Port of Moses Lake at 50

MOSES LAKE — If the walls could talk, what would they say? Where would they start?

Would they start with the famous people who have passed through the Grant County International Airport over the years? People like President John F. Kennedy, who landed at Larson Air Force Base in 1963. Or Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband, who made two touch-and-go landings in 1982. Or maybe the movie stars? Bruce Willis was here to film portions of “Die Hard II” in 1990 or what about Tom Selleck, who filmed scenes from “Runaway” in 1984?

If the walls could talk, would they tell us about the spectacular aircraft that have graced the skies over central Washington or touched down in the airfield with one of the longest runways (13,503 feet) in the United States. Would they tell us of the then-new development in aviation called the Boeing 747 with the No. 1 on its fuselage, meaning the first 747 in operation. Or how about 1974 when the British Concorde Supersonic Transport blew into town and stayed for a month. Maybe the Antonov 225, the world’s largest airplane that made a refueling stop at Grant County International Airport in 2012.

The Port of Moses Lake will celebrate 50 years of history on Friday with a special day of reminiscing past glory and talk of future plans, then cap it all off with a good, old-fashioned hangar dance with live music with the Fabulous Kingpins.

Gates open to the public at 10 a.m. They’ll have food, beer and a lot of great aircraft on display.

Col. (ret.) Clyde Owen, the last commanding officer of Larson Air Force Base and first executive manager of the Port of Moses Lake, will return for a day recognizing one of the key economic drivers in central Washington.

“This is more a thank you to the community,” said Rich Mueller, director of facilities and operations. “This thing has been growing and growing. It started out as one airplane and a little ceremony. And now we’re expecting close to 3,000 people. There will be food, music, people can bring the kids to see airplanes up close.”

The Air Force is bringing a C-17. Other aircraft on display will include a World War II B-52 bomber, PBY Catalina, and the Navy will have aircraft, along with Boeing.

“The Air Force is bringing in a C-17 all rigged up like it is when it’s out in combat,” Mueller said. “Even on the Air Force bases when they demo these planes, it’s just a big empty hull. But this one they’re going to set it up for medi-vac with the kind of stuff they push out of the back when they’re flying. It won’t be like walking through an empty tube.”

There will also be Ag planes and the Mosquito District plane.

“This is more of a thank you to the community. We’ll open the gates to the public. It doesn’t cost them a cent other than food and drink,” Mueller said. “They’ll see the airplanes for free, get a chance to win a prize, run around with the children to show them an airplane up close and do a little dancing.”

The Port of Moses Lake was created in 1965 and helped the local economy rise from the ashes with the closure of Larson Air Force Base in 1964. First came the Japanese Airlines flight training in 1968, then the first 747 (Boeing) testing in 1969, the Concorde (SST) tests, the list goes on and one. Union Carbide opened in 1984, the new $5.7 million terminal opened in 1998 with the new name. Genie Industries, a Redmond-based scissor-lift manufacturer is one of the port’s success stories. BMW/SGL arrived in 2010. The list goes on and who knows what the future will bring.

“If we do our job correctly here at the port, then it means another business, it means more jobs, it means something exciting like Mitsubishi coming out here for the next few years,” Mueller said. “It means a plant like SGL going up and that’s encouraging. Unlike a lot of other government agencies, the port’s sole reason for existence is for the betterment of the economy around it. If we do our job the way we can, we can actually make life better for people we see every day and this is our way of saying thank you.”

If the walls could talk, they’d say let’s party.