ANTIQUE FIRE ASSOCIATION of NEW JERSEY RETURN of the

CALLBOARD
ANTIQUE FIRE ASSOCIATION of NEW JERSEY
JANUARY 2012 - NORTH JERSEY CHAPTER of SPAAMFAA – VOL. 31, ISSUE 1
NO DECEMBER AFANJ CHAPTER MEETING
NEXT MEETING: THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2012 – 7:30 PM
New Jersey Firemen’s Home 565 Lathrop Ave Boonton, NJ 07005
(Above) An impressive line-up Six of the Ahrens-Fox piston pumpers that attended the muster at the Maryland
Fire Museum in May 2011 posed together for a family portrait. Rigs are staged (left to right) from the oldest to
the newest of the Foxes.
RETURN of the FLYING FOXES?
Thirty pieces of fire apparatus manufactured
by
Cincinnati,
Ohio-based
Ahrens-Fox
gathered at Conshohocken, PA, on Saturday,
September 28, 1974, for an event that was
billed as the “Flying Foxes.”
Engines
supporting the company’s well-recognized
“silver sphere” came from seven states to
participate in the parade.
Fox dignitaries
present for the event included the then owner
of the company, Curt Nepper, and former Fox
salesman Frank Griesser. Piston pumpers
accounted for 24 of the rigs present, the rest
being equipped with
centrifugal pump.
either
a
rotary
or
The event proved extremely popular and was
duplicated in a number of locations out on
Long Island, NY, and in our own Morristown.
Many of our more senior members recall
seeing a whole line-up of Foxes shooting water
over the dam in Valhalla, NY, a feat that was
not appreciated by motorists on the road that
ran above.
Unfortunately, as the decades passed by, the
number of Foxes regularly attending parades
and musters dwindled to a precious few. That
was, until this past May 21 when the Fire
Museum of Maryland, located in Lutherville,
decided to sponsor “Ahrens-Fox Day.”
(Above)
Woodbury’s
Continental steamer.
1911
Ahrens
1916 – K-3 (SN-672) 600 gpm – Friendship
Fire Company, Woodbury, NJ (owned until
recently by Darryl Goodrich of Grover’s Mill,
NJ)
The event’s organizers predicted 30 AhrensFoxes would be on display. The number that
actually participated was less than anticipated
– fourteen - and although this number may
have seemed rather small when compared to
the original event, what could not be
overlooked was the overall condition of these
engines.
Keep in mind that the oldest
motorized rig was almost 100 years old at the
time. It, like the majority of those present had
been faithfully restored and ran as only a Fox
can. Of those few that were not yet in running
condition, all were slated for overhauls, with
one awaiting a restoration that will cost over
$100,000.
1917 – K-2 (SN-639) 1,000-gpm – Baltimore
Fire Department Museum
1918 – K-34 (SN-690) 600 gpm front mounted
rotary – Bellevue, KY
1919 I-K-Y (SN-756) 750 GPM – ex-Frederick,
MD (privately owned)
1922 – K-J-5-4 (SN-1114) 750 gpm – exBaltimore, MD – owned by Fire Museum of
Maryland.
Highlights of the day were a parade from
nearby Towsen to the Museum’s grounds. It
was led by a horse drawn Ahrens steamer
owned by Woodbury, NJ.
Their recently
acquired Ahrens-Fox pumper did not join it.
The Museum’s 1922 ex-Baltimore Fox carried
Mack historian Harvey Eckart. Once all the
rigs were safely back on the Museum’s
grounds, several of the HTs and one of the
rotaries decided to “do their thing,” and do it
they did!
1933 – CT-4 (SN-4006) 1,000 gpm – York Fire
Museum, York, PA
A list of the rigs attending is presented below.
1939 VC (SN-9071) 500 gpm – Munster, IN
1911 – Continental (SN-184) 600 gpm –
Friendship Fire Company, Woodbury, NJ.
(Horse drawn steamer.)
1939 IT (SN-3455) 1,000 gpm – United Fire
Company, Frederick, MD
1935 – Schact V Jr. (SN7042) 500 gpm – exLouisville, KY
1937 XCT (SN-4021) 750 gpm (covered wagon)
ex-Pawtucket, RI – owned by Andy Lieder
1938 VR (SN-8028) 500 gpm – Falls Village,
CT
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CAPTIONS – PREVIOUS PAGE (Top) Friendship Fire Company in Woodbury, NJ, recently
reacquired their 1916 Ahrens-Fox for display at the company’s museum. (Center) Andy
Lieder’s ex-Pawtucket “covered wagon” presented quite a contrast when compared to the
open cab Foxes at the muster. (Bottom) There is nothing wrong with the Fox on the left, it
has a front-mounted rotary pump, so there was no need for a pulsation chamber. The Fox
on the right was one of two ex-Baltimore Foxes at the event.
