Snapshots of History – Mount Ayr Fire Department
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Mount Ayr Fire Department in 1939.
By Mike Avitt
In this week’s photo we see Ben Thompson being recognized for fifty years of continuous service with the Mount Ayr Fire Department.
Ben lived in rural Ringgold County until 1888 and joined the department in 1889 when he was twenty-five years old.
Mr. Thompson’s retirement gift was an upholstered chair and ottoman.
Ben Thompson, Owen Campbell, and Bill Stull are the only fire men I know of that served 50 years or more.
The fire truck in this week’s picture was purchased in 1928 and I believe is still in the possession of the fire department.
The Mount Ayr Fire Department has an auxiliary called Mount Ayr Embers. This organization was established on November 8, 1967 with Mildred Sobotka as president.
Early members included Roena Adams, Maxine Anderson, Barbara Bower, Lenore Bryan, Martha Buck, Inez Burchett, Dorothy Campbell, Sheryl Craft, Doris Fetty, Muriel Johnson, Mildred Kaster, Helen Spencer, Dorothy Stull, Dee Ward, Mary Bagley, Lorene Combs, Phyllis Dulany, Iona Stull, and Merill McCullough.
Some of the meetings took place at Merill McCullough’s house. 1967 and 1968 were very important years for fund-raising as the fire boys were building a new department facility. The Embers were a big part of fund-raising and organizing.
In December 1967 Lyle Swank sold his corner lot at 201 E. Madison to the fire fighters. This corner had been a blacksmith shop or welding business for eighty years.
Construction of a steel, forty by sixty foot building began in the spring of 1968. Open House and dedication for the new fire house was held August 11, 1968, with several distinguished speakers including Bill Cox, publisher and editor of Iowa Smoke Eaters Magazine. Other speakers were: Mount Ayr Mayor James Woods, Fire Chief Joe Sobotka, and Master of Ceremonies, Don Stull.
Visitors saw first-hand the up-to-date facility with three overhead doors and a seventeen-foot by forty-foot meeting room. Total cost of the building, electrical, and plumbing was $18, 500.
Bob Sickels was elected Fire Chief on May 7, 1969.
In September 1969 a new fire truck was purchased for local and rural fires.
This vehicle had previously been used as a demonstrator at fire schools in the midwest and was equipped with many modern features.
However, radio equipment was not one of them. In fact, none of Mount Ayr’s fire trucks had two-way radio. What they did have was walkie-talkies donated by Security State Bank.
An addition was built onto the east side of the fire station in 1994 and 1995. Progress was slow because a great deal of volunteer labor was used.
The addition was formally opened August 12, 1995 with an open house. The new addition was 3,500 square feet and this also allowed for the old meeting room to be turned into another stall for a fire truck.
A big THANK YOU to all the volunteers, past and present, who fight to prevent and extinguish fires in Ringgold County.
