Isabella

Isabella Kalishek was born in Menominee County, Michigan, in 1909, the youngest of six children born to Mary and Conrad Kalishek. She relocated with her family as an infant to Delta County, Michigan. Growing up, Isabella was active and athletic, participating in sports and helping with work on the family land.

In 1925, at the age of 16, Isabella entered the field of aviation entertainment as a wing walker, following the example of her older sister, Sarah Kalishek. She joined her brother Clifford Kalishek with Hinck’s Motor Derby and the Federated Flyers, performing aerial stunt work as part of touring exhibition programs across the Midwest.

During this period, Isabella performed under the professional name “Babe Kalishek.” Contemporary newspaper coverage identified her as one of the youngest aerial stunt performers of the era. She executed wing-walking stunts that included standing atop aircraft during aerobatic maneuvers, hanging from aircraft structures, and performing complex aerial routines before large crowds.

By late summer and fall of 1925, Isabella was appearing regularly in aviation exhibitions in Wisconsin and Michigan. While she did not continue parachute jumping following an early injury, she remained active as a wing walker and aerial stunt performer, while her brother Clifford completed the parachute-jump portions of their exhibition programs.

Newspaper articles from the period noted the growing popularity of the Kalishek siblings’ aerial work and described Isabella as a prominent feature of aviation exhibitions alongside her brother. Her performances contributed to the family’s presence within America’s barnstorming and aviation-entertainment culture during the mid-1920s.

Later in life, Isabella became a mother through adoption, naming her beloved son Daniel, and remained closely connected to her family. She died in 1955 at the age of 46 under suspicious circumstances. Her legacy remains part of the broader Kalishek family history in early aviation and exhibition performance.