1947 – HT (SN-3483) 1,000 gpm –
Cumberland Fire Company, Carlisle, PA
(privately owned)
THE
CALLBOARD
STAFF
HOPES
EVERYONE HAD A GOOD HOLIDAY
SEASON. STAY SAFE & SEE YOU ALL IN
2012.
1950 – HT (SN-3483) 1,000 gpm – Highland
Hose, Nyack, NY (repowered with a diesel
engine.)
ANTIQUES ON PARADE
Rich Van Orden’s ex-Independence Township,
NJ, Dodge/Pierce participated in Denville’s
Holiday parade after Thanksgiving.
Another interesting Fox was a miniature
created on one of those chassis used by
Shriners in various parades. This one would
fit nicely in my garage.
Bloomingdale’s USA and Community FC’s Fox
(both covered with lights) made appearances
at the Wallington parade.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
My challenge to our members every year is for
to for each of you to get one new member to
join the Antique Fire Association of New Jersey
this year. Prospective members do not have to
be in the fire service, just have an interest in
fire engines, antiques vehicles or history. Many
individuals in SPAAMFAA and local chapters
never served. They could be a friend, neighbor,
relative or co-worker. It could be your doctor or
lawyer as they may also have an interest. If you
talk up the AFANJ, somebody will show an
intersest, but people do not know about us
unless we inform them.
(Above) The perfect Fox for those lacking a
large garage.
Hopefully you noticed the title of this month’s
piece was written as a question. There are
efforts underway to have the “Flying Foxes”
return to New Jersey. There are a number of
these rigs in the tri-state area that should be
able to attend such a “reunion” of these
Cincinnati beauties. There was to have been
a meeting on the subject around midNovember. I have not yet heard the outcome,
but keep your fingers crossed if you are a Fox
fan.
The elections for 2012 were held at The
November meeting and the results are on the
following page.
Mike Foote has been organizing our 4th Annual
Spring muster which will be held on April 28th
at Horse Shoe Lake in Succasana. This will also
have a motorcade which will be a first for us
and should be a lot of fun. If you can help Mike
call him at 973-886-0429.
Hope to see you at the musters and meeting
The next issue of “Callboard” will feature
potential participants at such an event.
There are a lot of Foxes around,
unfortunately some have been in “hiding” for
a number of years.
SAM ROBINSON – PRESIDENT
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2012 AFANJ OFFICERS
NEWSLETTER
President: Sam Robinson - 908-623-0284
Vice-President: Jim Pfeiffer – 973-219-7484
Secretary: Sandy Burdge - 732-741-5562
Treasurer: Irv Loveless - 973-226-7390
Peter T. Eisele – Editor
74 Chatham Street, Chatham, NJ 07928
(973) 635–4661 - [email protected]
TRUSTEES
Please send any information about local
apparatus, fire department activities, news
clippings, or anything else that you might
think may be of interest to members.
Ed Burdge – 2012
Peter Eisele – 2013
Robert Kane - 2014
MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
THE ABOVE OFFICERS & TRUSTEES MAKE
UP AFANJ’s 2011 BOARD of DIRECTORS
Membership to the Antique Fire Association of
New Jersey is open to all individuals. Fire
Departments and organizations interested in
the preservation restoration, and appreciation
of vintage fire apparatus and memorabilia and
preserving the history of the American fire
fighting profession.
You need not own
apparatus to be a member.
AFANJ MEETING LOCATIONS
3rd Wednesday of the even Months & 3rd
Thursday of odd Months @ 7:30 p.m.
AFANJ Meeting Locations are Needed.
Please call Sam Robinson, Pres., at (908)
623-0284 if you have a meeting site.
2011-12 MEETINGS CALENDAR
THE AFANJ IS THE NORTHERN NEW
JERSEY CHAPTER of S.P.A.A.M.F.A.A.
January 19 – NJ Firemen’s Home
February 16 - TBA
Society for the Preservation and Appreciation
of Motor Fire Apparatus in America.
P.O. Box 2005, Syracuse, NY 13220-2005
www.spaamfaa.org
2011-12 FIREMATIC EVENTS CALENDAR
April 21 – Allentown, PA - Auction
April 22 – Allentown, PA – Flea Market
APRIL 28 – Horseshoe Lake – AFANJ Spring
Muster
April 29 – Rifle Camp, Woodland Park – Flea
June 9 – Chester, CT – Anniv. Parade
June 16 – Palmerton, PA – Parade
July 7 – Florence Township - Parade
ANTIQUE FIRE ASSOCIATION of NJ
39 BIRCH AVE.
LlTTLE SILVER, NJ 07739
Visit: afanj.org
Check individual websites for additional
details and directions.
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(Top) York’s CT-4 is shown during a Lancaster County parade. It was at Lutherville but didn’t participate in the
parade. (Bottom) Fall’s Village’s VR was just as pretty as its larger cousins.
ANTIQUE FIRE ASSOCIATION
of NEW JERSEY
39 BRICH AVENUE
LITTLE SILVER, NJ 07739
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