User:Kd5npf/sandbox

first location per ms.gov: Address:	795 Howard Avenue

location at katrina: near 30° 23' 34.95" N 88° 51' 27.53" W as of 2006/04/11

future location west of maritime museum under a cupola...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Reeks Harry Del Reeks

link to: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Golden_Fisherman&action=edit&redlink=1

http://www.oceanspringsarchives.net/node/104

Hurricane Katrina

On August 29, 2006, Hurricane Katrina essentially destroyed the waterfront of the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast. Many of the statuary of Harry Dell Reeks were victims of this tempest. At Biloxi, ‘The Golden Fisherman” was knocked down by the storm’s powerful “tidal surge” that swept the coastline. In 1977, Reek’s “Golden Fisherman” was positioned on the south side of Howard Avenue near the Biloxi Regional Medical Center. It was relocated to the Point Cadet Plaza in late September 1998, shortly before Hurricane Georges struck the region. The City of Biloxi has plans to re-erect the statue at a location not yet determined.(The Sun Herald, February 18, 2006, p. A9)

photo: http://www.oceanspringsarchives.net/demo/sites/default/files/u4/harry%20reeks-golden%20fisherman-vieux%20marche.jpg Golden Fisherman at Vieux Marche in Biloxi, Mississippi

Golden Fisherman

In March 1975, Harry Reeks (1920-1982), Ocean Springs sculptor, and Mayor Jerry O'Keefe (b. 1923), presented his proposal for 'The Golden Fisherman', a welded, 12 foot, bronze statue to be electroplated with 14 carat gold, to the Biloxi Planning Commission and Urban Renewal Commission. The project was expected to cost between $30,000 and $35,000. Reeks was commissioned to create the Golden Fisherman in mid-April for $34,000. The sundial was to be replaced by the Golden Fisherman.(The Daily Herald, March 21, 1975, p. A2 and April 18, 1975)

Golden Fisherman stolen

On June 11, 2006, the “Golden Fisherman” was stolen from Point Cadet Plaza where it had lain since being toppled by Katrina. Mayor A.J. Holloway proposed a $15,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the object d’art and conviction of the perpetrator of the theft. Biloxi’s City Council must approve this proposed appropriation.(The Sun Herald, June 12, 2006, p. A1)

The Golden Fisherman was discovered in a field in rural Mobile County, Alabama on June 13, 2006. An informant, the neighbor of Herman Allen Hicks of Semmes, Alabama, will receive $15,000, if Hicks, the accused thief, is convicted of the crime. By Mississippi state law, a reward of this nature cannot exceed $2500, but Mayor A.J. Holloway guaranteed $12,000 and others in the community contributed as well. The Reeks sculpture, made of scrap metal, was cut into seven pieces and the face destroyed by the thief. It was returned to Biloxi and locked in a storage shed. Mayor Holloway related that the statue’s condition will be evaluated before a decision is made to restore it for public display.(The Sun Herald, June 14, 2006, p. A1, June 15, 2006, p. A1, and July 9, 2006, p. G1)

http://mallsofamerica.blogspot.com/2005/08/edgewater-plaza-shopping-city.html

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5883/1181/400/Biloxi01.jpg

Finally, the two bonus photos below, of Cora (age 5) and her mom next to the famous Golden Fisherman statue in the old Vieux Marche' shopping plaza district in Biloxi, were also taken in 1978. The statue was moved to Point Cadet (Biloxi) in 2002. And hey, check out the old Woolworth's store there on the left! Coolage. Betty Gay stores I've never heard of. Are they still around?

comment: It was made from the melted down pieces of donated items belonging to families of different local fisherman. Although the statue was initially considered quite ugly by most locals, (I always thought he looked like Dave Oreck, the vacuum inventor), it did mean something to many of us. In its original location there in your picture, it had plaques surrounding it with the names of all the Biloxi families who worked in the seafood industry. My grandfather's name was on there and that always made me proud. When it was moved to the Seafood and Heritage museum on the north side of the Biloxi/Ocean Springs bridge, the name plaques were not moved with it.

