THE
PRIDE OF GROVE CITY VOLUNTEER FIREMEN
No
price tag can mark the worth of the ladder truck of the Grove City Fire
Department. Only an evaluation of their friends and the value of material
donated, in addition to items purchased, can tell the cost story.
After
six months of planning, designing, ordering, assembling and finishing, a
65-foot aerial ladder, mounted inside an open utility body on a two-ton
truck chassis, is now the pride of the volunteer fire company.
The idea of adding a new piece of fire fighting
equipment to their two pumper-hose trucks was discussed at a meeting early
in 1955 An extension ladder, adequate for reaching the highest building in
the business district, was decided upon as a project in which the members
of the fire company participate.
Since the fire equipment in Grove City is the
property of the Borough, the proposal was presented to the council on
April 18, when authorization was given for receiving separate bids on a
truck chassis and an aluminum ladder, according to detailed specifications
prepared by a five-man committee of the firemen.
During the time required for delivery of the two
basic items, which were purchased by the Borough in May, a corps of
volunteer workers was organized among the fire fighters, the cooperation
of several industrial and commercial firms and individuals was solicited,
and the loan of an assembly room was secured.
With a truck chassis and cab, and a pedestal mounted
extension ladder in their possession in July, the borough’s fire
protectors mustered their various vocational skills for the construction
of an attractively designed body and the assembling of a properly
engineered unit to meet the envisioned need of their company.
Assigning themselves to a four-night a week
schedule, which produced an estimated 1,000 manhours, the firemen labored
through the rigers of laying out materials, cutting and welding the sheet
metal and angle irons, fitting mechanical parts, and wiring the intricate
electrical system. Interested donors furnished the equipment for welding,
sand blasting and chrome plating, and the materials and labor for painting
and lettering the body.
Completed
on October 10, at a cost to the borough of less than the appropriated
expenditure of $6,000.00, the new ladder fire truck has been appraised at
more than double that amount. As a closing feature of Fire Prevention
Week, it was displayed to the public, and was acclaimed as being an
expertly fabricated piece of equipment. In recognization (sic) of their
accomplishment, the firemen were tendered an appreciation dinner, on
November 17,
by the Borough Council and were
presented with a resolution of thanks.
Suppliers,
from whom purchases were made included: Mundt
The
honor roll of those who made complete donations of equipment, material or
labor listed the following: Turner Brothers
Excavating Co., Welding machine; Cooper-Bessemer Corp., materials and
facilities; John Bartholomew, designing
service; Ray Bryant, garage building. Partial
donations were made by William Beckman, on
buffing; Frank Carlson, on chrome plating; D.
A. Groft, on sandblasting; Filer’s
Auto Body, on painting; and Bennet & Taylor,
on lettering the body of the truck.
The
roster of the Grove City Fire Department consisted of:
Walter
R. Horsman, Chief
Milford
McLaughlin, First Assistant
Frank
Horsman, Second Assistant
Karl
Bubeck Donald Christley
Charles
Christy
John Cookson
Raymond
Dunn
Bart Faker
John
Gursky, Jr.
Henry Hamelly
Russell
Hancox
Donald Jennings
Clair
Keough
Henry Limberg, Jr.
Wayne
McGinnis
Robert McMullen
Jack
Spencer
Carl Stubbs
Richard
Taggart
William Taylor
Bud
Thompson
Edward Turek
Robert
Wood
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