A Closer Look: Chautauqua Special Exhibit

Although our A Closer Look segments usually tend to cover often overlooked artifacts in the museum a give some history of a particular tool or part, this time I wanted to share some information that we recovered in doing research for our special exhibit that was on display during the Nebraska City Chautauqua last week. The theme for this year's Chautauqua, sponsored by Humanities Nebraska, was World War I: Legacies of a Forgotten War. The Chautauqua events around town covered a myriad of subjects related to The Great War, as well as first-person portrayals of famous figures from that era such as Woodrow Wilson, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Jane Addams. So, in the spirit of that theme, we put together a small one-board exhibit for the front lobby of the museum that shines a light on a couple of the Kregel family members that served in WWI. Donald Charles "Don" Kregel and Mark George Kregel, the second and fourth children of George Frederick Kregel and Clara Matilda (Petring) Kregel respectively, both served in the latter years of WWI. In December of 1917, just 9 months after Congress officially declared war on Germany, both brothers entered military service in their areas of choice, the Air Service. 

Donald Charles Kregel in 1917

Don Kregel enlisted first on December 11, 1917, at Fort Logan, CO and became a Sergeant in the 223rd Air Service Squadron. Fort Logan was a military installation near Denver, CO until 1946. After which time part of the ground was set aside for Fort Logan National Cemetery. During WWI Fort Logan was a primary recruit depot and training ground. Dwight D. Eisenhower, then a Major, was a recruiting officer at Fort Logan from 1924 to 1925. Don was later sent to Kelly Field in San Antonio, TX for advanced Air Service training. Don's ultimate destination was Toul, France on the Western Front. The 223rd Air Service Squadron was deployed to France in the spring of 1918. The 223rd was a Services of Supply (SOS) squadron based at the 1st Air Depot at Colombey-les-Belle Aerodrome, a temporary airfield used by the American Expeditionary Force. The 1st Air Depot was the largest and most important American facility on the Western Front, supplying 33 combat airfields, 44 squadrons, and 23 Balloon Observations Corps. The 1st Air Depot supplied airplanes, personnel, transport and drivers, radio and photography equipment, munitions and armaments, as well as medical personnel and equipment. By the end of WWI, the 1st Air Depot covered 570 acres, with 144 buildings and 25 aircraft hangars.

Map of Colombey-les-Belle Aerodrome (c. 1918)

Air Service Buildings, 1st Air Depot, Colombey-les-Belle, Toul, France

 

  Mark George Kregel in 1917

Mark George Kregel enlisted on December 15, 1917 into the Aviation Cadet Pilot Training Program at Berkeley, CA. The University of California-Berkeley was one of the Schools of Military Aeronautics, known as Ground Schools, used by the ACPTP, a division of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The requirements for entrance into the program stated that candidates should be between 19 and 25 years old, unmarried, athletic, honest, and have some years of training in either college or a technical school. Mark's WWI registration card describes him as "tall", "slender", and a "student engineer", clearly a perfect candidate for the program. The initial 8-week Ground School at Berkeley taught students the basics of flight, airplane operation and maintenance, meteorology, astronomy, military science, and officer behavior. Having completed Ground School, Mark went on to attend Preliminary Flight School at Rich Field in Waco, TX. Rich Field, located on ground that is now in the center of Waco, was one of the flight schools where cadets would be given "stick time" in an aircraft, completing a series of requirements before graduating and being commissioned. The standard aircraft used for training at Rich Field was the Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny", a single-prop biplane. The "Jenny" gained further fame by being the subject of the rarest and most expensive postage stamp in U.S. history, the Inverted Jenny. An example of which sold at auction in 2007 for $977,500. The requirements for graduation from Preliminary Flight School were 4-10 hours of dual training, 24 hours of solo flight, and a 16-hour cross country flight. After graduating from flight school, Mark was given a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant Military Aviator (insignia pictured above) and stayed at Rich Field as a flight instructor. Mark Kregel was honorably discharged from the military on January 6, 1919.

Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" over Rich Field (c. 1918)

"Jenny" at Rich Field with writing that boasts just one fatality every 4,000 hours (167 days)

May Your Blades Always Catch the Wind

2017 International Windmiller's Trade Fair: Day Four

Our fourth and final day in Kendallville began bright and early with an event outside on the grounds of the Mid America Windmill Museum. Attendees got the opportunity to watch the installation of a Fort Wayne windmill onto a steel tower. Todd Skinner and Jim Koch of MAWM performed the installation surrounded by a fairly large crowd of intent onlookers. Shortly after the Fort Wayne windmill installation, the auction got under way with a good selection of rusty iron available. After the auction was finished, everyone made their way indoors for the annual trivia contest hosted by Dr. T. Lindsay Baker. The 75 windmill history questions proved a challenge, but in the end the matchsticks were tallied and the top three winners received some nice door prizes. (See the picture below for the winners.) 

