75 years ago: O’Fallon fire department purchased the pumper you still see in parades today
Looking back at stories that appeared in the O’Fallon Progress 125, 100, 75, and 50 years ago:
125 years ago, Dec. 1, 1899
“During his term of a little less than three years, Coroner Schildroth, of this county, has held 365 inquests. In that time the railroads of the county have killed 66.
“Forty-nine of the inquests have been on the remains of suicides. Of these 22 shot themselves, nine hanged themselves, three drowned themselves, two cut their throats, one took carbolic acid, one took Paris green, two took morphine and 1 jumped in front of a moving train.
“Of the 144 accidental deaths, 66 were on the railroads, 23 were drowned, 3 were accidentally shot, 12 were killed in coal mines, 11 were killed by falls, 4 were burned to death, 2 were killed by runaway teams, one was killed by a safe falling on him and one was electrocuted.
“There have been 22 murders and not one person has been hanged. 18 out of the 22 were committed by revolvers, the razor was used twice, one was strangled to death and one was killed by being hit on the head with a pitchfork.”
(Dr. Henry T. Schildroth was coroner of St. Clair County, 1896-1900.)
100 years ago, Nov. 27, 1924
“Motorists will soon be able to traverse State street without fear of being thrown from their cars or from being swallowed up by the depressions.
“Moved by a public spirit and interested in the city’s affairs the Willard boys of the Eureka foundry have offered their services and material in filing in the ponds and shell holes with ashes from their foundry. Several loads are being hauled every day and the depressions are rapidly disappearing.
“This work is commendable and the Willard boys deserve the praise of our citizens for the example they are setting. We feel that the city in general appreciates this act which no doubt will serve as an incentive for others to work in the interests of O’Fallon.
“It is our city and no one can do too much in fostering the interests of the town. The Business Men’s Association has already taken up the matter and are planning to give our city dads assistance in placing the streets in better shape.
“This is a vital question and should meet with encouragement on the part of every citizen. An appeal will go forth within the next few days and all will have an opportunity to show their public spirit.”
(The Eureka foundry manufactured cooking stoves and heaters at a factory off of what is now Betty Lane.)
75 years ago, Dec. 1, 1949
“O’Fallon’s newest fire-fighting equipment was received here by the city Tuesday afternoon, much to the delight of the volunteer firemen who have been struggling along with inadequate apparatus.
“With this newest type 85 pumper, a product of the Mack corporation, O’Fallon now takes its place as a city with a modernized fire department. This apparatus is a 750-gallon pumper capable of producing 1000 gallons of water per minute in emergency. In addition it has many of the new features and gadgets used in coping with a serious fire.
“The truck was manufactured at the Mack plant in Long Island, N. Y. and delivered to the Mack Motor Truck company in St. Louis for a series of tests in the presence of Mayor Henry M. Hesse, Chief Elton Dressel and firemen J. E. Hincliffe, Jr., Earl Friederich, Melvin Mayhill and William Suever, before it was released to the city.
“Chief Dressel and the firemen brought the truck here to be placed in service. The equipment was purchased by the city at a cost of $15,000 in accordance with a favorable vote by the people at the last city election to replace one of the present trucks which had been in use for 29 years.
“With the new Mack, the present Chevrolet and O.C.D. pumpers and a disaster unit recently purchased by the department from its own funds, O’Fallon may well be proud of its fire-fighting facilities which are to be supplemented by another $17,537 Howe triple combination high-pressure pumper recently purchased by the O’Fallon-Shiloh Valley-Caseyville Fire Protection District which is also to be housed here and manned by the local department.”
(The 1949 Mack was sold in 1981 but bought back in 1999. It has been owned by the department ever since.)
50 years ago, Nov. 28, 1974
“The O’Fallon Volunteer Fire Department is getting into the numbers game. Not the illegal kind of numbers racket, but the fire emergency numbers game.
“In three weeks, the fire department will be switching to a new electronic fire system for the rural fire district in O’Fallon.
“Ben Kroesen, fire volunteer who is in charge of the installation of the new system, said the department is trying to find those persons in the rural area who are without a “fire number’ or those who don’t know what their number is.
“When there is a fire, persons who call it in are supposed to give their fire number which each residence in the rural area has. The number helps firemen get a better location as to where the fire is. The new system to go into operation soon will make use of a large wooden map of the area and hundreds of tiny lights.
“At the present time, when a fire number is called in for an emergency, the resident’s card on file at the station is pulled. From this card, the firemen get the information concerning the location, type of buildings on the property and type of water service available.
“The new system will be different in a number of ways. When a fire is called in and the fire number is given, the firemen on duty will pull the resident’s fire card and then light up the board to give those firemen yet to arrive at the station the location of the fire at merely a glance. The lighted bulb will represent where the fire is and at the same time show the fastest and best route to follow.
“’Some of the more veteran members of the department know the back roads very well, but the newer members of the department aren’t as familiar with the roads,’ Kroesen said.
“Kroesen said there have been times when fire calls have come in and the location was hard to come by.
“’We have this type of problem from persons who have moved to the country for the first time and really don’t know where they are themselves. With the fire number and the electronic map, directions won’t be a problem,’ Kroesen said.
“But the co-operation of the rural residents is needed to call to receive a fire number. Those rural residents not having or not knowing their fire number should call Kroesen to receive a number.
“There are 700 rural residents with a fire number, Kroesen said, but there are at least 1,000 residences in the rural area, according to Kroesen’s estimates. There are 300 homes without fire numbers which is a dangerous situation to be in. The board is designed to hold 10,000 fire numbers but Kroesen said they are interested in getting everyone on the board that’s in the rural area at the present time.
“The map and lighting system cost approximately $500 and 300 man-hours to put together. There are approximately 125 rural fire calls a year and the system that will be going into effect in a couple of weeks won’t prevent any but will help firemen get to the scene faster.”