Brief History

By HARRY G. PERKINS Kearney Hub Regional Correspondent

ELWOOD — Jan. 21, 1909, 33 Elwood men signed an agreement to form a volunteer fire department to serve their village.

On Dec. 12, 2009, more than 100 past and present Elwood Volunteer Fire Department firefighters and their friends celebrated a century of service to the Elwood area.

In that first meeting in 1909, minutes show, firefighters adopted a constitution and bylaws and elected officers. They formed rules and enforced them. Each member paid annual dues of $1, and any fireman who missed a meeting was charged 25 cents.

“I suspect the only equipment they had was a bucket brigade,” Ed Holden, current president of the department, said.

That changed rather soon. Two weeks after that first meeting, a committee was appointed to “purchase necessary equipment to fight fire.” A second committee was appointed to find an electric bell system, a third committee was appointed to raise money and a captain of a hose team was appointed.

A month later, the committee for electric bells was dismissed, and a purchase committee was formed to buy a bell and tower, which was acquired in March. At the April meeting, $11.40 was approved to buy ladders.

Construction of a hose room and tower to hang the hose was approved in May, but a year would pass before the hose was ordered, along with a fire cart, two axes and a coupling for hose connections.

Through the years, the minutes indicate the department trained and periodically cracked down on members to pay their fines for missing a meeting.

One way to get financial aid was found in 1914. The village trustees passed a resolution requiring that all insurance companies doing business in Elwood pay an occupation tax of $10. The money was given to the fire department.

At the meeting of Nov. 8, 1915, it was decided to hold a banquet at the December meeting, but when December came it was learned the committee failed to make preparations and the banquet was canceled.

The minutes reveal that the department charged citizens for fighting fires. In 1935, the charge was reduced from 25 cents to 10 cents.

The fire department had become a social fixture in the village with occasional references to a fireman’s ball, annual banquets and an occasional allowance for paying for beer.

In 1932 came the first mention of buying a fire truck. But the matter was laid over until 1935 when $100 was paid for a Model A truck.

At a meeting in November 1942, the department organized for air raid duties. In 1945, a newspaper notice was published announcing that fire equipment could be used to fight farm fires and the next year $1,200 was paid toward the cost of a new fire truck.

Fines for missing a meeting were increased from 10 cents to 75 cents and were doubled if a member missed two meetings in succession.

Tidbits from the minutes reveal much of life in past times. In 1976, the chief exhibited a new piece of equipment called a smoke detector. In that same year a portable-power extrication unit was purchased. It’s commonly known as Jaws of Life.

Steve Lofquist was appointed fire chief and the department named its first president, Roy Hilton, in August 1979.

In November 1979, a woman applied to join the department. The vote against having a woman firefighter carried, 9-4, and three years later, a motion to allow women on the rescue squad carried, 15-2.

The goal of caring for the community continues. In January 2009, the minutes noted that Ruth Hansen said she needed new batteries for her smoke detector. In that same meeting it was announced that Keith Withers and John Remmenga each had served with the department for 42 years.

The department today has 10 pieces of rolling equipment: two pumper trucks, a tanker, one large all-purpose truck principally used for grass fires, a front-line command unit that is the first piece of equipment to roll, three four-wheel pickups for grass fires, and two ambulances.

There are 35 men and women firefighters, and 12 people now are trained as emergency medical technicians. Eight more training with Pam Gardner of Johnson Lake.

The department’s responsibilities are not limited to the village of Elwood. It serves the rural area and Johnson Lake.