Lacey Lady's NEW HOME

Educating public about Greatest Generation is priority for expanded Salem museum -

One fine day, the Lacey Lady will again take to the sky, bringing with her stories of sacrifice, courage and, above all, hope. But that is six years and more than $3 million in the future.

But for now, the iconic B-17 that once soared over gas pumps along Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard just south of Milwaukie will be taking a more prosaic journey to a new home in an 80-foot-by-80-foot hangar in Salem, plus office and classroom space.

Restoration

Terry Scott, the executive director of the nonprofit B-17 Alliance Group, couldnt be happier about the move.

This is huge for us; the plane has been a landmark since 1947. A lot of heartstrings are being pulled, but we gave it a lot of thought and decided to take this leap of faith, she said.

We did it out of respect for the airplane. It couldnt weather another winter, and in the hangar we can restore the plane to its flying condition, Scott said.

Our goal is to fly it and do tours in honor of the Greatest Generation. Inside will be more than a museum, we will have displays, we want to engage people. It will be interactive and multisensory, she said.

But for now, to make a long story short, there are difficulties disassembling the plane, and there will be more problems packing it for moving, including actually transporting the pieces that are all over-size loads.

We are working through the details, Scott said.

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Lacey Lady's NEW HOME