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Boldness former Moose Jaw highflyer’s trademark
By Kevin Dowler Times Herald Staff Writer

Being that one step bolder than the next person always makes one stand out in a crowd.

And if the boldest one in the crowd is a woman, she stands out that much more. Especially back in the early part of the century and in Moose Jaw.

A woman who made her mark on the city’s early years with her boldness and determination was Hilda May Barker.

Being bolder than the rest got Barker nicknamed “Hell's a Poppin”, says her daughter Patricia Eckhart.

Barker is now 93 years old and lives in Toledo, Ohio.

Before leaving Moose Jaw, one of her greatest achievements was being the first woman to fly over Moose Jaw.

Eckhart tells the story of her mother’s first flight over the city.

It was at the grand opening of Kingsway Park in June 1920 - since reopened as Connor Park in 1989 - when she made the flight.

“A barnstormer was in the city during the event and couldn’t convince anyone to fly with him for the opening so mother stepped forward to fly with him,” Eckhart said.

Barnstormers were war veteran pilots who toured the country in their planes making money by selling rides in their aircraft which were still quite a novelty to the public in those days.

The barnstormer Chuck “Shorty” Adams was lucky in his arrival in Moose jaw, in that his visit coincided with the grand opening ceremonies of the new city park.

Another of Barker’s skills was as a talented seamstress.

She sewed her own flying outfit to look the part for her maiden voyage over the city.

“Everything in her suit (in the photograph) she sewed the night before her flight,” Eckhart said.
The only additions to the suit were a pair of tank corps puttees from her uncle’s military uniform and a flight hat lent by pilot Adams.

Her seamstress skills also came in handy when she started her own dress shop in the Moose Jaw when she was only 16 years old.

"She was always ready to do things on her own,” said Eckhart. “She used do a lot of costume making for masquerade dances in during the First World War.”

Her strong will to be not held back by anything rubbed off on her neighbours and friends.

Childhood friends of Barker, Vera and Eileen Pipes of Moose Jaw, went on to become aircraft pilots Pipe’s girls ferried aircraft to military airports where they were manufactured, Eckhart said.

Another characteristic of Barker’s was she always looked much younger than she really was.

"Even after she was married and had two children, she was mistaken for being 14,“ said Eckhart.

After leaving Moose Jaw, she moved to Great Falls, Montana, then to Chicago with her husband who worked for the Bank of Montreal.

In Chicago, her self determination led her into the limelight again where she went forth into the business world, opening another dress shop.

Barker is now a resident of a nursing home near her daughter, Eckhart, in Toledo.

Eckhart inherited her father’s skills as an artist and the self determination of her mother and went on to become an artist working for the newspaper, the Toledo Blade.