THE OLIVE FIRE DEPARTMENT

50 YEARS OF DETERMINATION, EVOLUTION AND SERVICE

In early 1947, there wasn’t an Olive Fire Department as we know it today.  In addition, Jackie Robinson still had not stepped up to the plate in the major leagues, the sound barrier had not been broken, nor had we ever heard of Elvis, The Beatles, Ronald MacDonald, Korea or Vietnam, and leaded regular gas was available for about 20 cents a gallon.

For 124 years, from 1823 when the town of Olive was chartered until 1947 – with the exception of a loyal but limited fire brigade in Shokan – any organized and equipped fire protection was imported from the town of Woodstock and other surrounding towns where trained volunteer departments existed.  When fire broke out, the obvious delay in response time coupled with firemen working in unfamiliar territory only produced marginal results.  Fire losses in the mid 1940’s at the North residence on Weber Lane in Olivebridge and a spectacular blaze at the Reformed Church in Krumville were particularly frustrating.

Among those most exasperated by the fire losses in the town of Olive was Albert S. Fox, Jr., a young Olivebridge dairy farmer who was particularly driven to improve the fire suppression effort in the town.  As recorded minutes state and local lore embellishes, a meeting was called for the cold wintry night of January 30, 1947, for 19 interested townsfolk to discuss organizing a fire district.  Of the 19 individuals invited, the record shows that “only 27” actually attended.  Other early meetings on March 12th and 14th provided the name and framework of the Department and established the first Board of Directors of seven individuals who included Percy Cook, Harlowe McLean, William Osterhoudt, Lester Barringer, Charles R. McLendon, Simeon Trowbridge and Albert S. Fox, Jr.  It was also resolved to locate the firehouse in the hamlet of Olivebridge. 

Company 1

April 28, 1947 was the first truly operational meeting of the Olive Fire Department and was called to authorize the purchase of a 1932 USA pumper.  Mr. George Larsen of the Vly provided the necessary financial support for the truck purchase.  The truck arrived soon thereafter and was temporarily garaged at Moehring’s – later to be Frank Miller’s – barn.  The August 28th, 1947 meeting of the Department found unanimous support for the purchase of the Anna Davis property for $800 at the corner of Route 213 and Mill Road on which to erect the permanent firehouse.  Under the leadership of Fire Chief Albert Fox and Assistant Howard Trowbridge, Company 1, Olivebridge, was well on its way.

Company 2

Success breeds success and the residents of the Shokan area liked the idea of locally available fire protection.  With Justice North, Les Lawrence and Bob Hardy spearheading the effort, site selection was made and the property for Company 2, Shokan, was purchased for the sum of $1000 from Chester and Dorothy Lyons in September of 1948.  Construction bids were sent out in May of 1949 with construction completing in December of the same year and provided housing for a used Sanford pumper.  Deputy Chief Les Lawrence, followed by John Adsit, Robert Adsit, Bud Buley and later years Carl Swenson, provided the necessary leadership.

Company 3

Like the residents of Shokan, in 1948 the citizens of West Shokan also desired local fire protection, but were stymied by the lack of a suitable location for the fire station.  In 1951, a 100 by 100-foot site was ultimately obtained adjoining the Town Offices and Highway Department Garage.  The firehouse was completed in 1952 and proudly housed a 1933 Pirsch fire truck obtained from the Roosevelt, Long Island Fire Department.  With Director George Reitmeyer and Deputy Chief Irv Hesley in key leadership roles, Captain Marcel Maier and a capable roster including Ray Bell, Joe Winkler, Walt Schmockle, Walt Lang, Charlie Muller, and Fred Keogan Sr. provided fire protection along the shores of the beautiful Bushkill and beyond. 

Company 4

The time was prime for expansion in 1953 when Lester Barringer, Henry Merrihew and Ernie Richert were looking for support to establish a fourth fire station, this time in Samsonville.  The firehouse was built in 1954 on land donated by Ole Petersen.  New truck acquisitions allowed for the placement of the old 1932 USA to be relocated to Samsonville.  The USA served in that capacity until it was replaced in 1959 by a new GMC pumper.  Initially under the reins of Deputy Chief Ernie Richert, the other original members of Company 4, Samsonville, included Henry Johnson, Mo Stella, Floyd Brown, Alexander Adami, Earl Paul, Brad Kelder, Larry White, Carl Sorensen and James Burke.

The Olive Fire Department was well on its way in 1955 with the unique distinction among neighboring towns in that although each hamlet in the town had its own Company, all Companies operated under one Department and all reported to the Department Chief.  The efficiency to both the taxpayer and to the individual with the emergency was immediately clear.  When the alarm was called in, the Department could provide an “internal” mutual aid response without importing other departments that might be unfamiliar with the territory and – even more critical – the location and availability of precious water to extinguish the blaze.  The critical linkage became the mechanism to alert three or four Companies simultaneously to provide the response.  Through the ingenuity of Kip Donahue and Bill Jackson of New York Telephone, a pair of uniquely designed ring down circuits was implemented and expressly tariffed to care for the need.  The front-line operators including Jean Adsit, Anna Lawrence, Kitty Trowbridge, Kathleen Hesley and Jane Fox, provided 24-hour, 365 days of year access for the public and – in addition – guidance to the responding units on radio channel KRS-356.

Company 5

In 1958, the Onteora Central School was growing in leaps and bounds, and the Boiceville area needed better access for fire protection.  On June 16, 1958, an organizational meeting chaired by Jim Clemens was held at the Clemens Snack Bar and included Peter S. Tosi, Sr., Art Gribbons, Sr., Joe Bonesio, Ray Mercier and Bill Doing.  A suitable location for the fire station was once again an issue until a lease arrangement was brokered in 1959 with the New York City Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electric.  Ground breaking for the firehouse was on December 26, 1959, and construction was completed in March, 1960.  The 1933 Pirsch fire truck from West Shokan provided the initial response unit until a new 1960 International pumper was placed in service later that year.  Under Deputy Chief Bill Doing and fellow officers Ray Mercier, Joe Bonesio and Willie John, the volunteers from Company 5 were established and provided the final phase of expansion.

Determination, evolution and service are the hallmarks of many successful organizations.  Growing from those initial 27 determined townsfolk in 1947 to a current membership of 121 well trained members in spite of 50 years of challenges, State mandates, and internal discussions has not been easy.  The “OFD” has evolved both organizationally and physically from the borrowed barn space in Olivebridge in 1947 to the five current first-class sites included the expanded Samsonville station and the state-of-the-art Company 2 station put in service in 1996.  Service is now dispatched throughout the town via the Ulster County 911 system and can initiate a response from anyone or all of the 11 modern fire apparatus vehicles deployed throughout the town.

The old “USA” is currently being refurbished and will be a fitting tribute to those members who have answered their last call.  Into the next 50 years, the Olive Fire Department stands ready with DETERMINATION, the ability to EVOLVE to meet new challenges, and the SERVICE response that the citizens of the town of Olive have depended on since 1947.

In remembrance of April 28, 1947 – Happy 50th Anniversary OFD!

Peter Nissen

Assistant Treasurer, Olive Fire Department