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World War I had ended. The nation readied
itself to turn inwards and forget its troubles. The 1920's reflect a
desire felt by the populace to take care of itself. This same philosophy
predominated the thinking of many towns such as ours. The history of the
volunteer fire department over this decade will see giant leaps taken to improve
the quality of service rendered to its citizenry. A signal of this
impending change came early in the 20's with the purchase of the department's
first motorized vehicle. It was a chemical tank on a chain drive
International. This proved a timely purchase, because simultaneously the
City of Lockport opened its first paved streets. The city and volunteers were so
pleased with their newly purchased vehicle that in 1928 they bought another
one. This Studebaker was the city's first pumper which could carry eighty
gallons of water in a tank located behind the driver. Arrangements were made to
store this piece of equipment in the Adelmann Garage due to a lack of space in
the other facilities. The volunteers were instrumental in financing the pumper.
Together with the city they mutually developed a program to assist its
payment. The source of this income tapped by the volunteers came from
their yearly Thanksgiving Eve dances and door-to-door solicitations. This
would become a customary procedure continuing on through today. The
efforts of the volunteers to aid the city with some of the costs of equipping
the fire department is accentuated here, for without this assistance the city's
force would have been less effective. An
interesting story of history unfolds during this decade dealing with the fire
chiefs who served the volunteer department. Over the course of years
spanning from 1919 to 1929, five different chiefs held the position. The
first of those was a mainstay of the original volunteer force, George Adelmann.
His reign lasted for two years from 1919 to 1921. Dr. Leonard Roblee
followed as Chief. Quite a picture can be drawn about "Doc"
Roblee, for throughout most of his adult years he was an active member of the
department serving as Chief, volunteer, and trustee. After his brief stint
as the Chief, he participated in volunteer calls and other activities from the
mid-1920's to 1956. The culmination of his dedicated service came in 1956
when he became President of the fire district's first Board of Trustees.
In conjunction with this event came the recognition that Dr. Roblee had
accumulated 50 years of work with the Lockport volunteers. This assuredly
qualified him as one of the true supporters in the department's history.
Dr. Roblee's successor was Walter Reed, who, in turn, was replaced by Richard
Forrest. Willam Clark's appointment to the post completed the series of
changes made over the course of the past ten years. William
Clark's years as Chief are also noteworthy. For one thing, he will hold this
job from 1929 to 1960. Needless to say, the impact he will have on the
department over so many years will be immeasurable. As a new chapter of
fire department history unveils itself under his direction, ample opportunities
for evaluation of his administration can be made and will be offered. At the
conclusion of this section, tribute will be paid to the man and his countless
attributes. One can describe William
Clark best by saying he was the fireman's fireman. He commanded their
respect by running the department according to the rules and regulations of the
"old school" of thought. William Clark was one-of-a-kind, mixing
a talent of being a true "jack of all trades" around the station to
that of being truly knowledgeable in the strategies used in fighting
fires. He was the first Chief to choose the option of going to school for
the expressed purpose of learning about the trade. For this he was dubbed
the "educated fireman" of Lockport. Chief Clark could be
seen at his best on a scene of a fire as he seemed to have the knack for knowing
what to do and when to do it. Chief
Clark's mastery of this job was reflected in filling the equipment needs of the
department. This became visible when he designed a custom-built Reo tank
and horse wagon as one of his first projects. As the Chief saw it, the
department could use such a piece to serve those living outside of the city who
had no hydrants or fire protection. The prohibition period had seen
numerous attempts to manufacture home brews, but in some instances the stills
used were flammable and caused fires. In the 1920's the Chaney area
experienced an outbreak of these types of fires. The volunteers would
answer these whenever possible, but with this new equipment the area could be
reached and offered better protection. Farrell Manufacturing Company of
Joliet actually built the tank on the Reo pumper, and when it was finished, this
became the first known instance where a fire vehicle carried water to a fire on
a pumper. The Lockport Volunteer Department received attention from nearby
communities who envied this piece of equipment. This vehicle was commonly
referred to as a "prize possession" by our own city officials. This
notion was confirmed when Chicago summoned this unit to the scene of a stock
yard fire in 1924 to assist them in fighting the roof-top fires on their
buildings. It should be apparent to the
reader that the Lockport Volunteer firemen played an active and vital role in
the steady and continuous growth of the fire department. This was due in
large part to the recruitment of top-notch workers and leaders from within the
community. New faces surface regularly throughout the 30's who addition to
the volunteer force improves it. Besides the Chief and the other full-time paid
fireman, Butch Karstens, there were a host of volunteers new to the
department. Some of these men were Clarence Woock, Howard Sontag, Charles
Goss, Bill Miller, Tony Cunico, Roland Lif, Francis Miller, Frank
"Happy" Campbell, John Bannon, Joe O'Brien, and Richad Kehlenback.
The volunteers maintained an organization that fluctuated between 30 and 40
members through the 1930's. The
City of Lockport and the Lockport Volunteer Fire Department collaborated
together in the 30's on the construction of a new City Hall facility which would
house the fire department. Thanks to legistlation passed under the New
Deal, the FWPA provided the funds and th manpower to build and complete this
project. By 1937 this building was readied for occupancy. The
volunteers were quite pleased with their new home, and donated $3,000 of their
funds to this cause. This structure would serve as the focal point of fire
department history as it unfolds over the next twenty-two years.
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