Rest In Peace Yogi You Will Be Missed....

It's a very sad day in the fire service as we have lost two of our brothers in tragic accidents. I'm sure that there will be much written about the volunteer firefighter from Baltimore County who was killed while fighting a apartment fire during which he was doing a search of the apartment to see if there was anyone trapped but I'm going to tell you about one of Bay District's own who lost his life after being struck by a car on January 19, 2011.

Buhrman Kenneth "Yogi" Baird served our department back in what some call the old days of the sixties. When I was a young man of 16 and joined the department it was "Yogi" who welcomed me and made me feel like one of the guys. If you look at our web site and check out the old photos you will see pictures of our old Mack tanker truck that we got from the Navy and converted it over to a tanker truck that would carry 2,000 gallons of water well this was "Yogi's" baby and whenever we had a call for a house fire you could count on seeing him behind the wheel. And boy could he wheel this monster. There was no power steering on this baby and it took a man and boy to make a turn with it or just one Jim Baird behind the wheel. He was a man's man and although difficult to understand at times he always managed to get his point across one way or the other. You could sit and listen to his stories for hours on end and now those stories are forever silent. Jim served our department for many years I'm not sure just how many but that doesn't matter because during the years he served he did it with great pride and determination. He also served for one year in the sixties as our President.

As years went by he moved away from Lexington Park to Hollywood and continued to work in the construction field with his heavy duty work truck which you would see going up and down the road all the time. He would stop by the firehouse often and if we ever needed any welding done on anything he was the man for the job. We would ask him how much did we owe him and he would smile and say "No Charge." There are hundreds of stories out there about this giant of a man and I could tell a hundred of them from just the time he spent in our fire department but I will keep them in my heart and cherish them forever. A wise old gentleman and a 16 year old kid who was just starting out in the fire service and already had an angel on his shoulder. I couldn't ask for anything more than that. So in closing I had heard that a makeshift memorial had been erected where "Yogi" had been hit so I stopped by to pay my respects and take a picture. This is all we will have as all services for this gentle giant are private so we who knew and loved him will have nowhere to visit to morn his loss. So we bury him in our hearts and just know that the good Lord has wrapped his arms around him to welcome him into the kingdom of heaven. His long walk is over. You can rest now "Yogi".

To see all the lives that this man touched just check out the condolences on the Mattingly-Gardiner funeral home web site and read the kind words. Maybe you could add a few of your own.

Link to Guestbook Signatures and Condolences - http://www.mgfh.com/obituaries/dsp_files/dsp_viewobit.cfm?obit_ID=2212

R.I.P.
BUHRMAN KENNETH "YOGI" BAIRD
SEPTEMBER 9, 1923
JANUARY 19, 2011

There will be prayers for "Yogi" Baird at the Mattingly-Gardiner Funeral Home on January 28, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.
Family will receive friends at the funeral home on January 28, 2011 from 6:00 to 7:00.

I hope that all who knew and loved this man will come out to pay their resprects to this kind and gentle man.

A little update on the service for "Yogi" at Mattingly-Gardiner Funeral Home. I didn't think it was necessary for me to ask those who knew and loved this man to attend the service due to the fact there was standing room only at the service. There were many light hearted comments made about Yogi and it was very moving to be a part of it. There was one young lady who stood up to read a story that she had written about Jim during her school years and just what he had meant to her over the years. Several of the old timers and a few of the young ones from the department made the trip over to pay one final tribute to this man. It was also nice to see some older members of the department that are no longer members attend the service. I'm sure that Yogi is sitting up there in heaven saying why the big fuss but we who knew and loved this man know why all the fuss. Rest in Peace