BURIEN, Wash. — What makes a "fierce woman?"
"Not afraid to take risks," said Jill Glass.
She would know.
"I always wanted to do what my dad did," Glass said.
As the daughter of hydro race Ron Morrison, she got into the family business in her 20's.
"The opportunity came up for my former husband and I to buy a boat," Glass said. "and I just looked at him and said, 'I'm driving.'"
Glass is one of the women profiled in Highline Heritage Museum's new exhibit, "Fierce Women and Hydroplanes." It's a story that goes way back.
"Women have been a big part of this sport from the very beginning," said Skip Young from the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in Kent, who helped curate the co-sponsored exhibit.
"You can trace modern-day boat racing back to 1903," Young said. "The British International Trophy, with Dorothy Levitt. She won the first major powerboat race in the world, which was one year before the Gold Cup was established and one year before the American Power Boat Association came into existence."
In addition to Levitt, the exhibit also profiles team owner, Fran Muncy, who won an extraordinary seven Gold Cups with driver Chip Hanauer.
"Her total of race winnings was 24," Young said.
The exhibit shows how far women have come in this male-dominated sport, and how much opportunity still lies ahead.
"They just have to say, 'Let me in,'" Glass said.
Glass hopes to see many other women follow their passion right to the driver's seat.
"This is here," Glass said. "You can do it. If we can do it, you can do it."
The "Fierce Women and Hydroplanes" exhibit will be on display at the Highline Heritage Museum until January 2024. It's located at 819 SW 152nd St, Burien, WA 98166. They're open Thursday through Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. General admission is $8 for adults and $4 for children aged 6-16.
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