George Wagner

Study. That sounds mundane. You have to keep up with your subjects so you can enjoy the next year. That gets based on the prior years. Have fun with it. Do things for other people.

George Wagner

My name is George Wagner. I was born on September 11, 1924 in Fairport, New York. It was a small community and we had horses in the street. It has grown some now although not much new industry. My family was poor but we managed to get along.

I went all the way from grade school through high school. I was active in the debate club and went to conferences and contests against other schools. I learned good skills in public speaking. For college I went to Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. I went to school for a mechanical engineering degree until I had to stop to join the military.

I enlisted in the navy during World War II. I was hoping to get on a ship, but I never did, except to take a ship to the Philippines and a ship back. It wasn’t hard duty until I left. During my military experience, my friend and I started repairing radio stations. I decided I liked electronics more than mechanical design. When I got back to the states, I went back to school and took electronics classes.

I worked for broadcasting stations and with transmitters. I put stations all over the country. It was fun traveling and seeing different parts of the country I’d never been to before. One of the companies I worked for transferred me to Minnesota. I was happy to come out here.

I’ve been married to Audrey for 26 years. She had two children and I had four children. We got together like a family. I also have five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. My wife and I volunteer at Wilshire Park and help with reading to students.

In 1970 I decided to retire. I’ve continued to do volunteer work with the city and community since then. I have been a member of the Kiwanis for 35 years. I’ve been on the community services advisory council and city planning commission. I like to volunteer and be a part of the community. Volunteering is fun.

The last couple of years I have had some medical problems so now I’m retired almost completely. I have had five bypasses on my heart. The bypasses are clogging up again, so I’ve had another stint put in the heart and in the leg. I have a strong heart but so plugged it is hard for blood to get through. My dad lived to 94 so I have a ways to go yet.