Edith “Jackie” Ronne didn’t plan to spend fifteen months on an Antarctic research expedition. But when her husband Finn Ronne mounted a privately financed exploration of the southern continent, Jackie found herself drawn steadily—and then decisively—into the venture.
Born in Maryland and a graduate of George Washington University with a degree in history, Jackie had worked for the National Geographic Society and the U.S. State Department before marrying Finn in 1944. The newlyweds spent much of their free time reading and talking about Antarctica, a place that loomed large in Finn’s life. His father had made multiple Arctic voyages and accompanied the First Byrd Expedition, and Finn himself had served on the 1939–1941 U.S. Antarctic Service Expedition.
Jackie later reflected, “When a woman marries a man with such a background, she may as well adapt herself to a life of exploration.” And adapt, she did.
In January 1947, Jackie left home with a small suitcase containing two silk dresses, two suits, one pair of slacks, some nylon stockings, and two pair of shoes with heels. The plan was for her to travel only as far as Texas to help the expedition with last minute details and paperwork.
Yet when it was time for the expedition to depart Texas, there were considerable details yet to be finalized. Finn persuaded Jackie to join the voyage as far as Panama to help with recordkeeping, correspondence, and final checkoffs. By the time they reached Panama, Jackie’s help on the expedition was becoming indispensable, so it was agreed that she would continue onwards to Chile. Then in Chile, Finn convinced her to join the next leg of the journey—to Antarctica—as the expedition’s historian and recorder.
The expedition operated on a shoestring budget of $50,000 along with government-supplied equipment, which included a 183-foot wooden-hulled Navy tugboat that could transport three small Air Force-supplied planes—two were loaded on deck with their wings removed, and one was added later in Panama. This would be the last privately funded U.S. Antarctic expedition.
The expedition launched from the port of Beaumont, Texas, on January 25, 1947. The ship was loaded down with everything the polar explorers might need for a year and a half. That included a rooster and five hens, to provide the expedition with fresh eggs, and forty-three huskies outfitted to pull sleds. Among the rations on board were 6,500 pounds of frozen filet mignon.
As they departed, Jackie noted, “We watched the home shores of the United States disappear on the horizon with feelings of very mixed emotions. First was concern, because our venture was a somewhat hazardous one…then there was the feeling of anticipation as to what this almost unknown continent held in store.”
When their ship arrived off Stonington Island in the Antarctic’s Palmer Peninsula in March 1947, Jackie was dazzled by the spectacle of mountain after mountain, covered in snow and ice, with glaciers winding their way down between mountain passes. She and the other twenty-two members of the expedition set to work establishing a base camp in buildings that had been left behind by the 1939-1941 Byrd Expedition. Camp consisted of a bunkhouse and mess hall, a machine shop, and a science building, all connected by a series of tunnels. A small shack—twelve-foot square—became the Ronnes’ headquarters. Heating came from a temperamental coal stove.
Inside the shack was a bunk topped with five heavy blankets and a table with a typewriter, where Jackie spent a great deal of time. Bathing and washing were done using a small basin in the shack. Jackie wrote, “cleanliness…was a big hurdle to overcome.” On windy days, she sometimes hung wet garments outside. They froze solid, but within twenty-four hours the wind blew off the ice crystals, leaving the clothes soft and dry.
Daily life at the camp demanded constant adaptation, beginning with how the men—and Jackie—dressed for the cold. Indoor clothes were all made of wool, and dressing in layers was critical. Fur parkas were used outdoors when temperatures were lower than minus twenty. It was the wind rather than the cold that Jackie found most taxing. Wind speeds sometimes reached one hundred miles per hour. At mealtime, she took her place in the chow line along with the many bearded men. They ate well, although the nightly dinner of filet mignon, intended to prevent scurvy, eventually proved tedious.
Jackie authored most of the expedition’s press releases, assisted with reports and memoranda and kept the daily history of the of the expedition’s progress. She wrote regular articles which were transmitted by radio to The New York Times. Beyond her official responsibilities, Jackie also became an informal anchor for the emotional life of the camp. She and Finn hosted a coffee and cookies hour in their shack each afternoon for men who wanted to talk over problems. Tensions sometimes mounted. Jackie observed, “Men of varied backgrounds and temperaments are forced to live closely together in isolation with little out-of-door exercise to use up their energy. Dispositions often become frayed and minor incidents take on major proportions.” In the confined quarters of their polar camp, quiet and solitude for concentration were rare.
By May, winter had settled over the camp and buildings disappeared in the snow. Most of the expedition’s activities shifted inside. Even when the winds blew fiercely for days on end, the huskies still had to be fed. Jackie was grateful that work fell to the men. Despite the monotony and strain of the Antarctic winter, the expedition was not without moments of levity. Movie nights and games of bridge provided welcome distractions, as did husky puppies born during the long winter. When the sun returned in the Antarctic springtime, outdoor activities resumed. Jackie and Finn took skiing trips on the glaciers near camp and helped exercise the sled dogs, which were essential for conducting research away from the main base.
When summer finally came, some scientists gathered geological samples while others took meteorological observations. A series of aerial mapping flights was completed. Jackie assisted with tidal observations and seismograph readings. The Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition made several important scientific discoveries. It explored previously unknown parts of the coastline along the Weddell Sea, from Palmer Land to Coats Land, and concluded that Antarctica was a single continent. The expedition also discovered 250,000 square miles of previously unknown territory, which Finn Ronne named Edith Ronne Land.
While the expedition was life-changing for Jackie, she later recalled feeling nothing but relief when it finally ended in the spring of 1948. Yet her time in Antarctica left a legacy far greater than personal endurance. As one of the first women to overwinter on the continent, Jackie helped normalize the presence of women in polar science and exploration. Through her writing, recordkeeping, and steadying influence on camp life, she shaped how the expedition was documented and remembered.
What began as a temporary logistical role became an indispensable contribution to a significant twentieth century Antarctic expedition—proof that exploration history is often made not only by those who lead, but by those who adapt, persist, and record the story as it unfolds.
For further glimpses into the Antarctic expedition of Finn and Jackie Ronne, see the papers of C.O. Fiske, who was a climatologist on the expedition.
Post contributed by AHC Writer Kathryn Billington.
