Today we reconnected with my cousin Cory Schellhase who is a Captain on the Charlotte NC Fire Department. Cory is a Traer Iowa native and has been involved in the fire service his entire life, similar to my son Dan. Cory's father Don Schellhase, an Air Force Veteran, served in Vietnam and also served on the Traer Iowa Fire Department for many, many years. It was so awesome to get back together with Cory.
Cory has been here in Charlotte for over 22 years and we were excited when he volunteered to drive us around and show us his city, including a stop at his fire station.
So we started at Cory's house where we sat at the kitchen table and talked, catching up on years of what each of us has been up to, He is an amazing young man and we are very proud of him.
We took off in his truck and he showed us many different areas of Charlotte, explaining the history of the city as we traveled.
One of the stops we made was at Charlotte Fire Department Station #2 where Cory is the Captain. Station 2's construction is non-traditional construction as you can see here. Normally we think of fire stations as brick and mortar. But this is just one out of the 44 stations Charlotte has. This station has a ladder company and an engine company assigned.
The rear entrance to the station
The front of the station
Station 2 has captured their heritage here
Charlotte Fire Department has an awesome data communications system. This tablet computer allows the officer in the responding apparatus to pull up complete info on their response.
The front of their aerial apparatus that had just returned from a call.
The history of Charlotte can be traced back to 1768 when settlers chartered the town. King George III ruled the colonies and Charlotte was named after his wife, Queen Charlotte. That is why Charlotte is called the Queen City. Cory explained the ridgeline that ran through Charlotte served as a trading marketplace for local Indians.
Another interesting note involved the history behind the reference to the Charlotte "Hornets". During the Revolution, British General Cornwallis attacked in the 1780 Battle of Charlotte and the Battle of Kings Mountain. Cornwallis stated that Charlotte was a “hornet’s nest of rebellion” and that analogy with the "hornet" formed the civic symbol Charlotte uses today. It is on police officer's uniforms and and NBA Charlotte Hornets’ uniforms, among others.
We drove by the Federal Courthouse which served as the US Mint back in the gold rush hay day. It is currently being remodeled
Charlotte's claim to fame is being a banking center. All the major banks have headquarters here. We were amazed at the sky scrapers in downtown Charlotte.
Another landmark we passed was Truist Field, home of the Charlotte Knights, the Chicago White Sox AAA baseball team. As I explained last night, unfortunately we won't be able to see a game on this trip. What a beautiful field, though, and a great view as you look from home plate towards the outfield.
I can't begin to describe all the places Cory took us in Charlotte. What a great city with a great history.
We headed west and north from town to a facility called the US National Whitewater Center. This is an outdoor recreation facility created in 2001 and they have 30 different recreation opportunities such as white water rafting, flat water kayaking, white water kayaking, rappelling, rock climbing, zip lining, mountain biking, trail riding, running, hiking, yoga, rope course, and even ice skating in the winter.
We walked around the facility and then headed to their restaurant for dinner. The food was great and the beer was cold! I look at this facility and can just see our grandkids having an absolute blast here!
We had a great day with Cory and were so glad we were able to get together with him. I gave him one of my retirement coins and thanked him for his service to the citizens of Charlotte and all the others who's lives he has touched in his volunteer work
Tomorrow we hope to see the Levine Museum of the South and the NASCAR Hall of Fame
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