LINCOLN PARK — The Lincoln Park Historical Society will host speaker Brian Higgins of the Yankee Air Museum at 7 p.m. May 1.
The meeting will be held at the Lincoln Park Historical Museum, 1335 Southfield Road. Admission is free; the public is invited.
Higgins will present a program on the history of the museum, at Willow Run Airport on Van Buren Township, and will also discuss its newest exhibit. This exhibit centers on a U.S. Navy World War II war bird that was recently salvaged from her grave at the bottom of Lake Michigan where she rested for 75 years.
The exhibit tells the little-known story of two Great Lakes passenger boats that were converted to aircraft carriers and allowed for the safe training of pilots who were to play a pivotal role in the victory over Japan in World War II.
Higgins will end his presentation with a short talk on the common issues facing museums of the area today.
The Story of the Yankee Air Museum begins in 1941 when Willow Run Airport was built by the Ford Motor Co. to serve as an airfield for its B-24 Bomber Plant. The museum was established at the site in 1981, and was reopened in 2010 with a new collections and exhibits building following a devastating fire that took place in October 2004.
Higgins is a long-term member of the Yankee Air Museum. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree from Butler University. He retired from the U.S. Army as a first lieutenant in Armor, and is the owner of R.B. Higgins & Associates, which sells contract furniture to the health care market.
Higgins was a member of the Detroit Yacht Club Board of Directors and is a commodore of the Detroit Boat Club. He has published articles of Navy and Air Force history in various museum publications including the Detroit Historical Society.
For further information contact the historical museum at 313-386-3137 or [email protected], or visit the museum’s Facebook page.