Pioneer Mutual Hook and Ladder Society (PMHLS) is a tax exempt historical society dedicated to all firefighters. PMHLS was founded on April 24, 1990 to establish a fire museum in Sacramento, California. As reflected by its name, the society honors the first organized Sacramento Fire Company, Mutual Hook & Ladder Company #1, formed on February 5, 1850.
The purpose of our organization is to collect, preserve, and display fire related equipment and memorabilia in a permanent museum. A museum fund was established to secure a permanent building to display the equipment and memorabilia already in storage, and for future acquisitions and donations.
The 39th annual l0-7 Luncheon (a once-a-year gathering of retired firefighters from throughout the Sacramento region) was held on Thursday, November 10th at 12:00 noon at the Newman Center. 190 paid attendees came together to regale themselves on fine food and conversation. Many volunteers assisted in putting the event together and are grateful to have had such a large attendance. Thanks to all of you, on both sides of the chow line.
The Swap Meet in September was another success for Pioneer Mutual. We made a few dollars, as our treasurer notes. More importantly, we made some significant purchases to add to our inventory of must-have’s. See the Collection’s Report for details.
On a less favorable note, I must report that the attendance
at our 22nd annual Firefighter
s Memorial
service in October was wanting. Our featured speakers, Sacramento City Councilman
Steve Cohn along with Fire Chief Kurt Henke (Metro’s new fire chief,
pictured at right) gave eloquent and meaningful addresses to those in attendance.
Unfortunately, too few were present to appreciate their sentiments. Obviously,
we fell short in our attempts to promote the program. We’ll do better
next year. We do this not only to honor those California firefighters who
died in the line of duty during the year, but also lest we forget this hallowed
ground—the Exempt Firemen’s Plot—as we have in the past.
With that thought in mind, I submit the following excerpt from a report
prepared on the Firemen’s Plot by Pioneer Mutual in 2003:
Pioneer Mutual recently completed a survey of those entombed at the Exempt Fireman's Plot at Sacramento's Old City Cemetery. The study included only those who are memorialized with a headstone. The information collected was assembled in a database where it could be analyzed more readily. Aside from providing an easily accessible record of the deceased, the work provides some interesting insights.
Within the confines of the Exempt Fireman's Plot, there are a total of 122 headstones, be they simple stone markers or more elaborate monuments. These headstones represent 136 individuals, two of whom are identified as Unknown.
Of the 136 interments, 97 occurred before the year 1900; the rest, 39, came later. The first recorded burial took place in 1853, the last in 2001; this being for George King, retired Fire Engineer with the Sacramento Fire Department. The last burial prior to George and his wife Barbara’s was in 1958.
While assembling the data for this survey, the question has come up: are there others besides firemen and their relations buried in the Exempt Fireman’s Plot? It’s likely. Ownership of the site was granted to the Exempt Fireman’s Association in the 1850s by the city. The Association, however, returned title of it to the city in 1900. A bit of research would surely answer this question.There are, though, a substantial number of firemen buried in the Exempt Fireman’s Plot: at least 67 – not counting George – according to this study. Their fire company designations, Engine Companies No. 1 through No. 6, are etched into their headstones. The entombments of these firemen range in time from 1853 to 1901 and, thus, spanned the eras of both the volunteers and the paid fire department, which began in 1872.
Crab Feed
Pioneer Mutual will be holding our 2lst annual Crab Feed on Saturday, January
28, 2012. It will be held again at St. Mary's Parish Hall located at 58th
and M Streets. For tickets contact Craig Barmby at 916-686-8395 or Ed Basurto
at 916-457-9998.
Memorial
Pioneer Mutual’s 22nd Annual Fallen Firefighters' Memorial was held
on Saturday, October 8th at the Exempt Firemen’s Plot located in the
Old City Cemetery on Broadway and Riverside Boulevard. This program honors
those California firefighters who have made the ultimate sacrifice during
the past year. This year's program coincided with many other programs across
the country honoring those lost ten years ago on 9/11/01. As time passes
the importance of these events seems to lessen. Those individuals who plan
and present this event would like to see more active and retired members
attend this annual event. Next year's memorial will be held at the same
location on October 13, 2012 at 9:30 a.m.
