MSI Founder Henry Heymering

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  • Norton

    NRA Endowment Member, Rifleman
    Staff member
    Admin
    Moderator
    May 22, 2005
    122,856
    I'm being told that MSI founder Henry Heymering passed away on January 19.

    All I know for now.

    I'm at work but I'll post some thoughts later.
     

    Ponder_MD

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 9, 2020
    4,559
    Maryland
    I'm new to MSI. Was the founder still active in the organization or had the reigns been handed off to other people?
     

    mac1_131

    MSI Executive Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 31, 2009
    3,280
    I'm being told that MSI founder Henry Heymering passed away on January 19.

    All I know for now.

    I'm at work but I'll post some thoughts later.
    Wow sorry to hear that. He was a good guy.
     

    mac1_131

    MSI Executive Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 31, 2009
    3,280
    I'm new to MSI. Was the founder still active in the organization or had the reigns been handed off to other people?
    Not too much. I think we saw him once or twice at Annapolis, I think he was there in 2013. Norton will have more later as he said.

    I those days MSI meetings were up in Thurmont and it was fairly small.
     

    rambling_one

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Oct 19, 2007
    6,725
    Bowie, MD
    Without Henry, there’d be no MSI. He and a handful of like minded people had a vision, and made it happen.

    It’s always dangerous to list players from memory, and this is only a partial list: Steve Dirlik, Ed Patrick, Phil Lee, Don Hoffman, Charlie Guggenheimer, Mark Wilson, Steve Naylor.

    I joined MSI in 2005, and am proud to have served in some small way.

    Rest In Peace my friend.
     

    joppaj

    Sheepdog
    Staff member
    Moderator
    Apr 11, 2008
    46,461
    MD
    I only met him once. His passion for the cause was obvious.
     

    Boondock Saint

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 11, 2008
    24,372
    White Marsh
    I never met the man, but he was spoken of as a lion for our mutual cause. His fingerprints were all over the formation of MSI and he took the organization past its formative stages and gave it a chance to succeed once the torch was passed. MSI, and we by extension, have been very fortunate to have sharp, motivated individuals at the top of organization to keep it alive initially, and then membership which would allow it to thrive. Certainly in the first 10 or so years, at any given time, 1-2 people were doing 90% of the work.

    Thank you, Henry. Rest in peace.
     

    Norton

    NRA Endowment Member, Rifleman
    Staff member
    Admin
    Moderator
    May 22, 2005
    122,856
    OK, got some time to have collected some thoughts.

    First off, it's impossible to separate the self from opining in these circumstances . Same way I felt when DD214/Don passed a while back.

    rambling_one brought back a lot of memories when as a neophyte to all of this I was introduced to Henry and the nascent idea of MSI way back. The idea that we could push back at the power of the anti-gunners and the way they had the nuts of the General Assembly in their hands seemed laughable at the time.

    There were the establishment groups like MSRPA and AGC that dutifully did their best to hold the line. There was also another group at the time, really a fictional organization of one person, who positioned themselves as being the "real" activists for gun owners in Maryland.

    We all naively thought that we could make a difference.

    The names that rambling_one mentioned above should be inscribed in stone, with Henry at the top.

    Henry and I butted heads, I won't kid you. He was an idealist, and an absolutist in his Libertarian views, with no tempering for what was pragmatic or obtainable. That grated against my strong organizational and strategic mindset.

    The thing is, that was what was exactly needed at a time where pragmatism and playing defense was the name of the game. I see that now.

    The sure sign that what we were doing was working was when at least some of the so-called establishment groups started coming after us in organized campaigns. Thank God Phil Lee was there to expose the one "group" as being a legal fiction of one man's greed and narcissism and that he was fleecing Maryland gun owners to enrich his own pockets.

    Henry was the right person at the right time, and also recognized when he was no longer the right person at the current time. I was proud to follow him and build on what he started.
     

    Norton

    NRA Endowment Member, Rifleman
    Staff member
    Admin
    Moderator
    May 22, 2005
    122,856
    Damned if it doesn't suck to be amongst the last men standing from this era. I was one of the kids of the group back then.

    Excuse me while I go tighten the bolts on my walker.
     

    Norton

    NRA Endowment Member, Rifleman
    Staff member
    Admin
    Moderator
    May 22, 2005
    122,856
    Without Henry, there’d be no MSI. He and a handful of like minded people had a vision, and made it happen.

    It’s always dangerous to list players from memory, and this is only a partial list: Steve Dirlik, Ed Patrick, Phil Lee, Don Hoffman, Charlie Guggenheimer, Mark Wilson, Steve Naylor.

    I joined MSI in 2005, and am proud to have served in some small way.

    Rest In Peace my friend.

    Don't exclude your own contributions back then. Your calm, steady demeanor and patience have long been an important ingredient in this recipe.
     

    Boxcab

    MSI EM
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 22, 2007
    7,867
    AA County
    Damn.

    Henry was a great guy. Nice as could be. Willing to enlighten those of us that lacked experience.

    May he be at peace.






    .

    Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk
     

    Norton

    NRA Endowment Member, Rifleman
    Staff member
    Admin
    Moderator
    May 22, 2005
    122,856
    If anyone cares to do some reading his username here was Horseu.

    Not a ton of posts, but all the same worth pointing out.
     

    eruby

    Confederate Jew
    MDS Supporter
    I joined MSI after speaking with Henry at a Carroll County fireman carnival.

    I'm sure I sounded like an idiot to him, but he convinced me we could name a difference.

    I, and we, all owe Henry a debit we can never really repay.

    And never discount the Herculean efforts of Norton, and dblas, as past presidents, nor the mighty work of current president esquappelate (sp?)

    G-d bless you all

    In Pace Requiescat Henry
     

    teratos

    My hair is amazing
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 22, 2009
    59,775
    Bel Air
    Without Henry, there’d be no MSI. He and a handful of like minded people had a vision, and made it happen.

    It’s always dangerous to list players from memory, and this is only a partial list: Steve Dirlik, Ed Patrick, Phil Lee, Don Hoffman, Charlie Guggenheimer, Mark Wilson, Steve Naylor.

    I joined MSI in 2005, and am proud to have served in some small way.

    Rest In Peace my friend.
    You’ve been a great help to me! It will always be appreciated!

    I met Henry in 2013 when I was walking around with John Josselyn. We talked some on Facebook. RIP.
     

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