Media Releases
100th Birthday of Clark County Commission hosted at The Hammargren Home of Nevada History: July 3, 2009
The Good Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social on Friday July 3rd from 3 to 6 PM will pay tribute to our Clark County Commissioners (current, past and posthumously) with “Certificates of Service” from Governor Jim Gibbons to those who have served HONORABLY…And for those who have served DISHONORABLY they will be displayed behind the original Clark County Jail-house doors which are over one hundred years old!
“Hammargren Home of Nevada History” 13th Annual Nevada Day Open House, Sunday – November 2nd; 1:00-5:00 PM - Howard Hughes and Bugsy Siegel exhibits
Las Vegas, NV: October 28, 2008; there are three areas at the Hammargren complex we will highlight for the 2008 Nevada Day celebration this year:
* Howard Hughes; his aviation achievements, exhibits, artifacts and flight records * The European Space Agency's Columbus Laboratory Exhibit and more * Signs & memorabilia from four recently imploded Las Vegas Hotel/Casinos; and
Over a decade ago, when the Flamingo Hotel razed Bugsy Siegel’s famous “Oregon Suite”, the hotel pool and other motel building…Dr. Hammargren was there…and hauled off some historic gems.
Admission is a donation to the “Living Grace Home” For pregnant teens www.livinggracehome.com
$5.00 per person; children under 12 are FREE
November 2nd is the 61st anniversary of the only flight of the Spruce Goose .
The “Howard Hughes Engineering Office” is nearly complete with photos, books and records. The black & white checkered tiled floor is symbolic for the many FIRST PLACE wins Hughes racked up flying airplanes, making movies, launching satellites and distant space probe; and in death, annually his Medical Institute is the richest and gives upwards of ¾ of a $billion dollars towards medical research. (www.hhmi.org )
Dr. Hammargren has acquired a spare engine for the Spruce Goose (has 8 engines). A large portion of its hermetic sealed container has been removed so the technology can be viewed. This power plant is an awesome display. It is a 3000 horse power Pratt & Whitney engine. “Howard Hughes was always fascinated with combustion engines, considering his Need for Speed; said Hughes historian Bob McCaffery. “The twin engine XF-11 aircraft that Hughes crashed and was nearly killed in 1946 had two of these thunderous engines.” he added. Most of the cabinetry & fixtures in the HRH Engineering Office are from the Howard Hughes suite at the Frontier Hotel including the ‘crapper’; and there’s the wheel/chassis from Howard Hughes private railroad car. The neatest under glass display is the original architectural model of the Desert Inn Hotel/Casino. Lonnie has the D.I. Sign too.
Space Exhibits at “The Hammargren Spaceflight Center”
Believe it or not…Ripley; Dr. Hammargren has his own spacecraft complex nestled from public view atop the roof of his ‘center-house’. The space display theme(s) began over 25 years ago when he acquired a for-sure real Apollo Spacecraft used for splash-down tests. “I was a NASA astronaut candidate and flight surgeon at “The Cape” at the time astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee were killed on the launch pad. That did not discourage me from pursuing becoming an astronaut; however my eyesight failed me and I had to flunk myself”; said Dr. Hammargren.
“I bought all of spacecraft models from Bob Stupak’s Vegas World that soon became a ‘critical mass’ of space stuff, so I continued to add, modify and construct over the years. It’s slowly gaining its credibility as an educational tool”; said Dr. Hammargren. “Education has always been my intent”; he added.
Near completion are various models: a 2/3 scale model the USA Space Shuttle, Columbus - a European Space Agency Science Laboratory that is part of the International Space Station (long as a football field.) An Orion space capsule, America’s next generation of space launch vehicles. A small model of the Apollo-Soyuz hookup in orbit in 1974. Russian Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, the Soyuz commander has visited the Hammargren home and praised the Doctors space exhibits.
Hotel artifacts:
Dr. Hammargren has ‘acquired’ signs and other interesting things from four recently imploded Hotels; the Frontier, Stardust, Nevada Palace, Klondike Inn. And from the Flamingo Hotel over a decade ago, when the Flamingo Hotel razed their old motels, the famous pool and The Oregon Suite, where Bugsy Siegel lived. Bugsy’s favorite color was chartreuse. Lonnie got his Potty. It’s chartreuse, as are all bathroom fixtures and the chandelier, all chartreuse. And then Doc got the famous giant welded flamingo statue from the famous swimming pool area. Imagine the history of four decades of happy tourists lounging poolside. The 50’s thru 80’s will someday be recognized as our finest decades in our countries history.
As Robin Leach has said…”you’ve got to see this place to believe it.”