Aerial Ladder Restoration
Earlier this year Pioneer Mutual entered into an agreement with a fire equipment
restoration company located in Estes Park, Colorado to renovate our 1914
Ahrens Fox Tractor and 1911 Seagrave Aerial Ladder Trailer. The rigs were
originally purchased by the Sacramento Fire Department; We obtained them
in May of 2007 from the owner of the Ponderosa Ranch at Incline Village.
Earlier this month they were transported from Sacramento to the restoration
shop in Estes Park. The project will take approximately two years to complete.
We will make periodic reports in future newsletters to update you on the
progress of this exciting undertaking.
Captain Harvey Heiser began his career with the Sacramento Fire Department in the early 1900s and lucky for us he had an interest in collecting memorabilia and preserving the history of the fire service. He collected and displayed memorabilia until he died in 1958. His collection was obtained and expanded by Jack Henry. Jack Henry retired from the Arcade Fire Department as the fire chief. His father, Jack Henry was a Sacramento Fireman who died in the line of duty at the Sutter Candy Store fire in 1921. Chief Henry sold the collection to Jim and Ellie Hoekenga in the early 1980s. Jim and Ellie brought portions of the collection to the PMHLS Swap Meet. We made some purchases at the swap meet and received several photographs from them as a donation. We made a deal the day following the swap meet to purchase the remaining Sacramento area portion of the collection. A partial list of the items includes:
Another Donation: Loran Wolcott obtained a donation from James Dunphy via Kathy Martin. James Dunphy is a nephew of Fire Chief Michael Dunphy. Items include three of Chief Dunphy’s badges, a 1925 SFD Souvenir book, a 1935 Souvenir Program for the Pacific Coast Association of Fire Chiefs, The 41st Anniversary and Annual Fire Book of the Veteran Firemen’s Association of San Francisco (1940), 1927 SFD Rules & Regulations Book, 1940 SFD Fire Prevention Manual 1940, SFD Fire Prevention Manual 1948, photo of Fire Chief Schmiser, a photo of Engine 2 (Young America), and two photos of Chief Dunphy in his office.
Restoration of Sacramento Truck 1 - 1914 Ahrens-Fox Tractor
and 1911 Seagrave Aerial: The truck has been stored at Station 21 since
its donation to PMHLS by the Ponderosa Ranch in 2007. The tractor and trailer
were separated by the Harrah’s Auto Collection during their ownership.
Truck 1 was purchased by the Ponderosa Ranch in 1981 with the tractor on
display indoors and the trailer stored outdoors. The tractor and trailer
were re-coupled on October 29th with the help of Metro Station 21 B-shift
in preparation for transport to the restoration shop in Estes Park, Colorado.
Truck 1 was loaded onto Doug Klink’s transport trailer on November
2nd (photo below) and arrived at his shop on the 3rd. Restoration will begin
in the spring and is expected to take two years to complete. Restoration
progress can be followed at: http://reliancefiremuseum.org/blog/category/Sacramento%20tiller.
The swap meet was good as usual. Thank you to those who dropped by. Hope you found some treasures.
On October 7th Pioneer’s Hand-Drawn Ladder Truck was
displayed at the Firemen’s Gala. The next day it made an appearance
at the Memorial Services accompanied by a crew of Pioneer members in Period
Uniforms (below).
Work continues at the shop as we change over to winter conditions (Turning off the swamp coolers).
On November 2nd a going away party was held at Station
21 for the departure of the Ahrens Fox Tractor and Seagrave Trailer. It
is going to Estes Park, Colorado. With Ed Schultz at the wheel and Randy
Wootton on the Tiller it was, without fanfare, winched onto the Custom Transport
for the trip. It is now at the Reliance Restoration Shop.
Saturday November 12th, with great fanfare, a 1953 Pontiac Ambulance (formerly of the Citrus Heights Fire Dept.) arrived at Station 21 with its red lights flashing and siren wailing. (See photo above.) Rich Bickel was behind the wheel on its final run in his possession. He turned over the keys to Pioneer’s Collection. Thanks Rich.
Holiday Greetings to all. Don’t forget the Crab Feed.
Gil.
In last month’s newsletter I put out a request for a volunteer to assist in transcribing one of our museum documents, which was written in calligraphy. Doug Lent, a retired firefighter from the Sacramento Fire Department, jumped in to assist and is now transcribing (ok, translating) the document. Thanks, Doug.
