Chapter XII
Volunteer Firemen
This article is a salute to Lucas County’s
Volunteer Firemen. An American volunteer
is a very special and unique person. He
is not a newcomer. He has been on the
scene in this country since the beginning of our nation. In fact, the first shot that was fired in the
struggle for our independence was from the gun of a volunteer. Other countries have had token voluntarism
but in America alone, the art has reached its finest flower.
Men and women alike have given their time,
effort and energy in causes of health, education, music and the visiable arts,
child welfare, the aged, the sick and the handicapped.
It is difficult to think of any good cause
that has not had its share of the work of the volunteer. He gives of himself to others without any
thought of payment – in money. He wants
only to help in a job that needs to be done and his pay comes in the warmth of
human relations, in the satisfaction of a job well done and for no other reason
than that he wanted to do it and for which words can never do justice.
It has long been a part of the genius of
American life that people in all walks of life can work together, overcome any
kind of obstacles and end up with a production, a result, or an accomplishment
that would be astounding in any other country on earth. It is such an integral part of our fabric of
life that we take it for granted.
Not the least of these organizations is
the Volunteer Fire Departments of which Lucas county has five. These are neighbors who, not infrequently,
risk their lives and their limbs to save property or life in the fighting one
of Nature’s most awesome forces. When
the siren tears the air apart with its terrifying shriek, every fireman, no matter
what he is doing, jumps halfway to the door and is gone in seconds. It used to be said that the firemen were on
the speeding wagon and half way to the fire before the whistle quit
blowing. Even if this were a slight
exaggeration, it conveys the splendid “Espirit-de-Corps” of the department –
their devotion to duty above self and their almost jealous regard for the honor
of their organization as a whole.
“Hear the
loud alarm bells! Brave Bells!
What a tale
of terror now their turbulence tells!
In the
startled ear of night, how they scream out their affright!
Too much
horrified to speak, they can only shriek!
In the
clamorous appealing, in the mercy of the fire,
In the sad
expostulation with the deaf and frantic fire,
Leaping
higher, higher, higher
How they
clang and clash and roar, What a horror they out pour
On the
bosom of the palpitating air!
How the
danger sinks and swells, by the sinking or the swelling
In the
anger of the bells. In the clamor and
the clanger of the bells.” -POE
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Derby
In the late 1930’s a few citizens of Derby
decided the town should have some fire-fighting equipment. They purchased some
from the Chariton Department. In
addition, they had a four-wheel trailer with ladders, buckets and other items. In 1951 they solicited subscriptions from
everyone in the area and a committee composed of L. W. Cottingham, Giles Lowe,
and Everett F. Davis, went to New London, Iowa, and bought an old fire truck
with a good pump for $500. A new one
would have cost $5,000 to $6,000. Their
equipment was stored in different buildings which hampered efficiency. In 1952 the city council bought the Johnson
harness shop and converted it into the fire station, bought a Ford truck and
transferred the equipment. Early members
of the department were Charles Hilliard, Chief Clell Fulton, Treasurer, and
Ernest F. Davis, now Mayor.
For help they depended on other volunteers
who would come to the fires and there was always help.
Derby’s fire record is enviable. There ha been only one business fire. It was in the basement of a grocery store six
or eight years ago. There have been
three residence fires, one of which burned completely. The other two were roof fires and one of
these had an unique condition which was most favorable to the firemen. They were drawing water from a cistern and as
fast as it was thrown on the roof, it ran down the gutter, back into the
cistern, whence it was pumped right back to douse the roof. This happy accommodation continued until the
fire was brought under control and extinguished.
Mr. Davis recalls a fire half a mile away,
called in by a man who lived half a mile from it. He hung up the receiver, grabbed his coat and
just as he was getting into his car he saw the Derby fire truck turn in on the
fire! The firemen had been in their
recreation room next door when the call came and got away in “nothing flat”. Verily, speed is a way of life for dedicated
firemen!
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Williamson
The Williamson Volunteer Department was
organized in 1925 with Forrest Bingaman as Chief. Albert Spencer, Secretary, and an old
fashioned International fire truck.
Other members were: Arthur
Rohrer, Orval Light, F. A. McDonald, Boyd Spiker, Roscoe Foster, Lawrence
Miller, Alex Wallace, Harold Lytle, Elmer Edwards, T. O. Bryant, Kenneth
Brightwell, N. H. Hiss, W. E. Mauk, Eugene Moore, and Hoyt Spiker. These members are listed as of 1926-27 and
are believed to be charter members.
