Firefighters celebrate 100 years of history

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Round Lake-2/14/12, Tues./RL Station 1 Round Lake Fire crew from 1939 from a photo displayed during celebration. | Joe Shuman~For Sun-Times Media

The history

First meeting: Feb. 14, 1912

First chief: Edward Brown

First station: 322 Railroad Avenue (was the village hall and now a storage building).

First run: To Long Lake

First hand pumper: 1989 Demming hand pump.

First money: $3.25 charter member assessment.

First motorized pump: 1929 pumper built by Peter Pirsch & Sons in Kenosha, Wis., named “Old Pete” (now used in parades).

Article Extras

Updated: April 15, 2012 1:45AM

The Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District celebrated its 100th birthday Tuesday and it gave a glimpse into past history of the village and its fire department, which includes women running the department during World War I.

Don Luby, 82, was at the celebration to receive the commemorative badge the department made up for retired and present day personnel and see some old friends. He is the third generation firefighter for the district. His grandfather, Mike, was one of the founding members and his father, Clarence “Jim” Luby was also on the force.

“We actually lived in the fire department for awhile. My mother blew the siren,” he said. Sometimes she let him blow the siren. He was the custodian for St. Joseph’s in downtown Round Lake, and that was why he made most of the calls.

“I pulled up that stone that says ‘1927’ on the top of the building,” he said, using a pulley system. “I shoveled most of the concrete to build this station,” he said of Station No. 2 at the end of Cedar Lake Road downtown.

“I remember we used to sell fire tags to the citizens. They were $2 a piece,” he said.

Ted Morris, 70, of Grayslake, came over to say hello. He joined the volunteer force in 1969. He was always around town working as a mechanic or in construction. “I’d heard the whistle blow and then they would blow it a second time because no one showed up,” he said.

“Sometimes I’d just look up and down the street and see if there was anybody on the sidewalk, and I’d grab an extra coat and bring them along,” he said. Luby interjected, “Sometimes I’d pull up to Lambert’s Tavern (now Copa’s) and blow the horn,” he said. “Yea,” said Morris, “We had a couple of regulars that we would get from there all the time.”

Morris recalls you would get $2 a fire as a clothing allowance. Luby recalled one New Year’s there were six fires, and at one of them, Fire Chief Bill Harrison was standing there yelling to give him some water. “He was in a tuxedo because he was going to a party. We gave it to him,” said Luby, getting the chief wet.

“He was a good chief. He never asked you to do something he wouldn’t do,” said Luby.

Fire Chief Paul Maplethorpe read from the actual minutes of the first meeting of the fire department on Feb. 14, 1912. “The danger of Fire and other calamities is greatly increasing with the growth of our village and as the protection offered is not sufficient, be it therefore resolved that we in mass meeting assembled organize a volunteer fire department that we may render such assistance on short notice as may be necessary to protect life and property.”

He had to stop a few times because of radio calls blasting in the station, and he joked that they just had as many calls as they had all year in 1912. “I think we just beat them. It’s nothing like the 4,400 calls we run in a year now,” he said.

The meeting minutes also revealed that charter members paid 25 cents a piece to be a part of the volunteer fire department when it was first started. Later, members put second mortgages on their own homes to build the second fire station.

Before the department was officially started, the Armour Meat Packing Company had purchased a hand pump in 1898 to help fight fires. The reason was they had an ice packing operation on Round Lake where the Alpine Country Club is today.

“A traveling salesman from Boston, Mass., came through selling them and a number of communities purchased one, including Grayslake, Lake Villa, Antioch and Wauconda,” Maplethorpe said. “Antioch, Grayslake and Wauconda’s still exist,” he said,

On another historic note, during World War I, every able-bodied man went to the war effort. “The women took over when they left. That means we’ve had female firefighters since World War I,” he said.

Fire District President Michael Kohlmeyer followed in his father Edward’s footsteps as president of the district. “As a kid we had to sell hot dogs and brats at the dances and fund-raisers. There’s a lot of memories,” he said.