The Boone County Connection, October 2004 RETURN to Family Page
Fritz Rosburg has always had an interest in woodworking. As a Freshman in High School, he made a toboggan for a school competition. Fritz decided to dress his tip by using two different types of wood, hickory and walnut. He won first place, beating all the other students in school.
In his Junior and Senior years, he made a set of new cabinets for his mom's kitchen. He continued to develop his skills, and as a senior, was often called upon to help and supervise the younger students when the teacher was absent.
After High School, Fritz served two years of active duty in the Air National Guard. He was stationed at a radar base in Sublett, Missouri (north of Kirksville) during the Korean Conflict. While in the military, Fritz was assigned to photograph and record blips on the radar screen to help measure speed and direction. He recalls one night when he caught an unidentified blip on the screen. He photographed it as usual, but the photos created somewhat of a stir. He later learned he had recorded a top secret U2 flight. (The U2 was a U.S. spy plane later used to fly recognizance over Russia during the Cold War.)
During his time in Sublett, Fritz became know for his photography and photo development skills, and as a result, was asked to personally develop pictures for the Base Commander and other officers. In exchange, Fritz was allowed to attend a few classes at the college in nearby Kirksville. There he met his future wife, Marilyn Holt of Foristell. The couple married in 1954 and settled in Minnesota where Fritz worked as a carpenter.
In 1965, Fritz and Marilyn moved their family back to her parents' farm on Morrison Lane near New Melle, into the historic farm house (built in 1884) where Fritz and Marilyn still reside today. The Rosburg's have four children and three grandchildren. Their daughter, Karen is a school teacher in Bowling Green, MO. Son Paul, lives in Chesterfield and works for Verizon. Marian in Assistant Vice President of AOS in Overland Park, KS and Lyle lives in Jefferson City where he is the Chief Financial Officer for the Jefferson City Medical Group.
Over the years, Fritz has made all sorts of wood products, from Kitchen cabinets and bedroom furniture to bowls and belt buckles -- mostly for friends and family. He and his son, Lyle, recently refaced Lyle's kitchen cabinets, which included making 45 raised panel doors.
Woodwoking is strictly a pastime for Fritz -- an outlet for his natural creativity and ingenuity. He enjoys coming up with new designs and ideas. He particularly likes to piece together different types of wood to create a unique look and bring out the natural beauty of the wood. He made a miniture checker board by gluing together small square pieces of black walnut and birch, then painted 5/16" machine nuts red and black to use as checkers. He's also made a round table top that contains 132 pieces of various types of wood: 8 red oak, 16 walnut, 12 butternut (blonde walnut), 16 white oak, 24 cedar, 16 cypress, 24 cherry, 8 maple and 8 ash.
Fritz's sense of humor also comes out in some of the items he makes. He recently fashioned a tiny set of clothes line poles on a wood base, tied a string between them, and glued a flat washer in the base. He gave one to some camping friends, "so they could have a 'washer and dryer ' in their camper!" Fritz also routered a wooden "He-Brew" sign for the St. John's UCC Men's club (out of wood from the old church hall). The men recently started serving a monthly breakfast at the church. The contention is the men should make the coffee because the Bible says "He-brews!" On a more serious note, Fritz has started making triangular display cases to hold the flag and war memontos for families of deceased veterans.
In addition to woodworking, Fritz has always enjoyed photography, hunting and traveling. He and Marilyn have been in every state in the U.S., plus Canada, Germany, Holland and Costa Rica. Ohotos from their travels are displayed throughtout their home (in frames he made himself, of course?).
Fritz encouraged his children to take up photography as well, giving each a 35mm camera at their High School Graduation. Two of them recently received awards for their work -- Marian won a photo contest in a Kansas City newspaper, and Lyle won an award and had a photo featured in the 2004 Missouri Vacation Planner. In 2001, Fritz won a contest himself, earning first place in the "Faces of St. Charles County" photography contest sponsored by St. Charles Community College.
Fritz has spent much of his life teaching, helping and encouraging young people. After retiring from 45 years as a Carpenter, he was hired back for three more years to provide on the job training for finish carpenters. For 33 years, he taught Woodworking to 4H kids. Fritz said he really enjoyed helping the kids and sharing in their sense of accomplishment as they completed a project.
One of his last 4H students was a neighbor, Matt Schmidt. Fritz took Matt with him one year to Deutsch Country Days in Marthasville, where Fritz has been a long time volunteer in the wood shop. At first, Matt was a little timid, but Fritz encouraged him to get out and talk to the crowd, explain what they were doing, etc. At the end of the day, Matt exclaimed, "This was one of the best days of my life?"
...and so it is with Fritz Rosburg...a humble, gentle, talented man who uses and enjoys the sills God gave him, shares his knowledge with others, and encourages others to develp their own abilities.