Building Boeing: Julius Earl Schaefer Wichita's lost aviation leader

Abstract

This thesis covers the life and career of Julius Earl Schaefer. He was an aviation pioneer in Wichita, Kansas, whose legacy has been lost in the history of Wichita aviation. This thesis attempts to reveal his importance in shaping the aviation community of Wichita. Schaefer managed the largest plant in town, and he had the drive to help his community grow. He was on many different boards and committees within the city. One of the more influential was the Chamber of Commerce. Schaefer helped direct the goals of the Chamber as they tried to direct the goals of the city. The main focus of the thesis is on the production of the B-29s. Wichita is remembered for these planes, but without Schaefer they would not have been built here. Many resources were used to piece together Schaefer's life. The Boeing-Stearman collection in the Department of Special Collections at Wichita State University provided much of the material on the company life. Other company documents, such as the Boeing Contact and Boeing Plane Talk help show what life at the plant was like. Finally, a major aid to this project was the documents provided by Schaefer's remaining family. These documents helped to fill in the early years of his life and round out the story.