2 interesting things to do for Veterans Day in Marin
Maureen Buick wasn't always a World War II history buff. But, she quickly became one when she started looking into her father's World War II story, searching for stories or details she hadn't heard before.
The result is “Finding Bomb Boogie,” her book, released in June, that details the wartime experiences of her father Donald L. Hayes, an American who took part in flying bombing missions to Nazi Germany on a B-17 airplane nicknamed “Bomb Boogie.” He flew in 11 missions before being shot down over France in 1943 and spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner of war.
Hear more about his story and Buick's research at a book talk event at 4 p.m. Saturday at Sausalito Books by the Bay at 100 Bay St. in Sausalito. Admission is free. For more information, call 415-8879967 or go to sausalitobooksbythebay.com/2023events.
Inspiring words
Ellen Brook never got a chance to meet her grandfather Abraham C. Brook. But, the Bay Area mixedmedia artist and fabric and fashion designer began to see a new side of him when she discovered a box of around 100 letters written by him when he was a young soldier serving in World War I.
Finding these took her on an “incredible artistic and personal journey,” she says, which inspired her to create new art and apparel.
“I've been incorporating words, sentiments, musings and the letters themselves (well, copies) to tell stories that are both personal to my grandfather's expressions, but also universal to soldiers in war, and humans in search of connection and meaning,” she says.
Come see her work, as well as some of her grandfather's letters, postcards, photos and other paraphernalia, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at AERENA Galleries & Gardens at 53 Throckmorton Ave. in Mill Valley. For more information, call 707-603-8787.
“My hope is that my work helps people reflect on the nature of war and suffering so that `the happiest day in the world's history' can become a way of life. My apparel was made in the hopes that the wearer can wrap themselves in the glory of the feeling of life without war,” she says.