Capt. Birdsell doing therapy for back

Monongah Fire Department Captain Jim Birdsell reports:

“First day for physical therapy went well on my back today. Felt good, went back and walked and rode bikes tonight. Now resting. I want to get better.”

North Marion grad Jim broke his back in the line of duty in January.

He had quadruple bypass surgery in 2014.

Jim is one tough guy.

Angela Birdsell is Jim’s wife. He posted from Pleasant Valley.

Jim’s dad is Edwin Birdsell, Class of 1973, who grew up on Park Avenue by Mount Calvary cemetery as a son of Zelda and Byron Birdsell, Class of 1947, a long-time Monongah mailman.

Byron’s brother, the late Bill Birdsell, was in my 1950 class at Monongah High.

Bill married Fairmont Field Club pro Reggie Spencer’s daughter, Barbara, and became a golf course maintenance guru in Florida where Bill’s son is in charge of the greenkeeping at the University of Florida.

There’s a Byron Birdsell who is a 1982 North Marion grad.