It’s amazing to think that it’s been nearly seven years since I stepped into the Directorship at the Harbor History Museum in beautiful downtown Gig Harbor, WA. It’s been fun, challenging, and an opportunity for innovative thinking and community growth. As part of our capital campaign to complete the restoration of the FV Shenandoah, enclose the gallery in which she rests, and create new and exciting maritime exhibits, I’ve had the opportunity to discover incredible connections and meet fascinating people who are part of the boat’s story. 

I’m also proud to announce the release of my new children’s picture book, SO MANY FISH! published by the Harbor History Museum first as a video story and now as a paperback picture book. With incredible illustrations by Jesse Joshua Watson, salmon identification drawings by Jennifer Beard, and based on the true story of Gig Harbor’s fishing boat the Phyllis T, this book is available through the Harbor History Museum Mercantile.

The “Bomber Boys” Exhibit on the Move!

Thanks to the wonderful Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane, WA, who was our most recent host of “Bomber Boys: Portraits From the Front.” This extraordinary exhibit, based on the mysterious collection of a WWII tail gunner who served with the 57th Bomb Wing, is available for booking in 2022-23.  

A tremendous thanks to the Harbor History Museum, Wings Over the Rockies Museum in Denver, Airbase Arizona Flying Museum in Mesa, Arizona, and Moses Lake Museum and Art Center for hosting “Bomber Boys: Portraits From the Front.” It’s been a delight to have the show travel to these amazing venues, especially for the 57th Bomb Wing Reunion and official ribbon cutting by veterans who flew during World War II.

Know a museum who is looking for a poignant view of World War II with a great literary tie? “Bomber Boys” is available for booking and features 32 portraits of men who served in the 445th Squadron of the 321st Bomb Group, 57th Bomb Wing, 12th Army Air Force stationed in Italy and on Corsica. They are the “real guys” behind the famous novel Catch-22.

Keith B. Lile did his gunnery training at Lowry Field in Colorado. It was his first stop after Basic Training, but wouldn’t be his last.

Interested in learning about the exhibit and its backstory? Check out my Mission 31 Blog Series. This exhibit is available for bookings in 2022 and 2023. It was created as a special project of my University of Washington Tacoma Methods of Museum Interpretation class.

Many venues require sponsors to be able to host traveling exhibits, so if you’d like to see this exhibit in your local museum, consider being a sponsor. Contact the Harbor History Museum at 253-858-6722 x7 for information.