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TRANSPORTATION HEROES HONORED

ITM lauds three local men, Whitson in inaugural class of 23

Reprinted courtesy of the Grinnell Herald-Register, May 4, 2009.

The Spaulding Center for Transportation launched its Heroes Center here May 1 in a ceremony at the high school auditorium before an audience of 400 guests. Twenty-three heroes were named in the first annual class in three categories: Heroes of Example, Heroes of Industry and Technology and Heroes of Valor. Grinnell Mayor Gordon Canfield, Congressman Leonard Boswell, and formers Gov. Bob Ray participated in the induction ceremony which included three local men and was attended by many of the heroes or their descendents. Four members of the Spaulding family were present as well as a scale model of and a nearly-reconstructed Spaulding car.

Introduced by president of the Spaulding Center for Transportation and its sister organization the Iowa Transportation Museum (ITM) Gerry Schnepf, a charter ITM board member, termed the center’s launch a “milestone” and predicted it was “destined to become a cultural icon,” bringing visitors to Grinnell.

Boswell who has championed the ITM in Washington struck the same theme, declaring himself a believer in tourism and pointing out that both Iowa and Grinnell have a lot to show visitors. With kind words for Ray and his emphasis on the Character Counts program for youngsters, Boswell vowed that ‘together we can make things happen.”

Schnepf described the Heroes Center as an on-line interactive web site which will spin off traveling exhibits, both designed to provide education about the heroes and the transportation they serve. He announced the ITM’s intention to add heroes each year and invited his listeners to visit the web site transportationheroes.org to experience fuller descriptions of the heroes and to nominate others.

Ray and Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) director Nancy Richardson co-chaired the selection committee for the first class of heroes, and Ray gave a brief description of the heroes who were present in person or through relatives as each came forward.

Local men were named to tow of the three hero categories. Chosen as a Hero of Industry and Technology was the late Michael J. Manatt of Brooklyn, represented by his wife Jo Ann. These heroes, said Ray, have made significant breakthroughs or contributions in transportation-related industry or technology. As vice president of Manatt’s Inc., Manatt oversaw the development of the Paradigm Crusher, the hulking piece of road-building equipment that has revolutionized the highway construction industry. Use of the crusher streamlines demolition of worn-out roadway into roadbed material for the new road.

Heroes of Example, Ray noted, are workers in transportation who do their everyday jobs in extraordinary ways.

Richard Saunders of Grinnell was named a Hero of Example. Saunders has been a driver for more than 48 years for the Grinnell schools where Ray said Saunders has earned admiration as a conscientious employee of the school system.

Robert Groves (of example) devoted his working life to safety, especially to insuring the safety of Iowa’s children who ride school buses. His focus on safety reaches to other governmental safety issues involving motor transportation as well.

Astronaut Peggy Whitson was named a Hero of Valor, the category for transportation workers who have willingly placed their life at risk for others as well as citizens who contribute selfless acts in the field of transportation (see separate story).

Three other heroes that stand out from the illustrious list are Samuel Clemons (of example) for his Mississippi River steamboat stories that inspired the imagination and spirit of adventure of countless school children; General Grenville Dodge ( of industry and technology) who after service as a general in the union army, served as chief engineer for the Union Pacific railroad as it linked Iowa to the West Coast; and Cecil Reed )of example) who opened a hotel welcoming guests of all colors and faiths in 195c well before the civil rights movement to serve anyone traveling to Cedar Rapids.

The other three Heroes of Valor are Alfred Haynes and Dennis Fitch., the United pilots who teamed to bring Flight 232 to land in Sioux City after the hydraulic system was destroyed in an in-flight disaster and Darryl Putz of Manchester who witnessed a semi truck collision and saved the driver’s life by quick response.

The other four Heroes of Industry and Technology are Michael Pawlovich who developed the method IDOT uses for traffic safety analysis; Frank Cyr, a Grinnell College graduate who achieved standardization of school bus coloring for safety in 1939; and August and Frederick Duesenberg, named for the elegance and opulence of their namesakes’ cars.

The other nine Heroes of Example are marathon bicyclist and orthopedic surgeon, the late Robert Breedlove; 40-year builder of Iowa roads and bridges Vernon Davis; co-founder of the Bee Aircraft Company Thomas Easton who at twenty determined to make low-cost metal airplanes readily available; Western Iowa Transit system two-decade veteran Thomas Feldman; IDOT employee Doug Heidke whose work has enhanced the safety and efficiency of the Iowa traveling public; pioneer for transportation for seniors in northwest Iowa Rose Lee; IDOT snow removal and road repair expert Harry Nelson; William Petersen who earned the name “Steamboat Bill” for hitchhiking 20,000 miles next to and on the Mississippi to chronicle its steamboats; and bus driver turned department manager of Cedar Rapids mass transit Robert Rathbun.