Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Sunnyvale resident Carol Henderson started the Moffett Field Historical Society Museum in 1994 to remember all the military branches that were once based at Moffett. Donors recently saved the museum from being shut down, giving the $80,000 needed for new sprinklers and smoke alarms.
Moffett Field Museum saved
Fundraising pays off, exhibit to stay open
By Jana Seshadri
Due to the tireless efforts of Carol Henderson, several volunteers and a few generous folks, the Moffett Field Museum will reopen for the public in a few months.
After being a valuable source of historical information for eight years, the Moffett Field Historical Society was instucted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to close its doors to the public unless it complied with certain safety requirements. Now, with the help of donations from several individuals, the museum can reopen its doors.
"They are like angels," Henderson said.
The first donation to save the museum was a mere $10.
"My granddaughter, Susie, gave me her babysitting money," Henderson said.
But big things do start small. Private pledges and donations started to come in, Henderson said--as little as $25 and as big as $1,000--until she found that they might just have enough to complete the required work.
"The two major donations will be from the John and Elaine Chambers Foundation and the Steven Steligman family foundation," Henderson said.
John Chambers is the chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems. According to Henderson, the exact amounts of the donations will be determined only after the contracts are drawn.
In May 1999, the historical society signed the Reimbursable Space Act Agreement with NASA, under which the society had to add several fire and safety improvements, including a fire sprinkler system, emergency lighting, smoke/fire detectors, fire doors and panic buttons. The modifications, which would have cost approximately $80,000, had to be made by March 2000.
The museum, located inside Hangar #1 within the NASA perimeter, requires the safety additions to be able to provide safe access to the public. Since NASA has unveiled a plan to open up an additional 213 acres of its property for a new research park, the safety requirements have become imminent and necessary, according to David Morse, head of public affairs for NASA.
Henderson, whose husband, Lee, was in the Navy since 1943, was instrumental in starting the museum in 1993. It houses artifacts, plaques, pictures, models and historical pieces, with collections being added to it constantly. Several aviation aficionados and enthusiasts have been donating their collections and artwork to the museum in the hopes of preserving them. Lee now works at the Sunnyvale Golf Course.
In addition to the necessary changes, Carol hopes that they have sufficient funds to enlarge the museum. The museum currently provides educational and informative tours to visitors, including school children, but Henderson said that someday she would like to extend that opportunity to disabled children as well.
But Carol said that none of her accomplishments would have been possible without the incredible support of more than 25 volunteers.
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