The department has had a good record and
they have a prideful memory of winning the water fight in Chariton during one
of the Fourth of July celebrations. Many
of their fires have been caused by sparks from the locomotives. Their worst fire was March 24, 1967, when two
grass fires started – one north of town, the other south. They were spreading fast around homes in the
area. The Chariton and Russell
departments responded and the damage was confined to fences and shrubbery. There were no injuries and no equipment
lost. Williamson’s ten members have
telephones that automatically ring from the telephone fire alarm button. This hook-up covers 90 square miles and
greatly enhances the efficiency of the department. Their roster of chiefs lists the names of
Lowell Boothe, Raymond Wagaman, Harry Masters, Harry McFarland, Manuel Shore,
Ed Hochart, Francis Slack, Dwaine Clark and Marvin Shore. Alvin Hockart is present Chief and Steve
Grgurich is Secretary. John Polo holds
the record for longest membership.
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Russell
The Russell area has a unique
arrangement. There is the Russell City
Fire Department with Marvin Beaty as Chief and the Russell Volunteer
Association with 15 directors and George Relph as president. These organizations are independent but they
work in close cooperation. This is one
of very few of this kind of operation in the state and was organized in 1950.
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Lucas
The Lucas Volunteer Fire Department was organized in 1882. After a time, interest waxed and waned. During the waning periods, the city depended on anyone who would come running to help. It was said that most people came to the fires anyway and they may as well help.
In 1924, it waxed strong again and was
reorganized with 12 members. As the
members didn’t have to pay poll tax, it had to be limited – human nature being
what it is. They had a wagon with hook
and ladder and a bucket brigade with leather buckets so that if any were
dropped or were thrown from a roof, they wouldn’t injure or kill anybody. Later they acquired a pumper to lower into a
well and a 40-gallon chemical tank. To
test it a huge pile of banana crates, old boxes and other flimsy stuff was
constructed and set afire only to burn furiously because the chemical didn’t
work.
In 1902
occurred the largest fire Lucas ever had, according to present day
citizens. Five buildings on Front street
were completely destroyed: a lumber
yard, a millinery store, shoe repair shop, Leck Hooker’s harness shop and the
two story K. P. Hall. Most were never
rebuilt. Sometimes about 1913 to 1915
the Rogers and McElvain lumber yard and hardware store burned. They were rebuilt and today are a stable
business in Lucas.
In 1932 fire broke out in the furnace room of the school house. On that December day the temperature was 19 below zero. The Chariton department was called and went flying in an open truck. Firemen huddled on the hoses in the bed of the truck and tried to cover themselves but nearly froze. They then found that their hose was four sections short. There was a cistern under the building but it was rendered useless by the stiff northwest wind that blew heavy smoke into the faces of the men. The fire was too far along anyway.
The William Hunter home is across the
street and their son, seven-year-old Billy, Jr. stood at the window and cried
because his beloved books were burning.
He and Betty Mitchell (later Mrs. Chester Spoon) were classmates and
graduated together.
Mrs. Spoon was historian for the 1968
Lucas Centennial. The present school
building was built with little delay and at the laying of the corner stone, Mr.
William Hunter, trumpet player, led a 15-piece band up the long hill to play
for the ceremony.
The opera house was built in 1883 atop the
hill west of Dr. Bell’s office and was quite an imposing building for that
time. It had a life span of half a
century and various businesses were housed within its walls during those
splendorous years. The auditorium on the
third floor had a capacity of 300 to 400 persons. The elevator was hand operated with a rope
and a large wheel. There was no fire
escape.
Each year there was an impressive listing
of all the famous road shows of the day.
The mines were working, money flowed easily, the people enjoyed good
entertainment and to this mecca came all kinds of shows in addition to many
entertaiments of local talent and interest.
There were famous artists appearing there
– Jenny Lind, the great Swedish operatic start, known as “The Swedish
Nightingale”. Paton and Edna May
Spooner, husband and wife team of actors who grew up in Centerville, became
famous in New York City and made the “big time”. Then there was the famous wrestler, Farmer
Hunter, who also made Lucas.
Of all the great road shows of the day –
and there were many – the three “hardy perennials” were St. Elmo, East Lynn and
Uncle Tom’s Cabin. These three were the “tear
jerkers” and they never missed a year.
Sometimes '‘Little Eva'’ looked as she should have looked but many times
she didn't'’. One time she weighed 200
pounds! Sometimes they had real
bloodhounds, depending on the troupe, but no matter, the people loved it just
the same.
