wausau’s Got It’ to ‘Wausau’s Had It.’ Anyone with any understanding at all or knowledge of the aviation industry is aware of the tremendous growth of general aviation and of corporate aircraft use – the jets, the turbos and the pistons. When we speak of general aviation we are talking about all flying done by other than airline or military. This segment of the aviation industry now has a fleet of approximately 110,000 airplanes. This is about 55 times more than are operated by all U.S. airlines combined. This same group is continuing to grow at a rate of approximately 1,000 planes per month. In a recent study by the Federal Aviation Agency it was brought out that about one-half as many people travel intercity, in general aviation airplanes, as are carried by all the airlines combined. Wausau has always been an air-minded community. We’ve had our airplanes, our pilots, and our airfields since 1911. Local pioneers include Schwister, D.C. Everest, Ben & Judd Alexander, John P. Wood and many others. It was suggested that a small strip be provided someplace else for the general aviation flight activity. Good heavenly day! This is progress? You might as well lock up the automobile and jump back on the horse. The present airport because of its strategic location, is one of the most desirable airports in the country. May I ask you to remember one thing – an airport 15 miles north in Merrill or an airport 18 miles south in Mosinee, cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be called the Wausau airport.” 17
It was pointed out that federal aid commitments required the Alexander Municipal Airport to be maintained for some years yet, and any abandonment of the airport required state and federal approval. There was still much work required to be done on the airport like new lights in existing T-hangars, construction of additional T-hangars on a self-amortizing basis to meet existing requests, additional aircraft tie-down ramp area, taxiway lights, road surfacing, additional vehicle parking, a small airport fire truck, and sidewalk repairs.17 Because Marie, and her husband Lyle, Grimm ran Grimm Flying Service Inc., out of the Alexander Airport for 30 years, no one understood the ins and outs of the Alexander Municipal Airport as well as them. Marie was an expert on what the airport could provide to the community and what it required to maintain it daily. Her community outreach and position were able to sway Wausau into protecting its local airport during one of the most vulnerable periods of its history.
Historic Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame Inductee
The Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame inducted a father/daughter team at its annual inauguration ceremony at the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on October 25th, 2003. For the first time in the WAHF's history, both Archie Towle and Marie Schuette received the honor for over half a century of commitment to the development of aviation in Wisconsin.7 Archie Towle was the manager and fixed base operator of the Wausau airport from 1931 to 1945. A barnstormer, or aerobatic flight specialist, Towle promoted aviation with such enthusiasm that 16 members of his family became pilots. After he died in an airplane crash at age 45, his Towle Flying Service business lived on, managed by his daughter and son-in-law, Marie & Lyle Grimm. Marie was already an accomplished pilot at age 22 when her father died in 1945. She soloed in an Aeronca C-3 at age 16 and became the country's youngest female pilot on her 16th birthday. She later went on to pass advanced aerobatic courses in a Waco F-2, just like her father.7
The Grimm's managed the Wausau airport for nearly 30 years as Grimm Flying Service, becoming one of the state's largest flying schools. She continued her father's legacy with the establishment of the Archie C. Towle Aviation Scholarship. The scholarship fund was established within the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin to promote aviation as a career for young people within 50 miles of Wausau, Wisconsin.18 Some winners have used the funds to further their flight training and earn further licensing. Others have used it to pay for higher education in aviation-related fields of study. The Archie C. Towle Aviation Scholarship has allowed many young pilots and aviation-minded youth, over the last 20 years, to contribute and shape the future of aviation today. Marie Towle (Grimm) Schuette will forever live on in Wausau's aviation history as the woman who not only carried her father's torch but paved her path and the paths of others through her 60+ years of sharing the joy of aviation.
Recognition of an Aviation-Industry Trailblazer
While Marie believed "you really shouldn't be rewarded for something you loved to do", the legacy she left behind is too historic to be ignored. To some, she is "just" the daughter of an aviation industry pioneer, who after suffering a tragic loss, ran the family flying business in her father's footsteps. Despite her career being born in the shadow of her father's legacy, Marie found a way to set herself apart and break barriers beyond what was expected. Her love for flight and humble character speaks to the kind of person she was, while the resume she built was anything but modest.
