Retiring Minnesota Fire Fighter Completes Really Personal Mission

Everyone has things that interest them. And sometimes those things become a focus of what they collect.  

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I have an aunt who collects small hand bells from states from around the country. I’m not sure why those have always been a passion for her, but they have.  

My wife would say that when we met twenty-eight years ago, I had a weakness for t-shirts. I guess working in radio, they’re always the one thing that was readily available.  

You don’t have to really understand why people are interested in what they are, it’s their thing. It could be something that relates to their work, or maybe something that has nothing to do with how they earn their money. 

If you know or have ever known anyone who is a fire fighter, you know protecting their communities is something that they are passionate about.  

From the types of fire trucks they use to the latest technology their department uses, fire fighters are normally dedicated to following the industry deeply.  

Case in point, fire fighter Hubie Widmer, who is a fire fighter with the town of Watertown. He has served that town for forty-three years and will retire at the end of May.  

 Hubie tells KARE-11 TV that he’s spent the last ten years getting his picture made in front of every fire department in Minnesota.  

There are fourteen photo albums containing all the photos he has collected over the last decade. Hubie's wife Denice helped him on the quest, she would circle a town on their map once they had secured the picture. She joked with the TV station that she thought they would never accomplish the goal.  

The last photo was taken recently at Minnesota-St. Paul Airport Fire Department. Like many of the fires that Hubie fought, he stayed with the quest until it was done.  

Happy Retirement Hubie, Thank You for serving your community, who knows you may have helped inspire the next generation of our protectors.