There were magicians and hypnotists with
all the wiles of their professions. The
medicine shows too, had many artful ways.
They sold candy kisses in little bags, giving votes for the most popular
girl in town; soap at 10 cents a bar – a fantastic price compared to 11 bars of
good soap for 25 cents at J. C. Baker and Sons Store! Then the patent medicine at $1 a bottle – but
would cure ANYTHING!
The heyday of the once glittering opera
house had passed when in February of 1934, fire reduced it to ashes, leaving
only a memory of happier days. The Lucas
Fire department now has a very attractive steel building, well located and
which also has a community room in addition to garage room for their trucks and
other fire equipment. Wendell Skinner is
Chief.
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Chariton
The Chariton Volunteer Fire Department was
organized in 1877, one year before it was legalized by ordinance. This action is an example of the spirit of
all the organizers of Lucas County Fire departments. They are civic-minded men whose first thought
was the protection of life and property.
The Chariton department had 29
members. It now has 35. In that early day, equipment was horse drawn
and hand powered. By the time they reached
a fire, pulling their share of the heavy load, they were too winded to do much
fire-fighting.
It is thought that, prior to 1900, some of
the old equipment was traded in on “Old Betsy”.
The water supply has always been a
problem. There were cisterns in the
beginning but these were filled and covered when the courthouse lawn was
enlarged. There was also the city lake
where Yocom Park is now. In 1908-09 the
city water system was laid but the mains did not reach to the far ends of
town. The going was rough. It took rugged individuals with a deep sense
of the community’s welfare to stay, but stay they did.
They had a fine team of horses, rated the
best in the state. They had won prizes
at state conventions. The city fathers
thought the horses should pay their way so they put them to work on the streets. When the fire whistle blew, the fires could
burn merrily on while the firemen were frantically trying to locate the horses,
get them hooked up and on the go.
There have been improvements in the water
supply but there is still inadequacy. In
1950 a rescue truck was purchased by the department but with added donations
from public-spirited people in both town and country. That same year the city bought a new truck
and sold the old one to a junk dealer who gave it to a city park for the
kiddies to play with.
Chariton has had its share of big
fires. They have gone around the
square. In 1901 or 1902 from the
southwest corner to the north side of the present city hall, two men were hired
to set a fire. The destruction was total
and the men served five years in prison.
In the winter of 1902 or 1903 the west
side burned from the alley to Braden Avenue.
It started in the old opera house on the corner where the Montgomery
Ward store is now. It was a bitter cold
night, below zero and a sleet storm was on.
The faces of the firemen were even sleeted over. The hoses froze and there was a water
shortage.
In 1905 the northwest side of the square
burned from Main Street to the First State Bank building. Next was the section from the alley east
where there were several interior small fires with property damage but no loss
of buildings.
Sometime from 1914 to 1916 the northeast
corner where the Charitone Hotel now stands, was the site of Palmer’s
Department Store. It was a one story
building covered with sheetiron. Again
the weather was frigid and the firemen’s coats froze on them. In 1908 or 1909 the east side burned from the
alley south to the baker building. This
was the first fire fought with city water from the mains and before the job had
been ok’d by the city council to the contractor.
In the first night of the new year of 1928
at 20 below zero, fire broke out in the Hollinger and Larimer building – the
second bad fire on the Montgomery Ward corner.
The fire burned stubbornly all night and the firemen fought just as
stubbornly all night. Their clothing
froze on them. Two firemen who were
holding hoses steadily on the fire were frozen to the pavement and had to be
chopped loose. Ladders were frozen to
the outside walls and could not be taken down for two days. The building was covered with ice, and
icicles were hanging all over. This
writer remembers one man saying with great anguish, ‘the firemen have had an
awful night.’ Only the ice walls were
left.
Mr. and Mrs. Merritt Nolan lived in an apartment
on the second floor. Pete was a fireman
and was out with the fire. Mrs. Nolan
had gotten out and was across the square trying to get word to Pete. He was found lying across the bed having been
overcome by smoke.
In 1929 the south side burned from the
alley east to where Young’s Furniture Store is now. There were several buildings housing various
businesses, including Sam Goff’s restaurant where the fire started. The three story theater building had offices
and apartments on the second floor and the K. P. Hall on the third.
An eyewitness can never forget the
shattering sight and sound when that three story wall collapsed. Then the tall chimney stood stark and
sinister against the smoke filled sky and they had to dynamite it. They had to
dynamite a wall on the east side to keep the fire from going clear to the
corner.