There was an error in our last issue’s Feature Article,
which dealt with Sacramento’s 1911 Jubilee Parade. A reader advised
us that there were actually two Metropolitan steam engines in the Sacramento
Fire Department’s inventory and that the steamer pictured in the article
was not the same steamer now owned by the Los Angeles County Fire Museum.
We appreciate learning about the second Metropolitan steamer.
We received an email last September from a gentleman living in Auburn who wished to donate to Pioneer an antique air pump designed to supply air to a fireman’s smoke mask. It was manufactured in England in the middle of the 19th century by Siebe Gorman Ltd. A foot pedal was depressed by an operator to pump air into a double billowed pump in order to keep a constant flow of air to the helmet (see photo at right). In the early 1900s, more efficient competitors in the field reduced company sales of the device, so Siebe Gorman adapted a large brass horn to the unit and marketed the pump as a fire siren and also as a fog horn, as depicted in the picture below.
Pioneer is grateful to receive this donation,
which adds to our ever-expanding collection of the firefighting tradition.
Our sincere thanks to our generous patron.
In September Pioneer Mutual co-hosted the annual Northern California Fire Equipment and Memorabilia Swap Meet. We had a pretty good turnout this year and quite a selection of items for sale or trade. We were able to sell a few yearbooks and some surplus equipment that netted our organization $1,542.00. Of course, as usually happens, we also purchased a few items but I will leave that part of the story for the collections article.
As I have done in past winter newsletters I would like to acknowledge the memorial contributions made to Pioneer Mutual during the past year. We received contributions in honor of Helen Bingingham, Terrence Gee, Carolyn Martinez, Florence Barmby, Richard Mandonca and Pete Laurendeau. On behalf of Pioneer Mutual thank you for these contributions.
I do have a couple of new items to mention in this article. First thing is Pioneer Mutual is now on Facebook. There are pictures of recent activities and some old pictures plus some reprints of old news- paper articles. We will continue to add more as time goes on. Thanks to Fergus Johnson of the Sacramento Fire Dept. for setting up our Facebook page. If you are on Facebook check us out at Pioneer Mutual Hook and Ladder Society and add your name to our friends list.
The other news I have is part of what I always mention in the winter newsletter, the annual Pioneer Mutual Crab Feed. This year we have some new blood on board to assist me with ticket sales. Retired SFD Captain Ed Basurto has kindly volunteered his time to help with this event. This year you can call either Ed at 916-457-9998 or me at 916-686-8395 for tickets. The date this year is January 28, 2012 so mark your calendars and plan to attend.
In closing I would like to thank all our members for your
continued support of Pioneer Mutual and wish everyone a Merry Christmas
and a prosperous New Year.
To set the background for this article, a brief explanation of the workings of Sacramento’s volunteer fire department is in order. The Sacramento Volunteer Fire Department served the City of Sacramento for some 22 years, from 1850 to 1872. The department, for the most part, consisted of six engine companies, one hook and ladder company and one hose company, all of which used hand-drawn fire equipment. Adequate manpower was needed to transport and operate the pumpers, ladder equipment and hose lines, etc. and therefore each fire company tended to have a large complement of members to accomplish its assigned tasks. Engine companies had 65 or so members, the hook and ladder company ranged from 24 up to 44 men at times and the hose company from 20 to 25.
Leadership of the fire department above the company level consisted of a Chief Engineer (now called a Fire Chief) and two Assistant Chief Engineers. At the company level, the Foreman was in charge. All leadership positions were elective. The individual companies would elect their foremen: they would also, if they opted to, elect a member(s) of their company to vie for the chief and/or assistant chief positions. Each year at the beginning of August, the Chief Engineer and his assistants were elected to their respective positions for one-year terms by the members of the entire fire department, which generally totaled in the neighborhood of 450 firemen. This article is about one of those Chief Engineers.
William Dalton Farrell was born in Ireland in 1832-33 and came to Sacramento after living for a time first in New Orleans and then in San Francisco. He ultimately arrived in our fair city around 1863 near the age of 31. He quickly settled into family life, marrying Mary Green (also Irish born) in January of 1864 at Saint Rose’s Church. They had six children between 1864 and 1873, all born in Sacramento. During his years here he worked as a proprietor of various lodging establishments, as a machinist and as a saloon keeper. Farrell also appears to have been active in local politics for a time, serving as a delegate to the conventions of the Sacramento Democratic Central Committee in 1868 and 1870.
