Bill Snapp   If you are looking for a smile, you need look no further than Bill Snap Bill was one of the very first volunteers and he began drilling rivets in January 2006!  Bill’s humor, encouraging words, and constant assistance to all, inspires volunteers new and old alike.   When Bill is around, which is every day; we work hard but remember to have fun while doing so.  Bill is no stranger to aviation.   He is a veteran of Naval Aviation, having spent four years in the Navy as a mechanic.   He maintained the F9F Cougar at Kingville, Texas and later the F3H Demon at Alameda, California .   Bill was among the first generation of jet maintainers in the Navy.   His sea duty was aboard the USS Lexington, seeing Guam and the Philippines in his Pacific tour of duty.  After leaving the Navy, Bill had a long career at International Harvester…his 42 years there speaks to the dedication and ability of our friend.   He also was an auctioneer for thirty years, leaving that profession in 1995.   Bill now applies his wide ranging and well honed skills in the building of our B 17 G, Champaign Lady.   He is our go-to guy when we need parts, or finding tools and equipment.   Bill has been here almost since day one.  He saw a notice in Urbana ’s Airport Café in December 2005 and began working on the project in January, 2006, just as the first rivets were being drilled out of the old fuselage.  Bill’s technical work on the project includes the vertical stabilizer, wing tips, and bomb racks.   A great deal of this airplane exists because of Bill’s hard work. Bill says, “I like the people.  It is a pleasure being part of the project and being part of history and bringing it back.  I enjoy meeting the veterans and all the people who come in to check on our progress.” It is due in large part to Bill’s efforts that so much progress has been, and continues to be, made.  He is one of the big reasons why all the volunteers look forward to coming in each day!         Written by: Robert Buchwalter November 1, 2010

James Stechschulte Businessman helped restore plane Article published September 14, 2010 JAMES STECHSCHULTE, 1931-2010: Businessman helped restore plane By JIM SIELICKI BLADE STAFF WRITER COLUMBUS GROVE, Ohio - James J. Stechschulte, who ran an insurance business and managed a hardware store and three weekly newspapers, died Friday at his home in Columbus Grove. He was 79. Mr. Stechschulte suffered from prostate cancer for several years, and it recently spread to his bones, said a friend, Randy Kemp. Born March 9, 1931, Mr. Stechschulte graduated from Columbus Grove High school in 1949 and enlisted in the Air Force the following year, serving a year in Taegu, Korea, his daughter Ann Mumaugh said. "He started working in sheet metal, but once they [the Air Force] found out he could type, he was put in the office," she said. His experience with sheet metal evolved into restoration of Mustang cars in his spare time. Three years ago he combined his restoration skills with his lifelong interest in airplanes and joined a B-17 restoration project at Grimes Field in Urbana, Ohio. "Dad has always been in love with airplanes ever since he was a little boy," Mrs. Mumaugh said. In the late 1960s, he accompanied the pilot of an experimental open-cockpit airplane for a low-level flight from Columbus Grove to Florida, she said. He was eager to share his love of airplanes with family members. Nephew Tom Stechschulte said his uncle frequently dropped by the auto repair shop his nephew ran to talk about volunteer work on the bomber. "He would always tell us about what he was doing there, give us a progress report, and touch base with us," Tom Stechschulte said. "That was right up his alley." Mr. Kemp, project manager for the B-17G Champaign Lady project, said Mr. Stechchulte, one of 90 volunteers, did not let his illness interfere with his work on the airplane. He traveled from Columbus Grove to Urbana every Wednesday to work on the ball turret that contained a pair of machine guns under the plane's belly. He last visited the hangar a month ago to give family members a tour of the project, Mr. Kemp said. "Jim was a lot of fun. He had a golden sense of humor," Mr. Kemp said. "He was just a great spark of life for what he was going through." After returning to Columbus Grove from the Air Force, Mr. Stechschulte managed Stechschulte & Sons hardware store, which was owned by his father and an uncle, for 12 years. He then began a life insurance business, first working from his home and later from a small train depot downtown. He retired in 1998. During that time he managed three weekly newspapers and worked as an editor and features writer, his daughter said. "He was an excellent writer. He loved to write. In the last few years he was involved in a writers group in Putnam County," she said. Mrs. Mumaugh said her father excelled as a public speaker and was frequently asked to address organizations because of his ability to entertain and inform.