Amelia Earhart Did Not Live in Bend
But her husband, George Putnam, did. George moved to Bend in 1909 and quickly become a city mover and a shaker. He was the editor and publisher of the Bend Bulletin and married Dorothy Binney (heiress of Crayola Crayons) in 1911 and became the town's youngest mayor in 1912. George later became a war correspondent and he worked in politics in Salem.
In 1919 George sold his Bend home and his interests in the Bend Bulletin and left Oregon, moving to New York where he worked in his family's publishing business (Putnam books), including publishing the autobiography of Charles Lindberg. It was here he also met Amelia Earhart, eventually becoming her publicist.
George and Dorothy divorced in 1929 following her affair with a man 19 years younger than her. George then became involved with Amelia Earhart and married her in 1931. By all accounts, their marriage, although unconventional, was happy. After her disappearance in 1937, George looked for her, following up all leads and even consulted with psychics. However, Amelia was declared dead in 1939 and George remarried for a 3rd time later that year.
As far as we know, Amelia Earhart never visited Bend and although her husband was an important early resident, the rumors of Amelia Earhart living for some time in Bend have to be untrue.
Original post can be seen at Bend Premier Real Estate's blog page.
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