Ruth Barron, Date Unknown

Ruth Barron signed the Airfield Register on Thursday, August 14, 1930 at 6:40 PM. She was flying Buhl Air Sedan NC5860 carrying Bob Lloyd as passenger. She and her passenger were northwestbound from Douglas, AZ, probably on their way to Long Beach for the beginning of the 1930 Women's Class A Pacific Derby, which started on August 18th.

Her Buhl (Model CA-3C, S/N 28, manufactured in 1928) is still registered with the FAA. As of the upload date of this page it was owned by a gentleman in Riverside, CA.

Ruth Barron was born in Rochester, NY ca. 1910 and educated at the Knox Boarding School, Cooperstown, NY; Livingston Park Seminary, Rochester, NY and the Birmingham (PA) Finishing School. She was niece of the tenor Baron Berthald of the Metropolitan Opera Company.

She was a noted swimmer and won several cups in competitions. She received her flight instruction at Leroy, NY during April, 1929. She was quick to get into the swing of aerial competition. The New York Times of July 29, 1929 cites her preparations for entry into an endurance flight at Boston, MA. There was no followup in her NASM biographical file as to her results, however.

In 1930 she was an entrant in the Woman's Pacific Air Derby, which started at Long Beach, CA. Although she finished the Derby at Chicago, she was forced down due to motor trouble in the mountains near Phoenix, AZ. By the time she could fix the problem, refuel and clear a runway for departure, she was penalized 17 hours. As of 1932, she held Transport Pilot license 31749.

During May, 1931, she traveled to Japan to aid preparations for the trans-Pacific flight attempt of Thomas Ash, Jr. The flight was canceled because of weather, but Barron wasted no time moving on with her life. See the next image, below.

The Washington Evening Star of January 20, 1932 announces her wedding to William Nason, U.S. Vice Consul in Japan (see additional information about him at the bottom of this page).

Ruth Barron Wedding, 1932

Below, Ruth Barron (R) with three of her contemporaries dated November 8, 1935. The airplane is Ingalls' Orion 9E, NC14222 (not in the Register).

Ruth Barron (L), With Laura Ingalls, Peggy Remey and Margaret (Perry) Cooper

Below, the annotation on the back of the image above.

Image Annotation

Monocoupe NC501W, Date Unknown

Image donor Tim Kalina states, "I recently purchased two old, original photos. One photo is of pilot Ruth Barron [top imageon this page] and the other photo is of her Monocoupe NC501W [right]. ... Both photos came out of an old photo album of planes at the Rochester, NY Airport. NC501W was originally owned and raced by Johnny Livingston who had one win with it in the 1932 NAR cross country race. Livingston then sold the 'coupe to Jack Wright who entered it in the 1934 McRobertson Centenary Air Race from England to Australia. Wright had to quit the race in India with mechanical troubles. For the race the 'coupe was painted red, white and blue and named 'Baby Ruth' (the candy company was a part sponsor). Ruth Barron purchased the 'coupe in 1935. Barron died on July 3, 1936 in this plane when it caught fire while in flight. Barron was a chain smoker and it was believed that the fire was caused by one of her cigarettes...."

The Monocoupe 501W does not appear in the Register. However, compare it with John Wood's Waco NX5533. His airplane was also sponsored by the candy company and was painted with the "Baby Ruth" brand name.

A cousin of Vice Consul Nason contacted me via email 2/29/08 and 3/6/08 and provides two news articles regarding Nason and Barron. Further to Ruth's death, the Brockton (MA) Enterprise of Monday July 6,1936 reports, "Ruth Barron Nason young woman flier who died tragically when her plane burst into flames as she was about to land at Omaha, Neb. was the wife of  William Franklin Nason,son of Mr. & Mrs. Bradford  Nason,114 Newbury St. this city. Young Mrs. Nason who was well known as both aviatrix and actress was horribly burned to death when her plane a single cabin Warner powered Monocoupe caught fire and crashed. Rescuers labored almost two hours to extricate the body which was so charred that tentative indentification had to be made from salvaged pictures and papers. The plane was one in which Mrs. Nason left Rochester, NY last Wednesday for Denver, Col. to compete in air races. Mrs. Nason learned to fly in 1929 and the following year won the first lap of the womens air derby from Long Beach, Cal. to Chicago, but was forced down by motor trouble in Airzona. In 1931 she went to Japan with Capt. Thomas Ash, determined to be the first woman to fly the Pacific. Bad weather prevented the attempt but in Kobe she met and married William Franklin Nason who at that time was American Viceconsul at Koebe. He has since resigned from the consular service."

Nason was an accomplished gentleman. His relative says about him, "Her [Ruth's] spouse died May 1,1954 in Washington DC.... [He was a] Native of Brockton [MA] and served in the Navy Dept. in Washington DC before retiring because of ill heath."

Further, from another local news obituary in the Brockton Enterprise, "On April 23,1921, he was appointed student interpreter in Japan. Two years later he was promoted to vice consul at Yokohama and March 15,1924 was transferred  to Mukden. He was one of the youngest men ever to reach a full consulship serving as a career man in Formosa, Kobe and other large ports. He was in Yokohama at the time of the great earthquake, Sept. 1,1923, barely escaping with his life when the consulate collasped and killed several at their desks. His wife the former Ruth Wells Barron of New York lost her life in a plane accident in 1936. Surviving are his mother Mrs. Edith J. Nason, 21 Wilson St., Brockton; two brothers Ralph A. Nason of Lexington and Howard A. Nason of Lac du Falmbeau, Wis."

Nason was born Nov 13,1897 as William Franklyn Nason. Note the difference in spelling of his middle name in the newspaper article quoted above. He is buried with his parents and shares the same gravestone. We have not discovered where Ruth is buried. Does anyone KNOW?

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Dossier 2.4.6

UPLOADED: 02/25/08 REVISED: 02/29/08, 03/06/08