Veterans Day 2016
I’m never sure how to start off posts on solemn holidays such as Veterans Day. “Happy” Veterans Day, doesn’t seem right, but how do you acknowledge the day? It doesn’t even seem appropriate to lump them in with other “holidays” since the themes should be respectful in lieu of festive.
Veterans Day can bring an odd mix of feelings. While there is and should be a deep respect and sense of loss for those that gave their lives for our Country, it does not seem inappropriate to celebrate those that returned home and the successes they had in protecting our Country and our ideals. You cannot elevate one above the other in achievement or sacrifice.
I did not serve in the military, but many in my family did, including my father, grandfather, an uncle and a great uncle of which I’m aware. I currently have a nephew serving in the military. My college roommate went through ROTC and served overseas for years. I have great respect for them all.
Since last Veterans Day, my grandfather passed away at 101. The Navy provided a tribute to him and added a plaque to his gravestone. (see right – MOMM3 is the designation for Motor Machinist Mate 3rd Class) He also received an Armed Forces Certificate which we received around Memorial Day this year.
For all the veterans in my family and throughout my extended family of fellow Americans… Thank you for your service. I hope this Veterans Day allows all Americans to pause and think about what your sacrifice has meant to them.
Pete Trone
Pete Trone
Culver lost another one of our history resources last week with the passing of Pete Trone. I considered Pete a friend and the fact that I lost Pete and Bobbie Ruhnow both within a year really puts me at a loss for historical references. I used both as touchstones for what happened here as they both lived through a lot of Culver history as well as had enough interest in Culver to have researched a lot of what happened before their time. Much of this history was imparted at BZA meetings where they would tell homeowners the history of their properties interspersed with their ongoing argument regarding which of the two of them was actually “older than dirt”.
I had several conversations with Pete at Miller’s Merry Manor when I was researching the Extra Territorial Boundary issue. Even when his body was failing him, his mind was sharp and he was able to give me a lot of the history of why Culver’s zoning boundaries looked they way it did. If you had a conversation with Pete, you could always expect a reasoned response. When it was something regarding the town, whether in a public meeting or not, he left you feeling that he had the best interests of the community in mind. On those few occasions that we disagreed, we could have a spirited conversation and still part friends.
And that is noteworthy in the current political season. Bobbie and Pete were of opposite political parties and I was pleased to be on their political joke chain. I often got the best and most biting political satire from one of them directed at their own party. They could see the humor, poke fun, accept the ribbing and remain friends. Much of that seems to be lost this year. It seems that’s something we should all strive for.
Today would have been Pete’s 87th Birthday. Happy Birthday Pete! You’ll be missed!
Viking Paper Expansion
We were pleased to be selected to be the contractor for the Viking Paper expansion project in Plymouth. There was a blurb on the expansion in Inside Indiana Business here, but somehow they failed to mention us! Shame on them!
It is proving to be an interesting project. The building is being designed to have train cars enter the building for unloading at a recessed loading dock. This is involving some interesting logistics including some esoteric clearance requirements provided by the railroad engineers. (The ones that design railroad tracks, not the ones that blow the whistles when the trains cross the highway…) Viking works with large rolls of paper stock, so being able to offload their materials inside the building and out of the weather is valuable to them.
Jerry Chavez and Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) have been instrumental in helping us move this forward, both with the City of Plymouth and with the Railroad.
