The Good Life – September-October 2014
The areas premier men’s magazine featuring inspirational men in our community. Covering a variety of topics including local heroes, fathers, sports and advice for men.
The areas premier men’s magazine featuring inspirational men in our community. Covering a variety of topics including local heroes, fathers, sports and advice for men.
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BY: JESSICA JASPERSON | PHOTOS: URBAN TOAD MEDIA<br />
<strong>The</strong> Fargo Air Museum<br />
started as a concept in the<br />
minds of Gerry Beck and<br />
Robert Odegaard. Both<br />
men were crop sprayers in North<br />
Dakota, but also aircraft aficionados.<br />
Beck and Odegaard owned shops for<br />
aircraft maintenance, and fell in love<br />
with warbird restoration and making<br />
parts. Naturally, opening a museum<br />
came next for these two pilots.<br />
In order to showcase the various<br />
aircraft and restoration projects,<br />
Beck and Odegaard along with other<br />
people interested in aviation, started<br />
looking into the viability of the<br />
Fargo community supporting an air<br />
museum. In 2001, the air museum<br />
opened as a non-profit organization<br />
with the help of hard working<br />
volunteers.<br />
“A lot of sweat equity went into<br />
the building when it started,” Fargo<br />
Air Museum director of operations<br />
Helen O’Connor said. “<strong>The</strong> museum<br />
has grown considerably since that<br />
time and has really become a vital<br />
asset in our community.”<br />
8<br />
Before the Fargo Air Museum’s doors first opened, founding board<br />
members envisioned what the museum would give to those who visited.<br />
<strong>The</strong> vision sprouted from a mission to provide aviation education through<br />
restoration and preservation.<br />
“It was an exciting time with a lot of volunteer hours going into the<br />
museum and in-kind donations into getting it built,” O’Connor said. “It was<br />
very exciting and I think emotional, especially the Beck-Odegaard aspect of