Marion Virginia Carlstrom Trick (May 20, 1919 – January 14, 2010) was the first woman from

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

to join the

Women Airforce Service Pilots The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) (also Women's Army Service Pilots or Women's Auxiliary Service Pilots) was a civilian women pilots' organization, whose members were United States federal civil service employees. Members of WASP became t ...

and the second woman in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

to receive a pilot's license. Carlstrom was born May 20, 1919, in

Jackson County, Colorado Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,379, and it was the fourth least populated in the state. The county is named after the United States Presid ...

. Her father, Carl Carlstrom, was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

immigrant who worked as a civilian flight instructor. Carl Carlstrom's brother,

Victor Carlstrom 1st Lieutenant Victor Carlström (April 13, 1890 – May 9, 1917) was a record-holding Swedish-American pioneer aviator. He set a cross-America flight air speed record until the record was beaten by Ruth Bancroft Law. Biography He was born in ...

, served as a first lieutenant in the

US Air Corps The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and made the first nonstop flight from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Marion Carlstrom "grew up looking at the pictures and reading the clippings" about her uncle, and was determined to become a pilot. Carlstrom graduated from high school at 16 and went on to attend the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

. She later attended

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

on a full-ride scholarship. There, she studied archaeology and South American literature. In 1940, Carlstrom traveled to

Lima, Peru Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

as a foreign exchange student at the

National University of San Marcos The National University of San Marcos (, UNMSM) is a public university, public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. In the Americas, it is the first officially established (Privilege (legal ethics), privilege by Charles V, ...

. A member of her host family worked for the Peruvian Air Corps, and Carlstrom learned that the Corps offered free flying lessons if students paid for their own fuel. To cover the cost, she became a secretary for the commercial attache at the United States Embassy in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

. She was the second woman in

to become a licensed pilot and received a trophy from President

Manuel Prado Ugarteche Manuel Carlos Prado y Ugarteche (21 April 1889 – 15 August 1967) was a Peruvian politician and banker who served twice as president of Peru. Son of former President Mariano Ignacio Prado, he was born in Lima and served as the nation's 43rd ...

. Carlstrom took part in air races over the mountains of

, flying over the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

at altitudes of 18,000 feet. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Carlstrom joined the

, where she ferried "mainly pursuit aircraft". She served in the

WASP A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...

for twenty-two months and was one of the few

pilots to fly a

Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

airplane. She was stationed at Love Field in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. There, she met and married Carl Trick, a U.S. Army Major. After the war, Carlstrom and her husband moved to her father's ranch in the North Park basin of

, later named the North Park Angus Ranch. They were credited with introducing

Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...

cattle to the basin and being the first ranchers in the basin to artificially inseminate their cattle. Carlstrom flew occasionally in a friend's plane, but explained, "We were used to flying such great airplanes, and there was no way we could afford to fly planes like that." She looked back fondly on her piloting career:

"I think every child, no matter how much they love this country, love the ranching, should go out and know that it's a big world. Get their self-confidence, know what they can do. Then they can come back because they want to come back, not because it seemed the easiest thing to do, or because they were hesitant or afraid to try something else. This makes people strong."

In 1961, she was on an episode of Say When!! (game show), where she beat Mr. Mortensen, a tugboat deckhand. Carlstrom had two children, Carl and Christine. She died on January 14, 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlstrom, Marion Aviators from Colorado Women Airforce Service Pilots personnel 1919 births 2010 deaths Military personnel from Colorado Bennington College alumni University of Colorado alumni Farmers from Colorado People from Jackson County, Colorado American people of Swedish descent American expatriates in Peru 21st-century American women