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DOWN HISTORY LANE WITH THE EFD
Article from the fall 1999 city newsletter
In the last few issues we have been following the development of our department from the start at a council meeting on April 27, 1911. We ended last issue with the arrival of the first fire truck that could be recognized by today’s standards. You may have even seen this in a parade or two; it has been loaned back to us on occasion to display. Affectionately known as “Herman,” we have a picture of Roy Ross driving with Charlie Denlinger riding shotgun in the parade for the town’s centennial, framed and hanging on the wall in our meeting room at the station. Think for a moment of the circumstances when this was acquired. This truck was purchased at the World Fair in Chicago in 1933. Imagine a small town in Iowa going into Chicago during the great depression when nobody had any money and buying a fire truck. This was front-page news and rightfully so. The truck was an open cab model, and when the men went to pick it up in Chicago the temperature was 10 degrees below zero. Actually, it was just another example of going above and beyond the call of duty performed by the volunteers of the Epworth Fire Department. Of course, there have been some through the years that would have braved worse than that to have their picture taken by the papers! Leo Steckel was the chief while all the groundwork would have been done on the biggest purchase and step forward the department had made to date. What a giant leap forward in quality for the department. After this truck was put in service, there was not much significant activity for a few years. You might think they were coasting, but the Epworth Fire Department has never coasted. Remember the depression and then the onset of World War II, two of the most important events of the century. It is a wonder they were even able to persevere, rather than collapsing back into the old days of an unorganized group of good neighbors doing the best they could with limited resources and training. Emmett Grimes succeeded Chief Steckel in 1933 after serving since 1927. Chief Grimes served through the depression and the war up until 1947. Looking back, we wonder if he ever realized how important it was to hold things together. In any event the foundation was there, when the firestorm that was Chief Dan McDermott, took over in November 1947.
Article from the fall 2000 city newsletter
Note: This issue’s column is dedicated in memory of Dave “Edwone” Urbain. Dave passed away September 17th, 2000. He was a member of the department for 7 years from 1979 to 1986, achieving Firefighter 1 and EMT-I certifications. Edwone always loved a good joke. Quick witted and clever, he was a good fireman and a good friend.
Our travels down history lane have taken us from 1911 up to 1947. In the last issue we arrived at the point in November 1947 when Dan McDermott was installed as the chief. We mentioned the three entities involved in fire protection: the City of Epworth, The Epworth Community Volunteer Fire Department, (the rural area) and the Epworth Volunteer Firemen, Inc.,(the crew). It was possible for each to have it’s own leader and for a time it appeared there might actually be two chiefs, one for the city and another for the rural. Dan realized that would never be workable. He called Chief Dunphy of the Dubuque Fire Department to come to Epworth and advise the Department how to get things started on the right foot. Chief Dunphy’s presentation stressed leadership structure, organizational structure and training. Realizing the logic, the boards of each side installed Dan as the chief. Of course, minutes later, the men were ordered out to exercise the pump and to clean and polish the truck. Almost all readers will have their own “Dan McDermott story” and none of those would include the Chief saying “ Let’s just wait and see what happens.” No, Dan was the true embodiment of the phrase “the busier the hands, the happier the lad.” Whether it was running the locker or any of the other various endeavors of work, or the Fire Department, Dan believed if it could be done, it should be done and the sooner, the better. Dan organized the crew into it’s own non profit corporation. The Epworth Volunteer Firemen, Inc., is a true 501(c) non profit organization, incorporated in 1947, with a president and a board of directors. Ronnie Silker was the first president, serving from 1947 to 1952. Charlie Denlinger was the first Vice President and Laverne Hackbarth was the first Secretary-Treasurer. Mr. Hackbarth served two years and was succeeded by Ken Kennedy who served for 30 years, from 1950 through 1979.
Now, there was a structure for dealing with the other two boards, and there was a legitimate organization for fundraising and receiving tax-deductible donations. With the base of a solid organizational and leadership structure in place, Dan could tackle the task of training and equipping the department up to his ideals. As you can guess, tackle this he did, and we’ll follow that in the next issue.