I had to laugh a little at anonymous' remark about the Vieux Marche being on a side street near the mall. Because they are actually almost ten miles apart. VM being the urban renewal project in Biloxi's downtown and Edgewater Mall being almost on the Gulfport line.

comment: Thanks a million for posting this photo of the "Golden Fisherman". I am a Biloxi native and was devastated when Katrina decimated this memorial to Biloxi's maritime history and fishing families (mine is one). After being stolen, the statue was recovered and returned to Biloxi, albeit in five pieces. The mayor has promised to erect a new memorial somewhere, sometime, although not necessarily using the Golden Fisherman again. SO MUCH OF OUR HISTORICAL SITES / BUILDINGS were destroyed by Katrina, it is imperative to rebuild / recreate whatever we can.

http://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/public/prop.aspx?id=9873&view=facts&y=728

Name:	"Golden Fisherman" statue (original site) Address:	795 Howard Avenue City/County:	Biloxi, Harrison County Local Designation Information Local District Name:	Downtown Biloxi Historic District

http://www.heritagepreservation.org/PROGRAMS/KatrinaMS.HTM

February 18 Biloxi Sun Herald article: Biloxi statue's future in question. Katrina pushed Golden Fisherman off his moorings The Golden Fisherman lies with his feet broken at Point Cadet Plaza, and some have mixed feelings about his aesthetics, but all agree the statue evokes powerful feelings about the history of the city.

When first displayed in 1977, the Golden Fisherman's slender, abstract net confused some of the children, said Retha Edwards, a lifelong Biloxi resident. She was seated at a coffee shop, just a few yards from where the statue was originally erected at Vieux Marché south of Howard Avenue.

"The kids used to say that he was throwing a snake," she said. "Then I would have to explain to them that it was a net."

Edwards believes the monument should be fixed.

"It would be a real shame to lose it," she said.

Like Edwards, others, including retired Navy officer Steve Grasich, believe the statue is important and personal.

"It evokes the fishermen of the sea," he said. "My two brothers and my father were all fishermen."

The city has pledged to reset the fisherman, but where hasn't been determined. The statue toppled and a crane will be required to lift the heavy statue.

http://www.biloxi.ms.us/pdf/fisherman.pdf circa 2004 pre-katrina

An old landmark will get a new look in the next several months, as the Golden Fisherman is returned to his original splendor in his new waterfront location near Point Cadet Plaza.

The legion of names you see on this page represent the who’s who of those who made Biloxi the seafood capital of the world. These names will be returned to the base of the Golden Fisherman statue, and you’ll see new landscaping and lighting around the statue as part of a community effort to spruce up the fisherman’s new location.

related: http://www.biloxi.ms.us/holloway-launches-golden-fisherman-initiative/ Holloway launches Golden Fisherman initiative April 8, 2004

http://biloxi.ms.us//wp-content/static/cityatwork/images/fishermanmove.jpg

Mayor A.J. Holloway announced today that the city is counting on Biloxians to help make the new home of the Golden Fisherman at Point Cadet “a landmark that we can all be proud of” and “one for the ages.”

Holloway, speaking to the Biloxi Businessmen’s Club luncheon, said the city is launching a campaign to update the list of names of Biloxi seafood families that were displayed at the base of the fisherman before it was moved from the Vieux Marche to its current location on the waterfront near Point Cadet Plaza.

The mayor was unsure if the names – about 800 or so — had been updated since the statue was commissioned under Mayor Jerry O’Keefe in 1975 as part of the country’s Bicentennial. The statue, a golden figure of a beak-nosed fisherman with his arms outstretched to throw a cast net, was crafted by Ocean Springs sculptor Harry Reeks.

The city, which moved the statue from the Vieux Marche to Point Cadet more than a year ago, is working with the Biloxi Bay Chamber of Commerce on plans to spruce up the area surrounding the fisherman, with landscaping, lighting and benches,.

“Today,” Holloway said, “we’re launching a drive to return the legion of names — the who’s who of the seafood capital of the world — to the base of the Golden Fisherman statue.

“We want this to be a fitting tribute to those who helped build Biloxi’s legendary seafood industry and are continuing to help keep it an important part of our economy – and a way of life here in Biloxi.”

The city will fund the cost and installation of the plaques bearing the seafood family names.

