1. Leah Hing was the first Chinese American woman to earn her pilot's license.
22 Facts About Leah Hing
1. 2.
Leah Hing grew up near Salem, Oregon, and spent her school breaks working on her father's hops ranch.
3.
Leah Hing's mother, Ah Sin Hing, had emigrated from Canton, China: her father, Lee Hing, was born in Oregon.
4.
Leah Hing had two sisters, Lily and Ruth, and one brother, Peter.
5.
Leah Hing was a member of the Tanda Campfire Girls and president of the Portland Chinese Girls' Club.
6.
Leah Hing's family were members of the Holt Presbyterian Church.
7.
Leah Hing attended Atkinson Elementary School, Stephens Middle School, Washington High School, and the Northwestern Business College.
8.
Leah Hing was one of the first Chinese-American women in Portland hired as an elevator operator.
9.
Leah Hing played the saxophone, and was accompanied by cymbals, drums, xylophone, trombone, and banjo.
10.
Leah Hing returned to Portland determined to become a pilot.
11.
Leah Hing managed the Chinese Tea Garden restaurant, where her father was a stockholder.
12.
Leah Hing, who had family in China, wanted to become an aviation instructor for Chinese women.
13.
Leah Hing once made a surprise visit to her brother and sister-in-law's farm in Aurora, Oregon, landing her plane in their wheat field.
14.
Leah Hing once collided with a pothole on the runway, flipping her plane onto its back, and had to have it rebuilt.
15.
Leah Hing enlisted in the West Coast Civil Air Patrol to fly reconnaissance missions.
16.
Leah Hing joined the Oregon section of The Ninety-Nines when the chapter was revived in 1941.
17.
Leah Hing served as secretary-treasurer and notified members of upcoming meetings.
18.
Leah Hing worked there as a switchboard operator and hat check girl until she retired in her sixties.
19.
Leah Hing was general manager of the Chung Wah Hoopers, Portland Chinatown's all-girl basketball team, which played an annual benefit game to raise money for poor and elderly Chinese-Americans to buy food.
20.
Leah Hing served as a bridesmaid in her brother's 1934 wedding to Gertrude Johnsang.
21.
Leah Hing died of cancer and heart failure in July 2001.
22.
Leah Hing is portrayed in a mural of female Oregon aviators at the Portland International Airport.