Everyday heroes

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1. a man [or woman] of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his [or her] brave deeds and noble qualities. 2. A person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal. Dictionary.com

The Mille Lacs area is full of every day heroes. They are mostly a silent humble bunch who go about their day just doing their job — whatever that may be.

And suddenly, they get the call that somewhere, someone needs help for whatever reason.

These unsung everyday heroes respond. Mostly volunteer. They do their thing, touching someone's life. Perhaps they save a life. Perhaps not. Perhaps save a house or a building. Perhaps not. Perhaps find a missing person. Perhaps not.

But the men and women who volunteer for our local fire departments and search and rescue are everyday heroes. Without much recognition.

The fire that destroyed Merit Enterprises last Friday turned out firefighters from several area fire departments. The men and women battled that blaze for over 9 hours, one of the firefighters wives told me.

What did he get paid for his efforts? One dollar an hour is what it ended up to be. And he lost a day's wages at his regular job.

The building is a total loss. People's lives are on hold having lost their total business for the owners and the employees are wondering what they are going to do now as well. Nearly 30 people were employeed at that factory. It is truly a heartbreaking story. You can read it in entirety on our web page and view some photos. Go to www.millelacsmessenger.com

Although the building could not be saved the firefighters worked for hours tyring to do so. A wise old fire chief once told me that sometimes, all they can save from a burning building is a photo or two. Those photos can become the most precious thing in a person's life from that day forward.

To all of the men and women who gave their time and effort to fight that fire, I salute you. To the members of the medical field, the ambulance crews ready to help, I salute you. You are all everyday heroes.

The Mille Lacs County Search and Rescue team is also volunteer. That crew dedicated several hours (every daylight hour) every day for about 25 days in an effort to find Michael Hedin of Maple Grove who went missing from his fishing boat on Oct. 29.

Search and rescue teams from several neighboring counties assisted in the efforts as well as the National Guard.

Weather conditions throughout most of the search were not pleasant to be diving in the lake, or on a boat on the water or flying above the water. But I don't know of anyone of those men and women who complained. They were dedicated to their mission with compassion.

They were all volunteer. They were all mostly local.

My hat is off to you all and I salute you.

I was talking with CW5 Curtis Skoog the OIC from the National Guard mission crew one night after a day of searching. He lives in the Cities but he told me that if he ever considered moving out of the Cities, he would definitely consider moving to this area. Not because of the fishing or hunting, but becase of the people. The first thing he would do if he moved here would be to join the Search and Rescue team. Because of the people. He told me the search and rescue crew he worked with on the Mille Lacs Lake missing angler mission were some of the best folks he has ever met.

I think that says a lot for all of you everyday unsung heroes.

The firefighters, medical crews and search and rescue teams have all very recently shown remarkable distinguished courage and abilities and should be admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities. According to Dictionary.com that makes you all heroes.

Thank you.

Peace.

"Those who say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look." — Ronald Reagan