Holloway is encouraging residents to review the list and submit any names that should be on the list – either by mail to him at City Hall (P.O. Box 429, Biloxi, MS 39533), fax (435-5129) or e-mail (mayor@biloxi.ms.us).

“The seafood industry always has and always will play an important role in Biloxi,” Holloway said, “so let’s cast a wide net and make this a landmark that we can all be proud of. Let’s make it one for the ages.”

http://www.wlox.com/story/5026725/biloxis-golden-fisherman-found-in-mobile

Biloxi's Golden Fisherman Found In Mobile

Biloxi's missing golden fisherman has been found in Mobile.

The Mobile County Sheriff's Department confirms it has located the statue off Mason Ferry Road in the Big Creek area in a lake or pond. Biloxi Police have two detectives on the way to Mobile to talk to a suspect.

The 16 foot, one ton statue disappeared from its storm damaged home at Point Cadet over the weekend. Police have been checking scrap yards, debris sites, but found nothing.

Meanwhile, Biloxians are pledging reward money for the safe return of the Golden Fisherman. Tuesday morning the Biloxi City Council okayed offering a reward for the statue's return and information leading to the conviction of whoever took it.

...Mayor A.J. Holloway...

external link or something: Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritime_%26_Seafood_Industry_Museum

The WSR-1 or Weather Surveillance Radar-1 was one of the first weather radars. The WSR-1 series was a modified version of the AN/APS-2F radar, which the Weather Bureau (now the National Weather Service) acquired from the Navy. The WSR-1A, WSR-3, and WSR-4 were also variants of this radar. The first WSR-1 in the USA was at Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C.

Early life
Karl Baur was born November 13, 1911 in Laichingen, Württemberg, Germany. In 1927 he attended a summer camp for young boys interested in aviation, and it was here that Baur developed his desire to fly. He became involved in the world of glider flying during the 1930s, where with the F1 Fledermaus glider he completed the necessary distance, height, and acrobatic flying requirements to earn an International Silver C Badge in 1934. (Only 19 of these were awarded at that year, and Baur was one of 15 Germans who received the badge.) Baur also worked with powered aircraft and earned a private pilot license in 1931.

Instructor Pilot
In 1935 Baur accepted an opportunity to go to Japan and serve as instructor at a Japanese glider school. He also did some acrobatic flying at various points around Japan, as well as a flight over the erupting volcano Mount Asama from a distance of 50 meters.

Upon his return to Germany in 1936, Baur completed his Master’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering (Dipl. Ing.) and went to work for the German Aviation Research Institute testing aircraft designs and instructing German pilots. Baur was called to military duty and attempted to join the Luftwaffe in 1938, but because of problems with his eyesight he could not pass the physical to be certified as a military pilot. He stayed with the German Aviation Research Institute until 1939, when he received an offer to become the Chief Test Pilot for the Messerschmitt Company.

Test Pilot and Engineer
At Messerschmitt he test piloted such famous aircraft as the Me-109, the Me-262 jet fighter, and the Me-163 rocket plane. Here is a partial list of aircraft he flew:
 * Me-109
 * Me-209
 * Me-309
 * Me-210 - Me-410
 * Me-261
 * Me-264
 * Me-321 Gigant - The Largest Glider in Combat During WW II
 * Me-323
 * Me-163 Komet
 * Me-262 jet fighter including "Homeprotector I" and "Homeprotector II" variants

On April 29, 1945 the allies captured the German city of Augsburg, where Baur was working on Messerschmitt aircraft. Baur and his crew were required by the American forces to repair the Me-262’s that had been damaged and instruct some American pilots in their operation. Along with other German experts in the field of aeronautics and rocketry, Baur was sent to the United States in fall of 1945. He spent several months in the United States demonstrating the Me-262 providing technical help to American test pilots, and explaining about the aeronautic work he had done in Germany. In December 1945 Baur was able to return to Germany and reunite with his family.

Baur worked several odd jobs after the war including serving an interpreter to the commander of an American Army Air Force Base in Germany, and as a sales representative for a company that manufactured car batteries. Baur accepted a job as an engineer at the Chance Vought Aircraft Corporation in Dallas, Texas in August 1954. Baur worked for Chance Vought until his death on October 12, 1963. His widow, Isolde Baur lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area until her death on June 5, 2006.