After the trivia challenge, the business meeting got under way to decide the location for the 2019 IWTF. There were three locations vying for the chance to host in two years time. We presented our plans for the event and the activities we hoped to make available, as did the representatives from the other two locations. The votes were tallied later that night at the 29th Annual IWTF Banquet. The banquet that evening was really nice and featured great food, live entertainment, and some presentations. Dr. T. Lindsay Baker gave a great talk about windmiller Garnet O. Brooks. The 2017 Billie Wolf Award was presented by Coy Harris to Francine Popeck & the late Bob Popeck. 

At the end of the banquet, votes were submitted for the location of the 2019 Trade Fair. The votes were then collected and tallied....

We are pleased to announce that the Kregel Windmill Factory Museum in Nebraska City will be the host for the 2019 International Windmiller's Trade Fair!

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the attendees, hosts, presenters, and vendors at this year's Trade Fair. Although the Kregel Museum as an institution has had representation at the IWTF in the past, it was David and I's first Trade Fair experience and we received such a warm and gracious welcoming into the fold. Whether it is your first Trade Fair or 29th Trade Fair, all those that attend are kindred spirits united by a love of rusty iron. We hope to see everyone next year in Lubbock, TX at the American Wind Power Center and we will do our best to put together a memorable few days here in Nebraska City in 2019!

Time-lapse video of the Fort Wayne windmill installation at the Mid America Windmill Museum this morning. Installation was completed by Todd Skinner & Jim Koch.

The yearly windmill trivia contest was hosted by Dr. T. Lindsay Baker who put the Trade Fair attendees to the test with 75 deftly prepared and challenging questions.

And the winners are: 1st Place, Walter Galbreath; 2nd Place, Adam Balsick; 3rd Place, Loren Lockman

May Your Blades Always Catch the Wind

2017 International Windmiller's Trade Fair: Day Three

Our third day here in Indiana started out a little rainy, but things cleared up and the sun came out strong for another beautiful day at the Trade Fair. We fielded more questions and welcomed more positive interest about the 2019 IWTF in Nebraska City throughout the morning. In the early afternoon, many attendees traveled to the Flint & Walling factory in Kendallville for a tour of their facility. Flint & Walling has been an industrial institution in Kendallville for 151 years, producing a wide variety of windmills in their earlier years and now specializing in various types of booster pumps, centrifugal pumps, and jet pumps. After everyone had returned from the factory tour, we were treated to a great presentation by Kevin Moore, from Cloverdale, CA, about the windmills of Northern California (The Land of Fruits & Nuts)! They really had their own distinctive designs that were well-suited to their region and climate.

Our day at the Trade Fair finished off with a Hog Roast outside on the grounds of the Mid America Windmill Museum. The pork was great! So were the great people and conversation! We will be back at Mid America Windmill Museum bright and early tomorrow for the final day of the 2017 IWTF. Stay tuned!

(One of the ELI windmill heads in the collection of the Mid America Windmill Museum)

(Had to take some pictures of the Nebraska connections)

May Your Blades Always Catch the Wind!

2017 International Windmiller's Trade Fair: Day Two

Day Two of the International Windmiller's Trade Fair started early today with registration at 8am. We got our table set up in Baker Hall at the Mid America Windmill Museum, complete with free apple cider provided by Kimmel Orchard & Vinyard. An opening address was given by Jerry Davis who unfortunately announced the recent death of Russell Baker, the founder of the Mid America Windmill Museum and great friend to many long-time Windmillers, on Saturday June 10th. A wonderful welcome was delivered by Kendallville Mayor Suzanne Handshoe, which was followed by a history of the Museum and rememberance of Russell Baker presented by Larry Doyle. A short video followed highlighting the many years Baker devoted to the Mid America Windmill Museum. 

As the long day of trading and swapping rusty iron got under way, we were happy to greet a good amount of Trade Fair attendees at our table and begin to promote Nebraska City as the site of the 2019 IWTF. The reception we received from those that came to inspect our table in Baker Hall was incredibly positive and most people seemed quite pleased at the idea of the Kregel Museum hosting the 2019 Trade Fair in Nebraska City, especially since it would be a new location for the event. Although there are a couple other venues vying for the IWTF in 2019, we are positive that Nebraska City will have a good chance at winning the opportunity to host due to the wonderful attractions, accommodations, and entertainment our great city offers. We look forward to speaking with many more Trade Fair attendees over the next couple days about the benefits of an event in Nebraska City. We are also excited about the upcoming offerings at this year's Trade Fair, including the Hog Roast, assembly of the Fort Wayne windmill on the ground of the Mid America Museum, and the 29th Annual IWTF Banquet. Again, stay tuned for more updates from the International Windmiller's Trade Fair in Kendallville!

May Your Blades Always Catch the Wind!