Refreshments provided by and for the benefit of the Living Grace Home
Written by: Bob McCaffery, Howard Hughes historian 286-6604: McCaffery led the effort to save the Spruce Goose in 1980 and served as President of the AeroClub of Southern California, owners of the aircraft. http://www.theaviatorhowardhughes.com
Contact: Dr. Lonnie Hammargren H: 451-8444; C: 596-6669 4318 Ridgecrest Drive (Flamingo at Sandhill)
For your pleasure: Nonstop Entertainment
Visit the home page for more information and ‘take a virtual tour’
• Remembering…..Evel Knievel • Former Lt. Governor Dr. Lonnie
Hammargren - “Neurosurgeon to the Gladiators”
HITS 70
(A Musical Invitation) http://www.sparkyofvegas.com/LonnieWS.html Las Vegas, NV: TODAY - December 22, 2007; Last year his
cardiac physician, Dr. Randall Feikes, said NO WAY… to having
his annual Winter Solstice party after Dr. Hammargren had a mild heart attack
followed by a sextuple open-heart bypass surgery in October 2006, but it’s a GO
for 2007. This year Hammargren turns 70 on Christmas day so it will be a
combo Birthday Party and Solstice Celebration on Saturday, December 22nd from At about half past the hour of four on the top floor at the solar observatory
(http://www.sparkyofvegas.com/Hammargren_Rooftop.htm)
the ceremony will begin with a prayer, presentation of Our Flag and salutations.
As in Centuries past the Winter Solstice is the final season of the year, the
longest night or shortest day, a time to celebrate life and to remember our
friends who have past away in 2007; Sonny King, Robert Goulet, “Sweet Louis”
Smith, whose funeral services are also this Saturday at 6PM. “Sweet Louis” sang
“It’s a Wonderful World” for Lonnie at his Wake-Awake in April. Some of the
family members attending are Ms. Peggy King and Vera Goulet. Our friend and a true American Patriot, Colonel There is a mini-convention of motorcycle daredevil jumpers attending to pay
their respects to “The Last Gladiator” Evel Knievel Earl Castine, a And then there is Gary Wells, who saw Evel Knievel’s near fatal jump over the “Evel Knievel was my inspiration to write a book about my experiences
providing “jump site” emergency trauma services to so many of these daredevils,
stuntmen and boxers over the years”; Hammargren says. “Evel has written the
forward in my book “Neurosurgeon to the Gladiators”. I am truly honored to have
been his friend and Doctor”; Hammargren said. The birthday party theme is “It’s A Wonderful Life” from the 1946 movie classic starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. All guests have been asked to bring a wind chime, old or new, to be part of the ceremony and "Wind Chime Memorial" on the roof. "I love wind chimes”; Dr. Hammargren said.
Visit www.nevadadays.org for Virtual Tours of the “Hammargren Home of Contact:
Media invited: Ceremony begins at
P.S. Lonnie turns 70 on Christmas Day. As the story goes; he was born in a manger
inside a stable behind an inn on December 25th, ironic but true! His father
purchased a small building that once housed horses that was behind a road house
in Harris Minnesota. The ‘
“Hammargren Home of Nevada History” 12th Annual Nevada Day Open House: Sunday - October 28; 1-5 PM, FREE ADMISSION – FREE FLU SHOTS FOR SENIORS
Las Vegas, NV: October 24, 2007; Last year his cardiac physicians said NO… Nevada Day open house after Dr. Hammargren had a mild heart attack followed by a sextuple open-heart bypass surgery in October 2006. It was time for him to rest, but that didn't stop Lonnie from collecting more “STUFF�� in the past two years. The closing of the Castaways, Boardwalk, Stardust and Frontier hotel/casinos gave ‘the good doctor’ an opportunity to score (Big Time) truckloads of Las Vegas memorabilia to add to the Hammargren Home of Nevada History.
As a Howard Hughes historian, http://www.aviatorhowardhughes.com I was excited to see Lonnie get dozens of fixtures, doors, furniture, and yes... even the “crapper” from the Howard Hughes suite at the Frontier, the last of the hotels once owned by Las Vegas most famous personality.
Since November 2nd is the 60th anniversary of the ‘one and only flight’ of the “Spruce Goose”, we are highlighting many of the Howard Hughes collectibles at this year's open house. In particular, we have a brand spanking new spare 3000 HP engine for the Goose (preserved in a steel canister with a cut away for viewing) on display near the wheels and chassis from Hughes private railroad car that Hughes rode when he snuck into Las Vegas from Boston on Thanksgiving Day in 1966 and began his three-year buying spree.
“I am converting one large room in the center house and calling it the “Howard Hughes, Engineering Office”; Hammargren said. “I plan to build a Glomar Explorer model to exhibit with a 1/16 model of the “Spruce Goose”; he added. Dr. Hammargren purchased his residence in 1972 from Howard Hughes corporate pilot.
