Hollister Municipal Airport was buzzing with activity when the governor showed up
Though we haven't read about it in the newspaper, Your readers should know that the Hollister Municipal Airport is an important part of this communtiy and of the area.
May 23, 2008, the airport was buzzing with activity! CalFire aircraft were flying frequently, helping with the Summit fire burning thousands of acres of land in Santa Cruz. This was the closest airport from which they were flying, coming in earlier than usual for fire season.
Gov. Arnold Schwazeneggar flew into the airport, and his entourage met him there, with four SUV's with blackened windows, to take him to Gilroy's Christmas Hill Park where the fire's staging area had been set up. Before he left Hollister airport, the governors's jet was refueled at Gavilan Aviation and the "Governator" toured some of the aircraft waiting on the tarmac for clearance to fly to the Watsonville airport for the annual air show,(due to airport proximity to the Summit fire and the smoke). The 23rd was the first day of the air show.
Hollister was well represented at the airshow. Last year's grand champion of the 2007 airshow was a meticulously restored Stearman N 450-SH, which adorned all the advertising, T-shirts and all collectable memorabelia for the air show. It had been restored by Hollister Airport's Vintage Wings and Wheels.
It was a shame that none of this information was ever reported in the local press. Hollister Airport played a vital role in the fire and air show in Santa Cruz County and will continue to do so in the future, for this and surrounding counties. As a regional airport in the national transportation system, Hollister Airport will always serve a vital role for emergencies, natural disasters, staging for airshows and an important part of the history of naval air stations and the second world war.
May 23 was quite a memorable day in 2008, at Hollister Municipal Airport.
Ruth Erickson, Hollister
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