Our History

We wanted the cover to be festive and magical—an antique aviation poster-style. Betty Bazar Robin, mother of San Fernando Valley member Paula Sandling, has an extensive collection of paintings by the well-known aviation artist Douglas Ettridge. We obtained permission from both the artist and Betty Bazar Robin to use one of these unique paintings on our cover. This early airfield is an inspiring symbol for our museum.

Douglas Ettridge is a noted British artist who has spent many years in the United States where he flew with many famous aviators. One of his paintings hangs in the Museum of Flying at Santa Monica Airport, Calif.

Mr. Ettridge has agreed to create a painting to commemorate the opening of our museum next summer and from this original work will be printed a limited edition of lithographs to be sold to The 99s. We are thrilled with this news. My time line stated that when we had collected $60,000 from our donors (and that goal date was Sept. 1), I would commence the project by building the interiors walls. The money goal reached, I flew to Oklahoma City with sketches and designs. The next two days I spent gazing at the emptiness of the second floor
and at the big windows overlooking the Will Rogers Airport. I refigured my floor plans in order to include more windows and, therefore, more light. I placed masking tape on the bare floor to outline the walls, picked it up, moved it slightly and put it down again. Then downstairs once again to the beautiful oak round conference table to revise my floor plans.

I met with the construction contractor and after our final bid discussion, I turned the plans over to him and flew back to Santa Monica. I had just under three weeks to design the molding around the doors, pass-throughs, and the picture and crown trim. At least I was sure of the wood and color: We would match that conference table of light oak.

The 99s building is modern, built in the 1980s. How to give the museum a bit of the early 20th Century craftsman look? Perhaps with the linear oak and keeping the trim and molding clean and simple. Nearly daily, calls were made between the contractor and me as
problems arose. Then, as scheduled, I flew back to Oklahoma City on Oct. 1 to work with wall colors, trim and flooring.

The "Second Floor" has now reached the first stage completion point. Meanwhile, I discovered the antique shops in Oklahoma City. What fun it is to browse through them for ideas—or maybe a treasure. Here is a short wish list: We need artists to paint murals of vintage airfields and professional framers for photos and artwork. We need antique lamps and light fixtures as well as track lights, and TV monitors to run tapes of historical documentaries. We need window treatments. Blinds would be great—we have a lot of windows.

Please phone or write me if you can help.