How time flies. It's hard to believe that 6 years ago on Dec. 24, 2010, an article in the Cd’A Press about my efforts to bring the old Playland Pier carousel back to Cd’A caught the attention of newcomers John and Pat Foote. They contacted me on Christmas day and I made "the pitch." They subsequently purchased the carousel for $300,000 ($50,000 is still owed) and 51 days after the article was printed it was delivered. Hundreds of thousands of smiling children, their parents, grandparents and tourists will enjoy this treasure for many years to come.

Now, because of the generosity of the Bud Ford family, the little building that will house it is nearing completion. The 2000 Walker-Macy plan to "save" downtown included two buildings similar to the one being built. The second building was an events building which served birthday parties, family events, weddings and other functions which would provide self-supporting opportunities. As plans for the "four corners" are developing, a second building (as recommended in the expensive Walker-Macy plan) should be included in the new plan.

The Footes' only request (other than having the $50,000 paid back) was that the carousel not be a burden to the taxpayer. The second building will ensure this. The city need only provide the site for a future building and private funds can build it later. The “how to” support for this has already been offered by the successful Missoula, Salem and Spokane carousel organizations.

Unfortunately AND fortunately, when the press article came out I was already pursuing the monumental task of leasing and restoring the old Hayden Eagles building, which was out-to-bid to tear down and take to the landfill. With the help of a few volunteers, Dale Childers and I began this Herculean task. As all of this is a volunteer effort, I had to resign as original president of the Cd’A Carousel Foundation to focus on building the Pappy Boyington Field Museum from “scratch.”

The success of this project has been surprising and overwhelming. The museum has acquired thousands of artifacts and stories about the sacrifices local veterans (including Medal-of-Honor and Navy Cross recipient and native Pappy Boyington) have made for our freedoms. All of these events are chronicled at our website: www.themuseums.us.

On Dec. 31, 2016, the museum is at the end of a five-year lease (the rent of which was DOUBLED every year). We have been trying for over a year to develop a new lease which is mandated of both parties in the original lease. Inexplicably, the Hayden Lake Eagles have been loathe to communicate. This puts us obviously in a difficult planning situation.

Rather than complain about the dirth of patriotism we are looking to the future. The Pappy Boyington Field Museum now has had thousands of visitors and hundreds of thousands of hits on our website from visitors from 64 countries. We are growing and are ready to move to the next level. We would like to build a first-rate facility at Pappy Boyington Field that will bring in thousands of visitors, provide a much needed airport cafe and provide a STEM-type education space. We envision this to be comparable with the Richard Bong Aviation Heritage Center in Wisconsin and the Warhawk Museum at Nampa, Idaho.

We have been encouraged by the directors of both museums because we have one of the most famous names in American military and aviation history — Pappy Boyington! The proposed location would be directly across the street from the 8-foot-high bronze statue that Bran K. Ross and myself created which is at the west end of Wyoming Avenue, Hayden. It is a “doable” project that can be a community effort. All it needs is time and benefactors like the Foote and Ford families as well as corporations who want their name connected to one of history’s most iconic names.

If you want to help, contact us at our website above — and if you know any Hayden Lake Eagles who are patriotic, have them help us with the Hayden Eagles.

• • •

Richard Le Francis is the founder and original president of the CdA Carousel Foundation 501(c)3, president of the Pappy Boyington Field Museum, Inc. 501 (c)3, and co-sculptor of the Pappy Boyington statue at the airport.