Join us Thursday, November 17, 2022 at 9:00 am for our monthly Coffee With the Curator. This month our topic is "Another Time,  Another Place: Memories from World War II and Beyond" with Larry Menestrina.

Another Time,  Another Place: Memories from World War II and Beyond

Larry will share stories of how his Mother’s German family survived World War II, became refugees fleeing from the Russian Army, lived in a displaced Person’s Camp for five years and eventually created new lives for themselves in America. Mr. Menestrina uses original family photographs and documents that survived the perilous journey of German refugees making their way across Central Europe during the last months of World War II.

About Larry Menestrina

As a little boy Larry loved visiting his maternal German grandmother Julia Tanda who lived in upper state New York. He spent many hours listening and recording her stories about World War II and how they struggled to survive. He collected war stories from his grandmother, his mother Mitzi, his Uncle Bruno and his father Harry a World War II European theater soldier himself and soon began his quest to put all this wonderful family information together not into one book but three books, what became known as Another Time Another Place Memories from World War II and Beyond, A Trilogy.  

As a little boy Larry had another love affair but this time it was with airplanes. He learned to fly at age 15 in the Indiana Wing Civil Air Patrol. He went on to Purdue University where he studied Aviation Technology and Engineering. In 1979 he drove to Wichita, Kansas and got an engineering job with Cessna Aircraft Co., after several years with Cessna he moved on to Boeing where he worked on the Presidential Airplane Air Force One, from 1986 to 1992. He went back to Cessna and Beechcraft which eventually became Textron Aviation. After 40 wonderful years working in aircraft engineering, he retired in February of 2019. He then got his Kansas Substitute Teachers license and now he is a substitute teacher for the Wichita Catholic Dioceses schools.

Larry Menestrina has worked with the Museum of World Treasures since 2002. He helped develop and create the original World War I and II museum exhibits. Several of his uniforms and military artifacts are included in both of these gallery’s. 

Choose from two ways to join the presentation:   

• In-person: Join us at the Museum of World Treasures for the live, in-person presentation! Face coverings are optional while in the Museum. No need to register — simply walk in! Light refreshments provided.
• Virtually via YouTube Livestream (link will be sent to members via email).