El Paso Times from El Paso, Texas • 27

Horlhcast Paso Times Wednesday. October 4. 1989 Community Theatre will have auditions for its Christmas ballet, "The Little Matchgirl," from 4:30 to 5:30 Saturday at Dance Path, 4433 Edgar Park. The audition is open to intermediate male and female dancers. Information: 757-2461.

Stamp show The 42nd annual meeting of the New Mexico Philatelic Association will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 21 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Oct. 22 at the El Paso Convention and Performing Arts Center. The El Paso Philatelic Society will be host of the stamp show. The show will feature 13 dealers from Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The exhibits will highlight U.S.

postal history, plate number coils, topicals and first-day covers. An executive board meeting will be at 10 a.m. Oct. 21 at the Westin Paso Del Norte hotel, and a general meeting of the association will be at 1 p.m. Oct.

21. Admission is free. Information: Fred Griffin, 532-6874, or Joe Balough, 544-8515. Library programs for children The El Paso Public Library branches present story-time and film programs for children. The schedule: Clardy Fox Branch, 200 Lisbon, story hour at 10 a.m.

Friday; films at 10:20 a.m. Saturday Market, is now available for viewing by individuals as well as charity, civic and religious organizations. The 60-seat room chronicles Villas's life through more than 150 photographs, telegraphs and Villa-signed meeting space is available 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m.

to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. The room must be reserved 24 hours in advance for tours and meetings. Information: 7724246. Memorial Branch, 3200 Copper, story hour at 2 p.m.

Saturday Richard Burges Branch, 9300 Diana, storytelling at 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. Friday; films at 11 a.m. Saturday Veteran's Park Branch, 5303 Salem, films at 10 a.m. Friday; films at 2:30 p.m. Saturday Pancho Villa Room The Pancho Villa Room at the Hurd Distributing Company, 6949 Paralegal certificate' course An intensive 96-hour Paralegal Certificate Course will be offered from 8 a.m.

to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays Oct. 14 through Nov. 19 at Miners' Hall Room 101 at the University of Texas at El Paso. Information: 747-5142.

Auditions for Christmas ballet The Repertory Dance Headers In the news I 4 A V. 4 4 fl' hjfrv' Sara Boss, daughter of Doyle Boss, has been elected student council historian at the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin. Eleanor Poe, director of the Baptist Mission Clinic in El Paso, recently was selected by the El Paso County Medical Society as 1989 recipient of the Layman's Recognition Award. Poe is a registered nurse who has worked with the clinic for 16 years. Shelley Wieting, a nurse manager at George Nigh Reha-bilitation Institute in Okmulgee, was selected as.

Employee of the Month for June. Wieting received her nursing degree from Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas and completed her master's degree at Arizona State University. She is a 1973 graduate of Irvin High School. Her parents are Bob and Mildred Smith. Paul P.

Lazovick, advertising director and vice president of Regis Bernard, has been elected president of the El Paso Downtown Development Association for the 1989-90 term. Former sales promotion director Diane Fortenberry has been elected vice president of the association, and Mike Dipp Jr. was re-elected to the position of secretarytreasurer. The board of directors are John Phelan, Joe Cohen, Paul Lazovick and Sig Rosen. Mayor Suzie Azar will install the new officers and members during the 32nd Annual Luncheon Meeting Oct.

27 at the Westin Paso del Norte hotel. The luncheon is $10. The public is invited. Reservations: 533-2656. William M.

Charnick of El Paso graduated recently from the U.S. Border Patrol Academy at Glynco, Ga. Charnick is assigned to Laredo, Texas, as a patrol agent. i i nliiViMtl iiffrrWIOTlrf- mtt Fernie Garcia El Paso Times The War Eagles Air Museum has on display 26 vintage warplanes in flying condition. The museum opened last month.

The daring old planes in the flying museum Vv 4 Stephen Dominguez of El Paso was a member of the All American College Band at the Walt Disney World Resort. Do-mintruez at- 1 1 1 I 1 "to 1 This P-40E "KIttyhawk" was flown by the Flying Tigers in World War II. Dominguez tends the University of North Texas. The Radford Student Council Executive Board worked as volunteers for the Labor Day "Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy." Student volunteers included Rob Havey, Student Council president; Jeremy Valdez, vice president; John Olgin, treasurer; and Elissa Contrcras, secretary. Pete Silva is the sponsor for the Radford Student Council.

Santa Teresa opens rest home for warbirds By Donna Weeks El Paso Times A few old birds that can still fly now roost in Santa Teresa at the War Eagles Air Museum. Twenty-six airplanes, most of which are from the World War II and Korean War eras, are worth millions, said Skip Trammell, museum director of development. Collected by Upper Valley residents John and Betty McGuire over the past 12 years, the planes had been stored at the McGuires' Fort Hancock ranch. The museum, at the Santa Teresa Airport four miles off McNutt Road, unofficially opened to the public in September. Hours are 10 a.m.

to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. An official grand opening is pending. The planes have come' from North Africa, Honduras, Poland and throughout the United States," Trammell said. "The cheapest is worth half a million, and the most expensive is probably worth $1.5 million." The rarest aircraft is a MiG-15, used by North Korea during the Korean War.

