A 2nd Woman Of 'Mystery'

Loretta Rudolph of Hewlett, above, believes she is the second woman in a ``History Mystery'' photograph. Rudolph said her grandchildren called her to say they recognized her in the 1939 photo.

The photo, to her left, was on file without caption information at the Long Island Studies Institute at Hofstra University. Newsday published it Jan. 17 as a ``History Mystery.'' Later, Rita McArdle of Huntington was identified as the woman on the right, dressed in jodhpurs and a suede jacket. Newsday ran a story March 7 about her aviation career and identified the photo as having been taken at Roosevelt Field in 1939.

Rudolph, who was 19 at the time of the plane photo, was then living with her parents and was named Yetta Lehrer. At left, she holds her 1938 graduation photo from Seward Park High School in Manhattan.

``I used to like to watch planes take off and land at Roosevelt Field,'' she said. ``I guess the photographer must have liked the way I looked, so he asked me to pose by the plane.''

Rudolph says her enthusiasm for planes was not shared by her father, who believed they were dangerous. Of her trips to Roosevelt Field, she said, ``He couldn't be told. He was very much against planes.''

However, another member of her family leaned in the other direction: Her late husband, Sam Rudolph, worked for Pan American World Airways, and the couple took advantage of free tickets to enjoy European vacations.