COTTAGE GROVE – Saturday’s sun beat down with 80-degree rays on 21 airplanes, 34 automobiles, and their owners, as well as about 280 people checking them out at the annual Wings and Wheels event hosted by the Oregon Aviation Historical Society and Museum.
The 11th annual fundraiser invited aircraft and automobile enthusiasts to 2475 Jim Wright Way for a day-long show-and-tell event. It was not only a chance for community members to check out some pretty neat vintage riders, but also an opportunity for the owners to show off their favorite toys.
Folks like Philip Shinar didn’t mind bearing the warm weather to tell people about his experimental plane designed by Burt Rutan, an aerospace engineer. Shinar said that he has been the third owner of this original design for five years now, and it is one of only 4,000 kits. The aircraft can reach speeds up to 170 miles per hour thanks to fiberglass composites having it weigh less than 1,000 pounds.
The event drew attention from people of all ages. If you were lucky, you might have gotten to see Hank and his friend Logan riding around on a hand-built trike made by Hank’s dad, John Barrong.
The trike was a three-month project made out of a 1930s motor, a wheel from a swap meet, and an Ohio Buckeye tractor seat. It was a labor of love for Barrong’s wife’s birthday.
Barrong has a family history of building interesting mobiles and trikes. When he was young, his mother Ruth Blackburn married a gentleman who built her a trike for her birthday, which currently sits at the History Museum of Hood River. According to Barrong, Blackburn rode the trike in 84 parades during the summer, including the Bohemia Mining Days parade, for about 20 years.
“When I was a kid, that first year I saw that thing, I thought it was the coolest thing ever,” said Barrong. “So, I had wanted to build one forever since I was a kid.”
After meeting his partner, Andrea, at the Great Oregon Steam Up, Barrong said she expressed interest in the idea of the trike. “When we started dating, a few months before her birthday, I decided, okay, I’m going to build her the tricycle for her birthday,” he said. “I always wanted to build one, and so I went and built one for her.”
While people gazed at the planes and mobiles, others took cover in the shade of the museum’s hangar. Inside, 80 raffle tickets were sold for prizes, such as a croquet set, a Cottage Grove Bookmine gift certificate, tickets to the Cottage Theatre, and a gift basket from Cottage Grove Veterinary Clinic.
A small gallery of local art was on display for sale by Glenda Wiffler. “I would like to do the Wings and Wheels Art Show next year, and I hope that the response will be even better than this year,” she said.
Visitors had the chance to vote for their favorite aircraft, automobile, and motorcycle. The people’s choice awards were sponsored by Jim Bales and went to Mike Danielle from Cottage Grove for a 1996 Volksminion motorcycle, Dan Palanuk fromEugene for a 1954 MG TF 1500 automobile, and Chris Lehrer from Washington for a 1934 Luscombe Phantom Ser #101.
Main sponsors for the fundraising event include Banner Bank, Parsons Financial, Grayson Commercial LLC, and Starfire Lumber.
