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| Come Grow With Us! |
The Estrella Warbirds Museum has always been known for its constant change and quality of the displays. If you have not been to the museum in a while, there is no better time then this summer to catch up on the latest aircraft, military vehicle or automotive display that has become part of the museum since the last time you visited.
If you have a little bit of extra time on your hands and are looking for a new hobby or willing to share your knowledge or even learn something new, we are always looking for
gift shop workers, docents or volunteers in the restoration or maintenance areas. We are all family and would like you to join us! It's fun! There are plenty of new friends to meet and enjoyable times to be had.
Contact us today! We'd love to hear from you.
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January Dinner
Special Guest Speaker
Captain Robert Christenson, USN (Ret)
The Evacuation of Saigon
Wednesday, Jan 3, 2018
No Host Bar starts at 6:00 p.m.
Dinner starts at 7.p.m.
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Captain Christenson graduated from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1957.
He served on a destroyer, diesel submarines and amphibious ships. He is a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he earned a Master of Science degree. Captain Christenson retired from the navy in 1986, when he and his wife Mary moved to San Luis Obispo. He worked for Greg Hind at the sportswear manufacturer, Hind, Inc. until 1994 at which time he joined a safety consulting company, Cal/Nev. He has been active in his church, Mount Carmel Lutheran, served as a board member of SLO Opera, CAPSLO Homeless Services and United Way.
Captain Christenson was at sea as executive officer on the USS Blue Ridge, a command ship, during the evacuation of Saigon during April 1975. Aboard the ship was the admiral in charge of "Frequent Wind", the US Marine helicopter effort to save US and associated Vietnamese nationals in Saigon who had supported us during the war. Additionally on board was the supporting Marine general and, ultimately, our ambassador to Vietnam plus swarms of press which had embarked. Rogue South Vietnamese helicopters arrived over the fleet in droves. He witnessed it all.
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| Photo credit UPI Hugh van Es |
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As speaker for the January Dinner meeting, Captain Christenson will share about his Naval career and in particular, his experience during the final days of the Viet Nam conflict.
Make sure you have signed up on line or have a current reservation. Hope to see you there! More information about Captain Christenson and the event plus pictures from a previous dinner
can be found at this link.
Dinner is catered and open to the public ($20/person), reservations are required prior to 6 p.m., Monday prior to dinner, either on-line or call call 805 296-1935.
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Sikorsky UH-34D Big Reveal Coming in January!
After months in the Al Schade Restoration Hangar, the all volunteer restoration team is almost ready to reintroduce an icon of the Viet Nam air war. This project was partially funded by a group of Viet Nam veterans, part of a unit nick-named the "Purple Foxes". The finish details pay tribute to the crew and one of their
Choctaw's shot down. Date and time and place of reveal and dedication will be announced on our Facebook page, our website or postings at the museum. Click on picture above for more information on this Sikorsky UH-34D and view some of the "before" pictures. When you see the helo or the "after" pictures, you will appreciate the most excellent job our restoration crew has done!
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Estrella Warbirds Museum Awarded Grant
Estrella Warbirds Museum has received a $100,000 grant from The Hearst Foundations. This grant will be used for general operating expenses as the museum continues to grow its collection and expand its footprint, thanks to the recent approval by the city of Paso Robles to double the museum's existing acerage. Click on the Hearst Foundations logo to view the entire press release.
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Richard Woodland & West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame
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Richard Woodland, the main force behind the Woodland Auto Display which has it's home at the Estrella Warbirds Museum, was
nominated to the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame for 2018.
Richard Woodland, from Templeton, Calif., built his first race car, a jalopy, in 1958 at age 15. In 1963, driver Mark Ward drove his supermodified to the top 20 in NASCAR national points. In 1964 Woodland turned 21 and raced for the first time, with a best feature finish in NASCAR competition at Fresno, Calif.'s Kearney Bowl. After military service, Woodland drove a California Racing Association sprint car at Ascot Park in Gardena but with a growing family, turned owner and hired Frank Secrist and Jim Eiland. Later, he teamed with Billy Wilkerson. Their drivers included P.J. Jones, Rip Williams and Ron Shuman, who won the initial SCRA championship for the team. Woodland entered the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West with NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. in 1991 and continued with his son, Rich Jr. In 55 races, they won once (at Phoenix in 1998) and finished fifth in the 1995 standings. They also entered several NASCAR premier series, XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series events.
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Registration is now open for WWW10!
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Click on picture for more information and registration for our 10th Anniversary!
Warbirds Wings & Wheels 10 & Megaswap Meet
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Please remember us in your year end giving!
Estrella Warbirds Museum is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization
We have been funded over the years solely from private sources, benefactors, groups, individuals and members. We receive no funding from your tax dollars. We exist because of your generous support and we are forever grateful. We've continued to grow as more people have seen what can happen when individuals and community seek a common goal - preserving our heritage for future generations. As we continue to grow, our expenses, unfortunately, continue to increase also. We are ever vigilant as to how your donations are spent to insure 100% goes to the support of the museum. If you would help support us or would like more information, please visit our website at this link, or call us at 805 238-9317
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