The World's First Flight
Wilbur & Orville Wright: Keith's Great-Great Granduncles
On December 17th, 1903 my ancestors successfully flew the first sustained, controlled, powered heavier-than-air flight in a manned aircraft. 100 years later as the United States was celebrating the centennial of their achievement, I had the honor of traveling the country and seeing the significance of the industry they had started. This gave me the opportunity to meet aerospace pioneers like Chuck Yeager and Neil Armstrong at a very young age, and inspired me to work on continuing their legacy by becoming an engineer myself.
Minnesota's First Brewery
Anthony Yoerg: Keith's Great-Great-Great Grandfather
Anthony Yoerg was born in Bavaria on October 5th, 1816 and immigrated to the United States when he was 19 years old. After moving around the country for a few years he ultimately settled in Minnesota. It was there in 1848 that he opened the first brewery in the state, Yoerg's Brewery.
The brewery remained in business during prohibition in the 1900s by pivoting to a dairy & soda soda operation. After prohibition was repealed the company attempted to continue selling beer, however consolidation of beer producers across the country made it extremely difficult to stay profitable and the company closed for business in 1952.
This history has inspired me to brew my own beer at home, and I plan to improve my skill and create beers similar to the ones that my ancestor sold so skillfully.
Engineering Heritage
William Yoerg & Ken Yoerg: Keith's Grandfather & Father
My grandfather Bill was the first person in his family to receive a degree. He studied civil engineering at South Dakota State University, and following graduation he took a job working for the Minnesota Department of Transportation in 1959. He worked there until his early death in September 1990. His work influenced many policies within the Mn/DOT and in honor of his efforts, September 20th was named "Bill Yoerg Quality Recognition Day"
My father Ken also decided to become an engineer, and earned a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1983. Soon after he began working for Cargill, a global company that provides agricultural products and services, where he worked for nearly 30 years.
