Sioux City History and Culture by Bicycle Part 171; Sioux City 185th Refueling Wing Air and Ag Expo.

This weekend at the Air National Guard 185th Air Refueling Wing located near the Sioux City Regional Airport there was a Air and Ag Expo. There were several modern and vintage aircraft. These included; F-4U "Corsair", P-51 "Mustang", B-25 "Mitchell", B-24A Liberator "Ol´ 927", B-52H "Strato-fortress", B-1B "Lancer", T-38 "Talon", F-16 "Viper" Demo team, KC-10 "Extender", C-130J "Hercules", E-3 AWACS "Sentry", C-17 "Globemaster III", AH-64 "Apache", T-1 "Jayhawk", T-6 "Texan II", F-15 "Eagle", CH-47 "Chinook" Helicopter, UH-60 "Black Hawk" Helicopter and the F/A-18 "Hornet". There were also a demonstration by a "crop-duster" Cessna and the Mercy Aircare Helicopter was on display. There were also a number of farm equipment and tractor-trailer rigs on display as well. The last time there was an air show in Sioux City was about 10 years ago. I hope it th enext one is much sooner then 10 years from now, especially with the new air museum that is going to be built soon.

One of the groups performing at the air show was the Commemorative Air Force, or CAF. The CAF was founded to acquire, restore and preserve in flying condition a complete collection of combat aircraft which were flown by all military services of the United States, and selected aircraft of other nations, for the education and enjoyment of present and future generations of Americans.

More than just a collection of airworthy warplanes from the past, the CAF's fleet of historic aircraft, known as the CAF Ghost Squadron, recreate, remind and reinforce the lessons learned from the defining moments in American military aviation history.

The main sponsor for the air show is the Iowa Air Nationmal Guard Unit, the 185th Air Refueling Wing based in Sioux City, Iowa. There were air craft from Air Force bases located all over the country. A truley impressive oppurtunity to tour and photograph these amazing air craft, some of which I photographed while in flight.

One of the most impressive things I saw at the air show was what is called the Heritage Flight. It included the P-51 Mustang, A-10 Warthog and F-16 Fighting Falcon. all 3 aircraft flew in formation with one another in honor and memory of all veterans, past and present and most especially to those who made the ultimate sacrice for this great country, The United States of America.

Web site links about the air show and the CAF.;
185th ARW 2009 Air and Ag Expo
CAF

Photos;

Sioux City History and Culture by Bicycle Part 170; Update; Council Oak Tree

I originally post about the Council Oak Tree in this post;
Sioux City History & Culture by Bicycle Part 26: Council Oak Tree

Since then I discovered another historical piece to the story of the tree. That is this might oak was 30 feet tall when George Washington was a boy and flourished until the late 1950's. Under its branches pioneers and natives that lived in the area met under its branches to settle disputes without fighting. This mighty oak had a legacy of peace. Too bad it is gone, perhaps it could still serve as such a symbol as it once did.

The tree in these photo's is not the original Council Oak. No one really knows where it once stood. It was nearby the Bruguier Cabin inside what is today is Riverside Park.

Sioux City History and Culture by Bicycle Part 165; Update; The Death of the John Rochel House; The house is dead

THe developer or the contractor, neither of which shall be named destroyed the John Rochel House before the stated date of July 10, 2009. It was destroyed on either June 30 or July 1. Someone lied about when the house would be demolished. My guess is the developer, that or the contractor hired to do the job got in too much of a damn hurry. Now that whole area looks a barren landscape. I honestly hopes it stays that way. I hope the developer looses his ass on the deal financially and the school is unable to raise the money to build their new campus. I have also learned that there is someone who is ready and willing to donate the remainder of the money needed to build the school campus, but will only do so if the school changes from being a catholic to a christian school. Knowing how the catholic church operates that will never happen, thus the money will not be donated and the school campus will not be built unless the school district can come up with the funds some other way.

If something is not done to this barren area of the city and because it is Loess Hills soil it will start to erode away. Which means we will loose even more of the beautiful Loess Hills that are often called fragile giants. When it starts to erode it will erode right into the new Perry Creek flood control channel causing all kinds of problems. The city just got done with the Perry Creek project last year to control flooding. Now the food control is in jeopardy because of some jackass developer who was only thinking about money and only saw the dollar signs. They never thought to focus on the negative impact this has on the community.

The obituary for the John Rochel House has been changed;
Born/Built/Created/Constructed Date; 1881
Death/Destruction/Demolition/Razed Date; July 1, 2009
Preceded in death by who knows how many other historical buildings in this area all in the name of so called progress.
After 128 years of life may the John Rochel rest in piece, or rather pieces.