WDF’s involvement with the volunteer fire department appears to have begun in 1865 when he was enrolled with the Knickerbockers’ Fire Engine Company No. 5. He became Foreman of that company in 1868 and held that position until August of 1870. He was very active in the social affairs of the fire department serving on various committees in support of numerous functions, such as social balls, parades, funerals and the like.
In 1870 the Knickerbockers nominated him as their candidate for Chief Engineer in the upcoming election. The Sacramento Daily Union of Aug. 1, 1870 reports the anticipation:
Firemen's Election— The firemen of the city were full of excitement last evening over the election which is to take place this afternoon for Chief and Assistant Engineers. The polls, which are to be held at the house of Confidence No. 1, will be open between the hours of 12 M (Midnight) and 6:30 P.M. For Chief Engineer there are four candidates: John Hunt, of No. 3; A. H. Hapeman (present incumbent), of No. 4; W. D. Farrell, of No. 5, and A. M. Howard of No. 6. ...
The Union reported the election results the next day: Farrell, 175 votes; Howard, 150 votes; Hunt, 53 votes; and Hapeman, 7 votes. “When the result was announced, the ‘boys’ had a grand jubilee, ringing the bells, building bonfires, etc.”
We get a little insight into the character of WDF with another article from the same paper little more than a month after the election. The September 12th copy carries the following piece:
The Chief Acting Correctly — Saturday night, when it had been ascertained that the alarm of fire was false, the Chief of the Fire Department, W. D. Farrell, went to the house of Protection Engine Company No. 2, whose bell rang first, and told the members of the company and others gathered there, that he did not intend to allow the Department to be disgraced with false alarms, but would arrest the first person he found creating them. P. O' Kiefe, as we are informed, replied that someone in the alley near the house shouted "Fire" and that was the cause of the bell's being rung. Farrell suggested that he did not consider that any excuse. After some further remarks on the subject of arresting the culprit, O' Kiefe said Farrell should not take a man from the house, and was answered that arrests would be made, and he would be as likely to be the person taken as anyone. A minute or two afterwards, while they were disputing, O' Kiefe drew a pistol quickly and struck Farrell on the head with it, cutting quite a gash. The latter came down town and had his wound dressed, and yesterday O' Kiefe was arrested for drawing a deadly weapon not in self-defense, and for assault and battery. Whatever may have been the provocation or lack of provocation in this case, the public will be gratified to find the head of the Fire Department laboring to correct the evils which have been charged against that body.
WDF’s term as Chief Engineer ended in August of 1871 when George Schmeiser was chosen to succeed him at the annual election of officers. Schmeiser would be the last Chief Engineer of the volunteer fire department as efforts were underway to establish a paid fire department. In the spring of 1872 a bill was submitted to the state legislature to do just that. William D. Farrell, acting now as a concerned and knowledgeable citizen of the city, wrote a letter to the Union in support of the bill. The missive reads in part:
…It is absolutely necessary that a change should be made, and a steam Fire Department organized at once, or there is danger that the city will be left almost defenseless. The present volunteer department is badly demoralized, its hose and other apparatus are in a very poor condition for service, and the department will probably disband unless a paid department is provided for. The present volunteer department, even if in good order, cannot be as efficient as a Paid Fire Department supplied with good steamers. Each company now on arriving at a fire, being anxious to work, taps a hydrant, and the result is that the supply of water to each engine, six in number, is limited and cannot be increased. Two steamers would only require two hydrants, and each steamer could suck the water and thus help fill itself. Besides, steamers never tire…
Farrell remained a Sacramento resident for a few more years
before relocating to San Francisco with his wife and children. Mary passed
away there on March 1, 1883: her husband brought her back to Sacramento
for funeral services and burial at Saint Joseph’s Cemetery. William
then returned to San Francisco, where he lived another 22 years finding
employment in a variety of pursuits. William Dalton Farrell passed away
on January 28, 1905. Funeral services for him were held at St. Rose’s
Church in San Francisco. He was interned at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma,
San Mateo County, CA.
This Events Calendar is published here to announce and promote planned activities of Pioneer Mutual, as well as the upcoming events of local associated organizations.
ticket. All tickets are numbered so you can organize
individual seating for any group size, large of small. Contact Craig Barmby
at 916-686-8395 or Ed Basurto at 916-457-9998 for your tickets. Call early!
We're going to have a full house this year.