Fire departments from Russell, Indianola,
Ottumwa and Albia responded to the call.
However, Ottumwa, in their mad dash to get here, had a wreck with their
truck and never arrived. The old steamer
was pulled out of mothballs and used for the last time. All buildings were a complete loss but the
only casualty was Mary Kinkead’s pet canary.
After the fire, more mains were laid in
hopes of solving the water problem but alas, the solution was not yet.
The last day of March 1965 saw the
Kubetchek building, built in 1896, burn out from Main Street to Holder’s Shoe
Repair shop. To this fire came departments from Williamson, Lucas, Russell,
Corydon, Knoxville, and Osceola. The mains
and the pumper at the lake were not large enough to deliver the amount of water
that the pumpers at the fire could handle.
Chariton has had many other fires which
space forbids recounting here but there is one other which must be told. The Eikenberry flour, feed mill, and elevator
burned in 1913. It was located where
Stone Motor and Implement company is located now. Frank Schaffer, a sharpshooter veteran of the
Spanish American war was night watch.
He had observed two suspicious looking
characters cruising around town and around the square a time or two. They had managed to set the elevator fire as
a foil in their plan to rob the corner bank.
It was set to start late in the date, and as usual, most people hurried
to the fire.
Frank Schaffer went over for a very little
while, then returned to the square and stayed in the shadows of the trees in
the courtyard where he could watch all movements around the square.
He was widely known and his prowess as a
night watchman was widely acclaimed.
Finally, the would be robbers decided it
might be healthier for them to leave.
Two years later they were caught in Nebraska for other crimes and during
questioning they confessed that they had burned an elevator in Chariton, Iowa,
in order to rob a bank.
Again, as our thoughts turn in gratitude
to our public servants, especially to our volunteer fireman, let us breathe a
thankful requiem to the memory of Frank Schaffer whose sharp mentality, keen
eye and highly respected trigger finger protected property and life through his
years of service to this community.
Until about 1940 it was not uncommon to
have a hundred or more calls a year – most in town. But with improved roofs, better chimneys,
improvements in electrical wiring and fire inspection programs, the calls per
year have dropped by half, even including the rescue and rural calls. Also, the telephone call system and
instantaneous action by the departments has been a great discouragement to
arsonists.
The firemen do not neglect the social side
of life but take pride in their traditional amenities toward the community. First on the list is the annual banquet where
the menu could not be equaled by any chef in the country because it contains
more good will than any chef can measure out.
It is the one event of the year that they
rely on to raise funds for their uniforms, expenses to the state convention and
other community activities. The 1972
banquet was their 96th.
The public has been generous to the
firemen. This is one way of showing
appreciation for the hazardous work they do for all of us. They hold a Christmas party for the younger
set and a family picnic in mid summer.
They honor their departed members each spring near Memorial Day when
they hold a special service. Flowers are
gathered and made into bouquets on a Sabbath morning. They attend church service in a body, then in
the early afternoon, proceed to the cemeteries both in and out of town and
decorate the graves. June 2, 1962 a
monument of graceful dignity was dedicated in the Chariton Cemetery to honor
all deceased members of the department.
Each year some of the members attend the
fire school at Ames for three or four days.
They are shown the latest chemical treatments for fires, taught improved
methods and techniques in fire-fighting and in first aid. In short, they are given an across the board
schooling in everything that pertains to fires.
Seventy-five percent of the men are instructed in First Aid and there
are two who have advanced instruction in this important area of the service.
In contemplation of the many fires, there
comes the arresting question, “How could there be no loss of life and no loss
of limb through 95 years of fire history?”
The answer seems to be in a high level of
organization, coordination and practiced efficiency. Much is in the mind of the chief. He with his staff are knowledgeable about the
town, its buildings and its lay out as concerns fire. During a fire he knows where every man is; he
calls the roll every little while and accounts for each man; a lone man is
forbidden to enter a burning building – there must always be two, and the Chief
must know who and where they are. The
ancient Greeks used the foliage of the laurel to crown the victors in the
Pythian games and also as a mark of distinction for certain offices and functions
well done.
Now and Evermore – A crown of Laurel to
each and every one of our Lucas County Volunteer Firemen!
At the recent Annual Firemen’s Convention
in Oelwein, Iowa, the Chariton department participated in all contests,
competing with one hundred and four other departments. They captured the coveted State Title in
firefighting expertise, edging out two runners up to take State honors. Dick Base is Chief and Bill Fisher is
Captain.
Pages 38 - 48
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