Superstar Mike O'Donnell

[CarlS]

It is with very sad heart that I hear that Mike O'Donnell has passed away.  I don't have any specifics yet but will add them when I know.  In addition to being one of the nicest guys in the hobby, he is in the top handful of people that ever contributed to American Civil War relic knowledge.  As a member of our family here we frequently saw his detailed researched posts.  So many of the books we frequently use had his touch on them.  He will be missed as a friend and resource.

(Appreciation to Meigs for the image I stole from FaceBook.)

[Dave the plumber]

        darn, Michael is a totally gracious man with an inexhaustable wealth of knowledge packed away in his brain. He will be surely missed by the community.   Wow....      superstar in Carls heading is 100 percent correct.

[Dave the plumber]

for those whom did not know Mike, he posted as 'Woodenhead' here on the forums.  I'm sure you remember his long posts with comparison photo's of the details of shells, along with supporting documentation with original invoices and such he has unearthed in his research....

[Daveslem]

RIP, Mike. A great guy and a legendary author of some of my favorite CW books.

I’m sad to inform everyone that Bill Mussenden passed away this morning. Bill was the original publisher of the NSTCW magazine. RIP Bill.

[speedenforcer]

DAveslem     start a new thread under the great ones

[Dave the plumber]

    I gotta say guys, and I'm venting a bit here, but personally, I am a bit disappointed that Carls original post has been read over 120 times, and only 3 people have responded to give thanks to a man that has done so much for Civil War collectors, and especially us into artillery. Michael, Woodenhead here on the forums, has given so much to not only these forums with his lengthy posts and exhaustive research and steel trap knowledge, but to all branches of Civil war collecting . Almost every collectors book has his imprint on it, including our 'bible' books. Chuck Jones fuze book, Pete Georges 1993 Field artillery book, and I could go on and on with all the books he is in.  You didn't have to personally know him to understand what all he has done for our community - just look on your bookshelf     

[CarlS]

Very true David. His reach was far into all facets of our Civil War collecting.  More than anyone he documented relics and recorded information for future generations.

[pipedreamer65]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I visit here couple times a week most of the time and post even less, so I'm just seeing this notice. 

That being said, i like everyone else have several books with his publishing imprint or personally written by Mr. O'Donnell, aka wooden head.  They represent a large amount of my own collecting knowledge that i would have never obtained without the dedication, experience and kind sharing of information he was known for.  We are all diminished when knowledgeable collectors like Mike pass away to the other side of eternity.   Be at peace.

[gflower]

To All,
Been off line for a while, lots going on in sunny Florida. That said I concur with all that has been said about this giant in the field and hobby. I don?t go without a day that the knowledge of or about the relics I have found or touched was not influenced by his great works and detective skills. RIP Gary