The EA-6B Prowler and A-6 Intruder that welcome incomers to Oak Harbor look a little shinier than usual.

Friday, several organizations teamed up in a volunteer effort to clean the planes and the land of North Whidbey’s Gateway Park. Another crossover spiffing event is planned for Aug. 31 at Langley Memorial Park.

Hosted by the Intruder Association and the Pacific Northwest Naval Air Museum, Oak Harbor Parks and Recreation staff provided a bucket truck while Navy sailors scrubbed the bottoms of the airplanes and plucked weeds.

“It was a lot of fun having everybody coordinate together to take care of it, because it really is the gateway that everybody sees when they come to the city, or the base or the island,” said Bruce Roberts, regional director of the Intruder Association.

Gateway Park has some complicated ownership. The planes are on loan from the Pensacola Naval Air Museum, provided in part by the city, though they sit on Navy land. Overall, it’s a place the whole community can take pride in, Roberts said.

“It’s important that that legacy is preserved,” he said. “That’s our mission, so we had a nice talk with all the sailors who had no idea what type of airplane it was.”

Of course, some of the sailors knew, he said.

“Some of them had dads who served on the (USS) Ranger on Desert Storm, and that airplane is configured the way it would have been the first night over the beach,” he said.

Gateway Park’s display happened in thanks to past Commanding Officer Capt. Dave Williams in collaboration with the city, Master Chief Craig Olsen for the concept and Capt. Larry Munns for the tribute and monument, Roberts said.

While the park has been inconsistently maintained in the past, Roberts hopes for an annual event to keep the planes free from rust and birds.

On Saturday, Aug. 31, volunteers are invited to help clean up Langley Memorial Park from 9 a.m. to noon. There, volunteers will wash the A-3 Skywarrior, which was restored in 2010, and another Intruder.

The Intruder Association will be back with burgers.

“Everybody can have some lunch, and even if somebody puts in 15 minutes of picking weeds or cleaning, it sure is appreciated,” Roberts said. “These are things that we want preserved and make sure everybody’s proud of.”