Free flu shots for seniors will be administered by the Clark County Health District. Food and beverage will be sold to benefit The Living Grace Home for pregnant teens and gift baskets are for sale to benefit “Friends of Classic Las Vegas”, a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving Las Vegas history.
Written by: Bob McCaffery, Howard Hughes historian; 806-2604
Contact: Dr. Lonnie Hammargren H: 451-8444; C: 596-6669
4318 Ridgecrest Drive (Flamingo at Sandhill)
Las Vegas, Nevada – June 22, 2006; The Home and Garden Television Network (HGTV) program “Offbeat America”; Channel 68 will air on Monday at 6:00 PM on August 14th 2006. The segment is titled “Rocked out Pads and More”. The home, because of its very uniqueness, has credits for appearing three times on ‘Robin Leach’s’ “Life Styles of the Rich and Famous,” and dozens of travel and specialty television shows over the years. Be sure to watch and set your TIVO to record the tour so you can revisit frequently.
More about Lonnie…………
Lonnie “Doc” Hammargren – Vietnam Veteran, Collector (It’s in his Genes or Jeans) and Physician/Surgeon. Those of us who know Lonnie very well understand his insatiable urge to collect ”found art” or “junk” as his wife Sandy sometimes calls it. Somehow he manages to integrate everything into the “Hammargren Home of Nevada History”. There are thousands of pieces of history ranging from a small railroad spike to the giant “Showboat Hotel” marquee sign that forms the backdrop of the backyards’ infamous entertainment stage.
Lonnie started at age 6 with his own award winning butterfly collection; however it runs much deeper than that. His mother was a ‘pack rat’ who ‘kept anything and everything’. Ruby was her name, and a charming, gregarious free spirit was she. In fact, her photograph is in the very front of the book “When I Grow Old, I Shall Wear Purple”, a book that is perhaps the ‘Bible’ for the ladies of the “Red Hat Society”. The free spirit fictional character the Red Hatters use for their newsletter which is appropriately called “Ruby’s Ramblins”. Lonnie has taken his mother’s ‘pack rat’ syndrome and imagination to the nth degree.
Ya’ll come to the house and see.
Serving in Vietnam as a flight surgeon didn’t curb Lonnie’s appetite for collecting ‘stuff’. Doc’s domicile Quonset hut was jerry rigged on top with a succession of helicopter parts, old fuel tanks and 55 gallon barrels with heating elements; Yes, HOT SHOWERS. In one year’s time he was able to turn the hut into a regular ‘Sanford and Son’ junkyard. Being a Captain and a Doctor, Lonnie had a lot of lee-way (juice) for bartering and making trade-outs to get medical supplies and of course ‘junk’ to adorn his hut.
Lonnie served as a Medical flight surgeon in the 173rd Army Airborne and flew 100 helicopter missions to the front lines caring for our wounded and dying soldiers. The Claymore mines were murderous and deadly to our men then, just as the IED’s are in Iraq today. Except that today, because of the body armor worn, there are fewer fatalities, but an extraordinary loss of limbs and brain damage. Lonnie has often said “I grew up in Vietnam, it was not pretty.”
When Lonnie returned to the states, He was assigned to the Kennedy Space Flight Center as a Flight Surgeon to the Astronauts with the promise of being selected for the Space Flight Program. He had to disqualify himself because his eyesight didn’t pass ‘muster’ for flight status. Lonnie was on duty when astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffee’s Gemini spacecraft burned on the ‘Pad’. The accident occurred because program flight command insisted on using a pure oxygen environment inside the space capsule. This was done against the recommendation of Dr. Hammargren and the flight surgeon’s offices. He left the military to return to his home state and the Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic to begin his studies for a career in neurosurgery.
Dr. Hammargren was the first micro neurosurgeon to set up practice in Las Vegas in 1971. He bought a ‘normal’ home at 4318 Ridgecrest Drive. That is when his mother’s “gene pull” beckoned. That four bedroom dwelling has now “morphed” itself into a three home residence complex called “Casa Del Sol,” housing treasures from around the world and an abundance of Nevada, and especially Las Vegas memorabilia.
The eclectic backyard with a center stage has 80 X 40 foot scale topographic map of Nevada painted on the concrete floor. It’s a stretch of your imagination but much of the Doctor’s collections of bits of Nevada history are displayed in proximity to that topographic map of Nevada.
We welcome all Veterans, Active Military and their families; and friends to the Open House on July 2nd; 1 – 5 PM to come and check it out or figure it out!
By: Bob McCaffery
Contact: Lonnie Hammargren 702-596-6669; Bob McCaffery 702-806-2604 All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2005 Nevada Day - nevadaday.org. Las Vegas, Nevada 89121. World Wide: 702.898.7350. No part of this web site may be reproduced without permission.
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