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Windsor man
writes
book detailing the history of the Charleston fire Department
H
oward Taylor of Windsor knows first hand what it's like to grow up with
a fire chief for a father. Taylor is a school teacher/librarian at
Cowden-Herrick Elementary School. Using newspaper clippings,
pictures and other memorabilia, he put together a spiral-bound book,
"When the Gong Rings," filled
with history of the Charleston Fire Department.
Taylor said his father, Melvin Taylor, served the Charleston Fire
Department in 1948 and '49. He returned in 1951 and became chief in
1975 until his retirement in 1984.
"In the old days dad worked 24 hours on and 24 hours off. In the 1950s
I went to all the fires. Mom (Louise Taylor) was a news reporter and
was on the WLBH and WEIC radio," Taylor said. "So we always knew where
the fires were."
The senior Taylor began his career with the First Civil Service Fire
Department in Charleston.
"The pay was always an issue. In the late 1950s the state law required
minimum pay for firemen and policemen. Until the 1960s all
firemen got paid the
same amount of money no matter how long they had been there. Then after
the
'60s longevity pay came into being."
Taylor recalled some fire stories in Charleston's earlier days.
"In 1951, the Piggly-Wiggly store was across from the library. Dad was
in the building, which was full of smoke. The masks firemen had then
weren't very good and Dad didn't use a gas mask. The floor gave out and
another fireman had to pull him out."
Also in the winter of 1951, the Pilgrim Holiness Church caught fire.
Taylor said his dad was wearing rubber boots, but they weren't
insulated and his feet froze.
Taylor said in 1967 a student at Taylor Hall, Eastern Illinois
University, filled a room with newspapers and started a fire.
"Dad was on duty. There were four men and no ladder truck. Dad was up
on the ladder and knocked the hose through a window to break the glass.
Smoke exploded in his face. None of the firemen had air packs
then."
Taylor said he and his brother, Melvin "Red" Taylor, didn't realize how
dangerous their father's job was.
"But we helped by rolling up hoses, except when we were in school."
Before his job with the fire department, Taylor said his father
introduced Pepsi-Cola and Seven-Up to the area by installing machines
filled with the product in area businesses.
"My mom met my dad while he was installing one of those old
machines that used water to keep the product cold."
Looking through clippings of the 1800s, Taylor found that Charleston
had a volunteer fire department and horses named Tom and Alex that were
kept in
the rear of the firehouse. They weighed 1,700 or 1,800 pounds. One man
slept
at the firehouse overnight to ring the alarm bell and care for the
horses.
Charleston had a Quick Hitch harness system hanging from the ceiling.
Tom and Alex pranced to the harness and backed into their pulling
position when an alarm came in. The fireman on duty was paid $1.50 per
night for his work.
From 1870to 1918,thestationusedan REO Speedwagon chassis and put the
old fire wagon on it.
In 1874, a committee formed to select new fire trucks that could be
pulled by horses or men. They chose the Babcock Hook and Ladder truck
equipped with six Babcock extinguishers and a pressure soda/acid
tank.
In 1875, the city built a new water system that assured a reliable
steady water supply, but some of the equipment was still pulled by men.
In 1878, they had two manually pulled hose carts and one horse-pulled
fire wagon (the Babcock).
According to clippings, there was no real training, except for practice
drills, before 1920.
The old brass gong after which Taylor named his book was located in the
first firehouse at 500 Jackson Ave. When the bell rang, Charleston's
mayor,
aldermen, street superintendent and city marshal had to report to the
chief
engineer or his assistant.
If a city official didn't report, he was subject to a fine of $5 to
$25. During fires, firemen were subject to the orders of the chief
engineer or first or second assistant engineers.
All firemen were volunteers and bystanders were subject to fire
duty when ordered by a city official. In addition to the bell alarm,
the fire would
be reported by telegraph message to the city waterworks. Water was
pumped
directly through the mains, bypassing treatment, for maximum
pressure
and quantity.
The old gong was later moved to Station No. 1 at Tenth and
Madison, where it was retired in the 1980s. The gong was believed to be
located on the first motorized Charleston fire truck, the REO
Speed-wagon, acquired in
1918. The gong could date to 1874 if originally on the horse-drawn
truck, as is believed.
In the book, Taylor tells of an old clipping in the 1914 Charleston
Courier with the headline, "Charleston's beautiful theater
destroyed..." The report continued, "news of the fire reached
Mattoon soon after the breaking out of the flames, and nearly 100
persons from that city came to Charleston on the Mattoon-Charleston
Interurban cars to see the blaze."
According to a newspaper clipping in Taylor's book, two destructive
fires spread through Charleston on February 4, 1923. The temperature
was zero. Boyer
Ice Cream Co. building and equipment burned and the loss was estimated
at
$12,000. Later that same night The Daily News at Fifth and Monroe
caught fire,
spread and destroyed five businesses. Estimated loss was between
$50,000
and $60,000.
The clipping went on to say, "Assistance from Mattoon was called.
Six members of the department drove then-American La France
six-cylinder, 105-horse power engine to Charleston in 45 minutes.
Once the powerful machine was here and immediately went into action,
the Mattoon firemen proved to be of great assistance to the Charleston
department."
Taylor said Mattoon and other central Illinois communities had similar
fire department histories.
UPDATE (January, 2004)
I appreciated the above short story of my book, When the Gong Rings,
1995. Since 1995, I have retired from Cowden-Herrick Schools in
Central Illinois (May, 2003). I am presently living, with my wife
Sandra, in the Atlanta, GA area enjoying the milder weather and vast
historical and cultural activities and places to visit.
I am also working again as a Para Professional for a large elementary
school near Atlanta International Airport. Next year (2004) I
hope to be a full-fledged elementary teacher again.
Also included in my life activities now are painting, web page work on
my own website, historical research, and writing.
I have enlarged my When the Gong Rings website, as well as my Radio
History website.
During the last seven years of my Cowden-Herrick tenure (1996-2003) I
was successful in writing and winning six large competitive federal and
state grants, totally nearly $400,000 for our small district of 532.
I had fun, especially, with the "By the Light of the Fire" Abraham
Lincoln technology grant in which our schools studied 19th Century
history and the 16th President for a whole year. We even had
Abraham and Mary visit out building several times, including the
building of a split rail fence, a "Lincoln Favorite Foods" tasting
party for both elementary schools, and numerous tech-related research
and reporting activities. WE HAD FUN that year!
Well, I'm not really a boasting type person. I have humbled
myself to becoming a busy Para Professional. I have met hundreds
of new children (from all over the world) and scores of new fellow
teachers. I think the old guy has done alright!
Be sure to check out my main websites. You will discover many
more inside of them. Have fun and Learn by the Light of Fire, and
let the GONG wake you up to a fun world of history.
H. Taylor
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