Marie was eventually recognized as an expert on general aviation, holding significant positions on state and national aviation boards and committees by the time she died on October 9th, 2010 in Spanish Fort, Alabama. Marie was a longtime member of The 99’s, Wisconsin Chapter, North Central Section, an international organization established for women pilots to assemble for mutual support, the advancement of aviation and to create a central office to keep files on women in aviation,
receiving an award of recognition from The 99’s, for her progressive work in the field of aviation for women pilots at the August meeting of the Wisconsin Chapter of The 99’s.20 She was also a longtime member of the Wisconsin Aviation Trades Association and was elected for two terms as the First Woman Elected President of the Wisconsin Aviation Trades Association (WATA).16 Because of Marie’s role in the WATA and her hard work running her own small business, she was chairman of the United Way of Marathon County’s small business division for the 1977-78 fund drive.19 Marie has been commended editorially in a December issue of Flight magazine, a national aviation publication. The editorial was quoted saying that Grimm deserved recognition for her “dogged determination and spirited intelligently – planned campaign to save this general aviation ‘downtown’ airport … Her documented reports on what general aviation activity at the field means to the economic life of her hometown are masterpieces of hard facts apathetic citizens often overlook”.11 Speaking to the WATA’s awards, the editorial declared outright that “She deserves aviation’s ‘Carrie Nation’ award”.11 Her efforts did not go unnoticed by the federal or state government either, when she received several prestigious accommodations, including the Civil Air Patrol Award of the Year, the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics 1974 Woman of the Year, and the 1975 Wisconsin Aviation Award. In 1975, she was appointed by Governor Patrick J. Lucey to the Wisconsin Council on Aeronautics, in Madison, Wisconsin, and served multiple terms as Secretary; she also held a position in the Wisconsin Division of Aeronautics and the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics.15
One of her most outstanding accomplishments is the progress of aeronautics safety and education. Marie’s influence on general education and curriculum took off in the fall of 1974. In the same year, she was appointed to the Wisconsin Aerospace Education Committee by State Superintendent of Schools Mrs. Barbara Thompson. The 21-member committee, composed of educators and representatives of local commerce, served as an advisory group to the state superintendent regarding aerospace education in Wisconsin schools.13 Carl E. Guell, director of aviation education and safety for the state Division of Aeronautics and founder of the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame, noted: “Mrs. Grimm should also be recognized for her efforts in promoting aerospace education throughout Wisconsin on behalf of the state chapter of the National Organization of Women Pilots”.11 Just as Guell recommended, she also received an award from the Federal Aviation Agency for her contributions to the safety programs of the FAA, the Federal Aviation Agency, Washington, D.C. Because of Marie's passion and commitment to educating the next generation of aviators, they were able to create a scholarship in her memory. The Marie Towle (Grimm) Schuette Scholarship Fund was established to fund aviation education projects throughout Wisconsin in honor of Marie’s impact on aviation safety and education. While Marie didn't always believe you should be rewarded for pursuing your passion, she made it possible for those with less opportunity to pursue the gift of aviation and the ability to continue passing down the same love for flying that both she and her father shared.
"You really shouldn't be rewarded for something you loved to do."
Marie Towle (Grimm) Schuette
1. “Nation’s Youngest Girl Solo Pilot Plans Higher Flights,” Wausau Daily Record-Herald, August 5, 1939.
2. David Paulsen, “Aviation Duo Remembered In Tribute,” Wausau Daily Herald, September 28, 2003, sec. Local.
3. “Airline Refuses to Pay Landing Fee,” Wausau Daily Record Herald, April 25, 1968, https://www.newspapers.com/article/wausau-daily-herald-airline-refuses-t....
4. Kevin Shoesmith, “The Female Pilot Battling Aviation Stereotypes,” BBC News, May 25, 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-61512811.
5. Press-Register, “Marie Joan Schuette Obituary,” Legacy.com, October 11, 2010, https://obits.al.com/us/obituaries/mobile/name/marie-schuette-obituary?i....
6. “Marie Schuette,” Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame, 2003, https://www.wahf.org/hall-of-fame/marie-schutte/.
7. Rose M Dorcey, “Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame Inducts Six at Annual Ceremony,” AERO News Network, November 18, 2018, https://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=E8ED4968-AA28-46....
8. “Lyle Grimm,” Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame, 2019, https://www.wahf.org/hall-of-fame/lyle-grimm/.
9. “Our History (The Ninety-Nines, Inc.),” The Ninety-Nines, Inc., accessed June 25, 2024, https://www.ninety-nines.org/our-history.htm.
10. “Aviation Meet Held,” Wausau Daily Herald, January 15, 1976, https://www.newspapers.com/article/wausau-daily-herald-aviation-meet-hel....
11. “Commend Mrs. Grimm,” Wausau Daily Herald, December 27, 1971, https://www.newspapers.com/article/wausau-daily-herald-commend-mrs-grimm....
12. “Elected to Post,” Wausau Daily Herald, March 19, 1977, https://www.newspapers.com/article/wausau-daily-herald-elected-to-post/1....
13. “Wausau Business Briefs,” Wausau Daily Herald, October 30, 1974, https://www.newspapers.com/article/wausau-daily-herald-marie-grimm-appoi....
14. “Mrs. Grimm Appointed.” Wausau Daily Herald, October 16, 1975. https://www.newspapers.com/article/wausau-daily-herald-mrs-grimm-appoint...
15. “Mrs. Grimm Honored,” Wausau Daily Herald, May 2, 1975, https://www.newspapers.com/article/wausau-daily-herald-mrs-grimm-honored....
16. “Mrs. Grimm Again Heads Aviation Unit,” Wausau Daily Herald, January 28, 1974, https://www.newspapers.com/article/wausau-daily-herald-mrs-grimm-again-h....
17. Marie Jean Towle Grimm Schuette, “Opposes Airport Plan,” Wausau Daily Herald, March 19, 1968
18. “Pittsley Receives Aviation Scholarship,” Wausau Daily Herald, July 20, 2003, https://www.newspapers.com/article/wausau-daily-herald-pittsley-receives....
19. “United Way Chairmen,” Wausau Daily Herald, August 9, 1977, https://www.newspapers.com/article/wausau-daily-herald-united-way-chairm....
20. “Woman Pilot Is Honored,” Wausau Daily Herald, August 22, 1979, https://www.newspapers.com/article/wausau-daily-herald-woman-pilot-is-ho....