Buy a raffle ticket, you could win a ride on a vintage B-25 bomber

Hometown Life

If you've ever wanted to fly in a vintage B-25 bomber, now is your chance to win a ride on a flyover as part of the Norwayne Community's 75th anniversary celebrations.

Raffle tickets to win a ride on the B-25 went on sale Monday — there will be two winners. The cost is $50 per person and only 75 tickets will be sold — the idea is to raise the $2,000 cost for the bomber to do the flyover as part of the Thursday, July 20 Norwayne Homefront Celebration.

Technically, wartime workers at the Willow Run Plant built B-24 bombers but the B-25 is available for the flyover through the Yankee Air Museum.

It's actually a pretty good value for flying aficionados, Westland Community Development Director Joanne Campbell points out. Each $50 raffle ticket comes with admission to the Sept. 2-4 Yankee Air Museum Blue Angels Air Show and a parking pass. That has a $60 value.

"And it costs $400 for a ride on the B-25," Campbell said.

The winning raffle tickets will be drawn 11 a.m. Saturday, July 15, at the Wayne-Ford Civic League. Winners don't need to be present.

The flyover will actually be at 4 p.m. Thursday, July 20. That's about 30 minutes into the Homefront Celebration at the Jefferson Barns Community Vitality Center. The program, part of a series of events celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Norwayne Community, will honored Rosie the Riveters.

"Original Rosies will be there. To me, the goal is to enhance the view of Norwayne and understand its significance," Campbell said. "It's a chance to instill more pride in the neighborhood."

Built as a community to house World War II workers from Willow Run, Norwayne has been the focus of city revitalization efforts in recent years after a period of neglect. The goal has been to return Norwayne to the status of a community of choice.

Those investments in Norwayne have included demolition of blighted, deteriorated homes, construction of new homes and renovating the closed Jefferson Barns school into a community center.

"It's a community celebration but also for people who have moved away. We want to share what we're doing and the pride in that," Campbell said.

Immediately following the Homefront celebration at about 5 p.m. July 20, there will be a police, fire and kids softball games, other games, activities and food for one of Westland Mayor William Wild's Community Gathering.

For more information about the raffle tickets or the 75th anniversary events, contact Campbell at 734-716-4078 or Henry Johnson at 734-334-0042.

lrogers@hometownlife.com
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