Fifty years ago, Riverside Airport launched the 28th annual all-women’s transcontinental air race, drawing pilots from across the nation and marking a milestone in aviation history and local pride.
A stunning shot of the Milky Way captured by a fellow Riversider during a summer getaway to a cabin in Big Bear. (Noall Knighton)
Sunday Gazette: July 6, 2025
Hello Riverside, and Happy Sunday! Today is the final day of our summer membership campaign. Starting tomorrow, you won’t hear from us asking for financial support again until later this year.
For this campaign, we set a goal of 109 new supporters — enough to cover our core monthly operating expenses. We’re still 79 folks short, so if you’re able to become a supporter before midnight, I'd be forever grateful.
Remembering the 1975 Powder Puff Derby: Riverside’s Role in a Historic All-Women Air Race
Fifty years ago, Riverside Airport launched the 28th annual all-women’s transcontinental air race, drawing pilots from across the nation and marking a milestone in aviation history and local pride.
Jean Schulz and her mother, Pamela (Green) Vander Linden standing with a large plush Snoopy doll next to their plane, a Bellanca Viking, in preparation for the 28th Annual Powder Puff Derby, from Riverside, California to Boyne Falls, Michigan, July 4-7, 1975. (Courtesy of the Schulz Family Intellectual Property Trust)
Fifty years ago, on July 4, 1975, an extraordinary event took place in Riverside. The 28th Powder Puff Derby took off from Riverside Airport on its transcontinental airplane race. The annual race, featuring women pilots flying cross-country, began in 1947. It was originally called the Jacqueline Cochran All-Woman Transcontinental Air Race. The event had been scheduled for Riverside in 1974 but was canceled due to fuel shortages.
The 1975 race began in Riverside on July 4 and ended 2,591 miles later in Boyne Falls, Michigan. The planes flew through Phoenix, Arizona; El Paso and Plainview, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Lincoln, Nebraska; Moline, Illinois; and Toledo, Ohio. The airplanes were stock models with engines ranging from 145 to 450 horsepower. Pilots flew solo or with a co-pilot. The Powder Puff Derby spanned three days. Contestants were timed between stops, and their times adjusted by a handicap system. A computer was used to determine the winner. Pilots needed to finish by 6 p.m. on July 7 to qualify for part of the $14,000 prize money.
Leimamo’s involvement extends beyond her business. She’s an active supporter of Miracles and Dreams events for underserved children, contributes to local charities, supports her Ward 6 Councilmember Steven Robillard and is a member of the Riverside Chamber of Commerce. Whether she’s serving meals or mobilizing neighbors, Leimamo shows what it means to lead with generosity and heart.
This week, we’re returning to the tangible—focusing on an object of surprising versatility: a cork, or even just a piece of one.
I’ve always been fascinated by cork, but clueless about how it was made. To be honest, I thought it was a manufactured product of plastic and wood chips! One of my most vivid travel memories is from a trip to Spain, where I encountered an 18-wheeler absolutely brimming with raw cork. It had parked next to our tour bus during a lunch stop, and I couldn’t figure out what those long, flat, wood-like sheets even were. I’d only ever seen corks in urban settings—coasters and bottle stoppers. This was my first glimpse of it in the raw. Thank goodness for the tour guide, who explained that cork comes from the cork oak tree.