Article from the fall 2001 city newsletter
The Epworth Fire Department moves into new quarters.
We have been following the development of the Epworth Fire Department over the past issues, and even though we took a detour to a specific call in the last issue, we are at the start of Chief Dan McDermott’s tenure. We know that when Dan was installed as chief in November 1947, that things would happen quickly.
From the November 3rd, 1948 DYERSVILLE COMMERCIAL we learn that the Epworth Community Fire Department (the rural community) has purchased a pumper to be used on rural fires. The Epworth Community Fire Department had a membership of 170 who each paid $50 per share of stock. This provided the funds to purchase the truck from Flour City Body Co. of Minneapolis for $7,600 and that included 1000 feet of hose. This truck would be manned by the Epworth Firemen and would respond only to member’s fires or to calls in the city under the agreement to provide the housing of the truck.
A small problem developed in that the current facility in the I.O.O.F. building only had room for one truck and the city already had a fire truck that they purchased at the World Fair in Chicago in 1933. We say small because the department immediately set about raising the funds to build a new fire station adjoining the Odd Fellows building to the west. Today, that fire station is the Police Station/Eldon King Center and the parking lot to the east is where the Odd Fellows building was. So, in less than one year, Dan had doubled the number of trucks and in the process outgrew his station. The new station was a 26 x 40 building and built entirely with the donated labor of the fire department and friends. When finished, the station was turned over to the city entirely free of debt; a gift of the members of the Epworth Fire Department and friends.
To quote the article in the Dyersville Commercial: “This fine spirit of co-operation and sincerity of the Epworth Fire Department and their friends cannot be too highly commended. It shows their unselfish spirit, their interest in the town of Epworth and their willingness to protect life and property. Again we say, you all are to be congratulated in your accomplishments of your civic enterprise.” In regard to the hard work of the members of the Epworth Fire Department and the fantastic support of our many friends, it can truly be said “ The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Article from the fall 2002 city newsletter
In the last issue, we talked about how the fire department had added a new truck and therefore had to add more space, which resulted in the donation of a new building to the city. We also listed the rural board for fire protection outside the city limits and also the positions of responsibility for the members of the fire department. Now the department had some equipment and the base to build from. Chief Dan McDermott realized right away that the department could never be as good as they could or should be without a complete dedication to training. True to form, Dan tackled this immediately also, he was never afraid to attack in several directions at once. After being installed as chief during the re-organization in November 1947, Dan instituted training drills on the first and third Mondays of each month. The first Monday also included a short business meeting. Actually, the more things change the more they stay the same; today we have our business meeting on the first Monday – now almost always too long to include training on the same evening. We still have our fire drill on the third Monday. We have expanded to include medical or EMS training on the fourth Monday – Dan got us into the ambulance service in the late sixties, but that will be in a future column. We use the second Monday for officer meetings, work details, site visits, special training sessions, etc. Obviously, this was done before Monday night football, we usually only have a Monday evening off when there are 5 Mondays in the month. Anyway, back to 1948. In January, Captain Cosgrove of the Dubuque Fire department gave a class on organizing the department and Wm. Meyers of Iowa State came up for a class on pump operation. By April of 1948, Dan had arranged for Meyers to return to DubuqueCounty, and along with Captain Cosgrove, to put on a fire school open to all departments in the county. At the opening class, there were all Epworth members present, as well as members from Farley, Centrailia, and Dyersville, including various dignitaries such as mayors and council members. The school ran four sessions, and it appears attendance averaged around 65 students between all departments.
There were demonstrations by manufacturer’s reps on nozzles and classes and practical drills on all sorts of firefighting skills. The school was widely praised, probably largely due to the capability of Meyers and the other instructors. By the August meeting the Mayor was on hand to present the members with their certificates from the Iowa State College Engineering Extension Service. This class was the foundation and start of the tradition of training that we have drawn on all these years.
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