I played a lot of big band music - both as a trumpet player and a drummer. Still love Big Band Music to this day and listen to it often.
I missed out on a great event held here locally - swearing for years I was going to attend but never did. Eagles Field near Firebaugh, Ca. was an airport and training field during WWII... it's been closed for years BUT some hangers and the runway are still there. For years they held an annual Dinner Dance there featuring big band music, AND people who attended dressed accordingly. Sure wish I would have attended.
Sidenote: MANY years ago I was at Eagles Field searching the area, (used to be a golf course there)... and this was long before they began restoring the place. It was almost completely abandoned at the time. While searching the area where the barracks used to be I found an old photo of a soldier and his wife? girlfriend? date? That photo haunted me, and still does.. wondering who it was... and I often wondered if I could find out who it was. This was before the current museum... had the museum been there I would have given the photo to them in hopes that perhaps someone visiting would eventually recognize the couple.
As it was... I kept the photo for a few years then returned it to the airfield and buried it as sort of a memorial. Unfortunately when they began restoring the area the place I buried the photo was disked and leveled so no doubt the photo is now lost forever. - JamesJM
