LIMESTONE, Maine — Two years’ worth of hard work and planning went into the “Loring Reunite” event at the former base this weekend, and every ounce of effort was apparent in what organizers and participants agreed was a tremendously successful reunion.
With participants traveling from as far as England and Alaska, President of the Loring Military Heritage Center William Ossenfort said that organizers were pleased with the turnout of approximately 200 individuals interested in the base.
“I saw people I hadn’t seen in 30 years,” Ossenfort said. Talking with the airmen and women he served with in the 42nd brought back lots of fond memories
Not only was the museum packed with Air Force veterans, civilians and “military brats” enjoying the displays, company and memorabilia, there were base-wide tours held from the flightline to the arch hangar, the weapons storage area, the Loring Development Authority building and more.
Not only did the Maine Military Authority open their doors as well to share the facility with its historic guests, Maine Military Authority officials even offered reunion participants free Humvee rides.
Though there is a diverse array of new things going on at the former base, the loss of “what was” came as a shock to some reunion-goers.
“Of the people that came to the reunion, some hadn’t been back to see the base,” Ossenfort explained, describing how some went to see where they used to live and, like much of the housing of the former base, it was gone.
While the experience was a bit drastic for a few, Ossenfort explained that the reunion was able to maintain the positive atmosphere of remembering the good of what used to be.
In fact, his favorite part of the entire reunion was seeing people come into the museum and look at the artifacts.
While the photos, signage and other Loring memorabilia evoked conversation at every turn, there’s a lot more to talk about now at the Loring Military Heritage Center thanks to the reunion.
“It’s amazing the amount of people who had their own artifacts that they donated to the museum,” Ossenfort said, adding that the museum’s collection expanded drastically over the weekend.
Like the museum’s collection, membership of the LMHC has also increased considerably.
With all the activities and excitement of the reunion, it’s safe to say that the newly mounted hounddog missile in front of the heritage museum was the gem of the reunion.
Polished, painted and perfected to prime “Loring” conditions, the missile was mounted last Tuesday and has since received a wealth of compliments.
Overseeing the Hounddog missile project was Ray Hildebrand, and the crew charged with moving the missile from the Arch Hangar, where the restoration took place, to the Heritage Center were John Ouellette, Donnie Anderson, Jeff Durepo, Paul Edgecomb, Mike Espling and Herman Gaskins.
Due to the tremendous amount of organizational effort it took to mount the three-day reunion on Aug. 24-26, Ossenfort doesn’t anticipate another reunion next year, “but maybe in two years,” he speculated.
For more information about the Loring Military Heritage Center, visit www.loringmilitaryheritagecenter.com or visit them on Facebook.
