The 500 signatures, embroidered in silk,are practically a Who's Who of Aviation.

Mama Joe'sTablecloth

BY C. V. GLINES

AMONG the aviation memorabiliaon display at the National Air

and Space Museum in Washington,D. C., is a large, white tablecloth.Although it might seem out of placeamong the multitude of aerospaceartifacts, it is in fact a priceless ac-quisition.

What makes this tableclothunique and well worth preserving inthe world's top aerospace museumis that it bears the signatures ofmore than 500 key aviation person-alities. All these signatures wereembroidered for posterity by Mrs.James H. Doolittle, the recently de-ceased wife of the legendary aviator.

The tablecloth preserves the orig-inal handwriting of Orville Wright,Eddie Rickenbacker, and many ofthe other "name" pioneers of avia-tion. At least as important, however,is the way that it helps preservesomething of the spirit of the re-markable woman who created it.

Called "Joe" by all who knew her,Mrs. Doolittle was born JosephineDaniels. She was given her lifelongnickname of "Joe" by her father,who spelled it with an "e" becausehe had wanted a boy. In futureyears, she came to be known as

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Uke other aviators and well· knownfigures who dined with the Doollttles,Orville Wright signed Mrs. Doolittle'stablecloth In pencil so she couldpreserve his signature In embroidery.

"Mama Joe" to her adopted family,Doolittle's Tokyo Raiders.

The Doolittles were always notedfor their gracious hospitality. Wher-ever they lived, their home was afavorite place for pilots to remainovernight, relax, and sample Joe'sexcellent cooking. As her husband'sfame grew with his ever-growing listof accomplishments, so did thenumber of visitors who would dropin to take potluck. Never surprisedat whom Jimmy would bring home,Joe would put an additional leaf inthe dining room table, set anotherplace, and stretch whatever she' hadon her menu.

Joe became an expert in the use ofleftovers, coming up with enoughrecipes to fill a cookbook. "Left-overs got to be such a problem," sheonce explained. "I thought some-thing intelligent ought to be doneabout them." While she never hadtime to put the recipes into bookform, she felt that all of hers shouldbe shared as widely as possible.

Cooking might have been her spe-cialty, but one of her hobbies duringthe 1930s was embroidering her ta-blecloth. After a meal at the Doolit-tle home, each guest who had not

AIR FORCE Magazine / August 1989

previously done so would be askedto sign his or her name on the table-cloth in pencil. Then, whether onone of her many trips with Jimmy orwhile waiting for his return, Joewould carefully stitch the signaturesin black thread.

A Who's Who of AviationOver the years, the tablecloth

came to represent a Who's Who ofaviation. In addition to Wright andRickenbacker, those who signedtheir names included Alexander P.deSeversky, Elmer Sperry, E. M."Matty" Laird, Henry H. "Hap"Arnold, Ruth Nichols, Laura In-galls, Albert F. Hegenberger, JohnA. Macready, Walter H. Beech, St.Clair Streett, Benjamin S. Kelsey,and Frank Hawks.

Other guests were the famousGerman pilots Ernst Udet and EllieBeinhorn. Three of the 1924 round-the-world flyers-Leigh Wade,Lowell Smith, and Leslie Arnold-also signed. Several Chinese namesare embroidered on the tablecloth,as are those of long-time familyfriends such as "Hungry" Gates,"Thirsty" Gaines, "Gabby" Hen-shaw, and "Bromo" Seiser.

The world of the Doolittles wasnot limited to aviation. Other sig-natures stitched in silk for posterityinclude those of writer-adventurerLowell Thomas, comedians Olsenand Johnson, and singer LawrenceTibbett, a man both Doolittles hadknown since high school days.

For all its historical interest, thetablecloth is even more reflective ofthe nature of the Doolittles them-selves. The number of embroideredsignatures provides a dramatic re-minder of the open and graciousway of life that the couple pursuedthrough seven decades of happymarriage. Warm, friendly, and hos-pitable, the man with the famousgrin and his gracious white-hairedlady touched the lives of thousands.

As Jimmy continued to reach outand widen the couple's circle offriends and acquaintances, Joe keptup correspondence at a prodigiouspace. She never failed to send notesto "my shut-ins" whenever shelearned of friends who were ill, hadsuffered bad luck, or had experi-enced personal tragedy. Even moreremarkable, she wrote to the unfor-tunates every day until they werefunctioning again. During one

AIR FORCE Magazine / August 1989

lengthy trip around the world withJimmy, she mailed 500 cards tofriends and relatives in a single day.Her messages offriendship, sympa-thy, and courage brightened thelives of all on whom she focused herspecial brand of love and encour-agement. Her letters continue to beprized by all who received them.

A Revered FigureJoe died last December 24, the

Doolittles' seventy-first anniver-sary, and was buried in ArlingtonNational Cemetery. Having met inhigh school, she and Jimmy re-mained sweethearts ever after.

that is kind. She always had a smilefor everyone, a kind word. She wasnever in so much of a hurry that shecouldn't stop and say 'Hello' or'Thank you.' She always made youfeel she was glad to see you.

"She [was] ... that special personwho cooked unforgettable meals... and who always took the time tohave those treats she knew youloved.

"She [was] ... someone I couldtalk to and who could talk to me.Someone I had fun with. Someone Ijust enjoyed being with. We playedcards, went to the theater, went tolunch, talked until dawn ....

"Mama Joe" examinesthe record of her dinner

guests. The more than500 signatures and

sketches attest to theDoollttles' wide circle of

friends and seven de-cades of hospitality. Notonly aviators, but enter-tainers, writers, and just

plain friends sharedMama Joe's table.

Mama Joe bore two sons and was arevered figure to her six grand-children and fourteen great -grand-children.

In a graveside eulogy, grand-daughter Jonna Doolittle Hoppespaid Joe a tribute that reflected thesentiments of all those whose livesshe inspired.

"Granny was the embodiment ofgoodness," she began. "She was ev-erything that is good, everything

"She lived a glamorous life filledwith adventure and surrounded byall kinds of people. But it wasn'twithout its sorrows, and throughthose sorrows she showed herstrength, her wisdom .... I cameto depend upon her wisdom, to val-ue her honesty, and to respect theremarkable woman she was."

Mama Joe's tablecloth is not onlya lasting tribute to her friends, buther final gift to everyone. -

C. V Glines is a regular contributor to this magazine. A retired Air Force colonel,he is a free-lance writer, a magazine editor, and the author of numerous books.His most recent article for AIR FORCE Magazine was "The First Intercom" in theMarch '89 issue.

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