Firemann's birthday was March 14 but in order to accommodate family and friends, we held off with the celebration of his 90th birthday until April 26. This ad ran in the Bismarck Tribune on the Sunday before the 26th.
The 26th was a blustery, cool day not conducive to visiting outdoors. Linda and Harold came to Bismarck two days before the event and worked hard to get final preparations in order.
As a special treat, cousins Anna and Meredith came for the celebration. Anna is living in Alexandria, Virginia and got the non-existent prize for traveling the most miles for the party.
Harold and Pam show the humongous cake decorated with some of the tools of the trade Firemann, a retired plumber who enjoyed carpentry, used over eight decades.
The Legreid clan posed for a photo before guests arrived. On the table are some of Firemann's woodworking projects: an M&M candy dispenser, sucker tree, and bowl. Paul Nelson, a family friend, came from Fargo and brought a letter opener and shoe horn Firemann made and gave to him.
The nicest surprise of the day was J. Morgan driving up in the van shown below. When Firemann first spied it coming into the driveway, his reaction was predictable.
Firemann bought the van in the early 70s, used it for 20 years, then sold it. Unbeknownst to him, Brad tracked down the purchaser last year and found that it hadn't been abandoned to a junk dealer. Brad purchased it, then he and J. Morgan restored the van using plenty of elbow grease. "It's just as gutless as it always was," Brad said.
Brad somehow got hold of many of the tools and toolboxes Firemann used during his plumbing career.