Support the Minnesota Firefighters Museum
Greetings Minnesota firefighters, family members and friends!
It’s a beautiful, sunny early May morning as I write. It has been a rainy spring locally and area farmers are raring to go with field work and planting. I am too! I’ve got 5,000 strawberry crowns waiting to go into the ground.
I may have mentioned a time or two about my love of history. I have bookshelves full of books covering a wide range of subjects- past presidents, engineering feats, former baseball players, military history, catastrophes, world leaders, criminals and many others. Often times, while reading a book, I’ll see something in it that I’d like to learn more about which leads to buying another book. A number of years ago, my wife gave me a book about the Wright Brothers. Together they ran a bicycle shop in Ohio in the late 1800’s. They set out to solve the challenge of powered flight. Through years of experimenting with wind tunnels and gliders, working out complicated calculations and at times risking their lives, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on 17 December 1903 they achieved what many said was impossible. One thing that blew me away was they didn’t have any training in engineering. Their father was a preacher and neither brother graduated high school.
My wife and I recently spent some time on the Outer Banks, NC. It was an incredible feeling to be at the site where Orville and Wilbur took to the sky and what their invention turned into over the years. There are a few pieces of the Wright Flyer at the museum there along with a full size replica. On display is a chunk of the crankcase which was one of the first times aluminum was used on an engine- fascinating minds these midwestern brothers had!
We also visited the site where the English in 1585 made an attempt at establishing a colony in the New World. When supplies were running low, a ship was sent back to England. When the ship was able to return to the colony, over 100 men, women and children had vanished without a trace- The Lost Colony. My wife was intrigued and baffled how that many people could just disappear. History is amazing!
About a month ago, MSFDA Executive Director DeeDee Jankovich and I attended a meeting at the Minnesota Firefighter Museum in Minneapolis. I was there once about five years ago. I always enjoy visiting firefighter museums and have been to several around the country. We had a guided tour and were updated on all the upgrades and work to make this a true museum for ALL Minnesota firefighters and departments. We both were wowed by the displays and effort by museum volunteers. At the MSFDA board meeting the day after our visit, the board approved a monetary donation and also decided to have the museum store and display MSFDA items DeeDee and I have hidden away in boxes. I urge all to support and visit the Minnesota Firefighter Museum. I know Minneapolis gets a bad rap but the museum is located near a quiet residential area and was easy to get to.
Be sure to make plans to attend the upcoming MSFDA Annual Conference and Fire School in Mankato Sept. 20-21. It will be my last as I am retiring from the board. My first was in Owatonna in 2009, I was hooked and have attended every one since.
Gotta run and get busy planting! Enjoy your day and be safe,
Dave Yurczyk,
MSFDA President