SHAFTER, Calif. (KERO) — Kern County has a storied history when it comes to World Wars I and II, and at the heart of that history sits the Minter Field Air Museum in Shafter. Now, a renovation project is underway at the airfield and museum that focuses on highlighting the contributions made by servicemen and women in and around Kern County.
The building that houses the Minter Field Air Museum has been around since the late stages of WWII, and with that several coats of paint, but as time went on, the paint faded. Now work is being done on the outside of the building to bring life to the history inside of it.
"They will primer it and paint it and everything there," said Minter Field Air Museum Board Chair Ronald Pierce. "They're fixing some of the boards that are bad, and you'd be surprised how many boards are really good for a building that's 80-some years old."
Inside the museum, Kern County's war history comes to life, ranging from the journal of a WWI medic to a vehicle that survived the attack on Pearl Harbor.
For Pierce, the museum holds a special place in his family's history, and now he's working on his mission to preserve the displays inside for generations to come.
"My father worked out here during the war. I can remember coming out here with him as a child and roaming around where he worked out here," said Pierce. "So it means, a little bit, if we don't preserve history, history will be lost."
Pierce says the museum has the funds to operate on a day-to-day basis, but for large projects like the $40,000 to repaint the outside of the building, they're dependent on grants and donations.
"The word got out. A gentleman gave us a call and he said that 'We're interested in giving you the $40,000 to repaint the building,'" said Pierce. "And it is through the Johnson Family Fund. It's celebrating the life of Charles Johnson that has deceased and was in the military."
The outside of the museum looks a little worse for wear at this stage, but in the meantime, they'll still be open on Fridays and Saturdays as crews continue to work to restore the outside of the building.
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