The Elane is no longer allowed to imported into the United States because it is considered an implement of war, Trammell said. "They were good aerial combat airplanes. We didn't know anything about them until one of the North Koreans defected and flew one to a base in Japan," Trammell said. "The first American pilot to fly one was Chuck Yeager, who was the best pilot the United States ever had." The display building houses famous fighters such as the P-51 "Mustang," the P38 "Lightning," the P-40 "Warhawk" and the P4U4 "Corsair," as well as a twin-engine Invader bomber, a DC-3 transport aircraft and a German observation plane, the Feisler-Storch. The history of the Feisler-Storch, which could take off in 260 feet and land in 60 feet, is perhaps the most fascinating of any of the museum's treasures.

The Germans used it as a reconnaissance and observation messenger plane, courier plane, air ambulance and ferry for top officials during World War II. Its most notable mission, in September 1943, was the rescue of Benito Mussolini, the Italian fascist dictator, when he was held prisoner by Italian anti-fascists in a small hideaway accessible only by cable railway. Mussolini's ally, Adolf Hitler, ordered the One of the most popular aircraft, the P-51 "Mustang," was called "the Cadillac of the sky." "We were pretty much getting our butts kicked in aerial combat until the P-51 came along after the P40. This plane was, at the time, the fastest, most maneuver-able fighter in the air. The Germans' ME-109s controlled the air up until that time," Trammell said.

"It was also the last combat prop aircraft made. After World War II it went to Korea, and after that prop planes were deemed obsolete and jets took over." The "Mustang" was noted most for its long-range flying capabilities. Until its creation, bombers were protected by P-40s and P-38s, which had limited flight times. They didn't have the fuel storage that the "Mustangs" did. The DC-3 is celebrating its 50th year of continuous use.

Used by the military as troop and materials planes, they later served as airline passenger aircraft and are still in use as civilian cargo planes. "They were nicknamed the 'Gooney Bird' because they were so slow," Trammell said. "They flew at about 184 mph' In the Vietnam War, DC-3's were used as gun platforms. "Then they were called 'Puff the Magic Dragon' because they carried up to five miniature machine guns on their left side. They were able to direct fire on an area the size of a football field," Trammell said.

"The concentration of lead projectiles was so heavy, you couldn't find an area the size of your hand within an area the size of a football field that wasn't struck by bullets." Both Trammell and Jim Donnelly, executive director of the El Paso Convention and Visitor's Bureau, said they think the museum will be a great tourist attraction for the city. "I was just amazed and astounded in fact, ecstatic at what I saw inside the museum. I didn't realize what a treasure there was there and what an attraction it could be for El Paso," Donnelly said. "Anybody of any age with a facination for aircraft will thrill at the prospect of being able to touch, feel, and even smell these airplanes. It's a great tourist attraction for the area." The museum also features an upstairs conference room for aviation clubs, a gift shop, and a memoriabilia display filled with several donated personal affects from war soldiers.

Entrance is $4 general admission, $10 for families and $3 for senior citizens. Annual memberships with unlimited visits are available for $15. Information: 833-5800. I i 1 8 jf t- i i '1 ik "iij 1 rrl, Wm'K 1 James E. Nier of El Paso was recently elected to lead the more than 111,800 members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United Nier mi.

A Feisler-Storch was used by the Nazis to rescue Benito Mussol States, Department of Texas, for 1989-90. Nier, a life member of Yucca VFW Post 8919 in Northeast El Paso, was elected as state commander at the 69th Annual VFW State Convention in Houston. Dr. Augustine Baron Jr. son of Christine Baron, has been appointed as an assistant director of the Counseling and Mental Health Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

metal. "The majority of them were known for their 'Tiger' markings a shark's mouth on the front of the aircraft in red, white, blue and gold," he said. A Corsair F-4U4 of "Baa Baa Black Sheep" fame is the type Metal of Honor recipient Pappy Boyington commanded until Jan. 3, 1944, when his plane was Bhot down and captured by the Japanese. Nicknamed by the Japanese "the whistling death," the aircraft travelled up to 400 mph and made a distinctive whistling sound when it began its attack dive.

It destroyed 2,140 enemy aircraft before the end of the war. rescue of Mussolini from Gran Sasso, the loftiest peak of the Apennines of Central Italy, using a Feisler-Storch. "On that September morn-" ing when the plane landed on the rocky Blopes, Mussolini was pushed inside, and the crew took off in less than 100 feet. It was a hair-raising operation," Trammell said. The museum also boasts the P-40E "Kittyhawk" that was used in the movie "Tora, Tora, Tora." The plane was also called a "Flying Tiger," after the unit that flew it in World War II.

Only seven flightworthy "Flying Tigers" are left in the world, Trammell said. Nearly all the planes were destroyed after the war and used as scrap A TBM-3E "Avenger" torpedo bomber, the type President Bush flew during the war, also rests in the hangar museum. It weighs 5 tons, has a wingspan of 54 feet, and is more than 39 feet long and 15 feet high. "It carried two 1, 000-pound' bombs, or one torpedo," Trammell said. "It took off from Midway Island and was part of the Torpedo Squadron Eight," which was wiped out during the battle of Midway.

Bush flew a TBM off the carrier San Jacinto in World War II before he was shot down by anti-aircraft fire in September 1944 while on his 58th combat mission, a bomb raid on the Bonin Islands, 600 miles southwest of Japan. Stephen James Sampsell, former band director at Parkland High School, has been named supervisor of curri-culim at the Sampaefl School of Fine Arts in Kansas City, where he will teach band and orchestra..