McAllister Museum Planning Special Event For Veterans Day

Several new displays await visitors attending McAllister Museum of Aviation’s annual “coffee and cookies” open house on Veterans Day (Nov. 11). The museum is open to the general public, but veterans and their families and friends are especially invited that day. Refreshments will be available for all visitors from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

And, with completion of the 16th and Washington avenues intersection improvements, visitors driving from the north, east and west will find access improved.

Displays spotlighting Charles Lindbergh, Moulton Taylor’s Aerocar and women pilots are among those added in the past year. One honoring WACs will be completed in time for Veterans Day viewing, and many items from MMA’s collection of military uniforms will be shown Friday.

Throughout the year MMA displays one of the largest collections of World War II memorabilia in Central Washington -- photos, uniforms, medals and ribbons, historical backgrounds and some unusual items. And there are several WWII nose art reproductions created by local students, teachers and professional and amateur artists.

Absent from the many MMA volunteers greeting visitors this year will be Vern Arnold, a World War II B-17 bombardier. He died last March, but he still is featured in a display that includes the Norden bombsight he donated to the museum. And Richard Herriman still has his WWII-era Cushman motor scooter with sidecar on display.

And, of course, there are many displays related to Charlie McAllister, his gliders, and the flying service he and his brother, Alister, opened in 1926. The museum is at 2008 S. 16th Ave., at the east end of the Yakima airport. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is free; donations are gratefully accepted.