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Good question Abe. As far as I know it had been stored inside for most of that time.
Bobby, I know they all can't be saved but in my mind every artifact of the Patrol that is saved keeps the memory of the Patrol alive for future generations. It hard to believe its been disbanded since 1959. Most all the guys that worked with my grandfather are gone now and within 10 years or so most people that saw the Patrol in action will be gone too. Pretty sad to me. It was a beautiful day here with the temp at 72 and sunny. We took my son's friends for a nice ride around town. I still like seeing people reactions as we drive by. Its great so see the big smiles and thumbs up or to hear the horns sounding! My son got his learners permit a few months ago and he briefly got behind the wheel. He did pretty good for a first time clutch user!!
Bobby, he definitely had a big smile on his face! Its quite a handful to drive for a novice for sure. I am looking for a nice quiet stretch of road for him to get more wheel time
I can just imagine the stories he's telling to his buddy's....LOL
Years ago when my youngest boy was maybe 12 or 13. We were out at the ranch doing some clean up work and managed to get this old front end loader up and running. I could tell my boy was really wanting to get behind the wheel. I eventually got him up in there and showed him the controls. It was a little tough as the thing doesn't have any brakes and you just have to drop the bucket to stop but he did good. All that day he acted pretty nonchalant about it, like it was just an ordinary thing.
The next day I overheard him on the phone to his buddys really excited and bragging about running the loader all day. It made me smile.
Driving the fire truck will be a great memory for your boy (and yourself)
Well, I'm officially retiring the truck from having it on display at Fire Department demonstrations. I was asked to have my truck on display at a local fire department by a former co-worker who is the chief of the department. I had done this once before but after today's experience I am through with it. I just can't believe the disrespect people, adults and children, show to vehicles that don't belong to them. They have no problem walking up and opening door, placing their small children in someone's vehicle without even thinking about asking first. I had one parent just place their child on the fender to take a picture. And to top it all off, a 8 or 9 year old girl tried to knock out my windshield with the palm of her hand! After a while I got tired of telling people to stop doing things to the truck that I shut all the doors and windows. Do you think that stopped them....NO! At that point it was time to leave before any damage was done. I understand the kids getting excited seeing it but where is the parental supervision. One of the guys from my fire truck club told me a while back that a child fell of his truck and the family sued him. So no more children ever again on it. I was telling the story to a friend of mine sitting with me when a SWAT cop walked up and was asking questions about the truck. He then told me a parent threatened to sue the department because a door was blown closed by the strong winds (20MPH gusts) and their child's fingers was caught in the door. Before I left for the show I was seriously considering putting signs on it saying enter at your own risk. I just don't understand some people! Sorry, I just have to vent to get rid of this frustration. Has anyone else had issues with idiots at shows?
When I first got my F-2 on the road I'd take it to local outside shows and the same crap. Not only would the kids climb on the running boards and even try to crawl into the box but their parents would help them without asking. I don't go any more, just don't have the desire.
My wife drives school bus and the parents have somewhat the same mentality when it comes to behavior of the kids on the bus. We live in a somewhat higher income area in a rural village. A place where you'd think people would have common sense and be responsible. The buses all on board cameras to watch the behavior on the bus. My wife will have a problem with a student and she'll make a report to the bus company and the school. If it's serious enough or a recurring problem the parents will be called into a meeting with my wife and principle of the school. Without fail, the parents will deny their kid did anything wrong. Even after viewing the video they'll deny that it was their kid. Why would anyone expect parents like this try to keep their kids in check when out at a public event.
Went thru some related things like that tonight at the Harbourside car show in Jupiter Fla.
1. A lady decided she should open the passenger door and take a look inside .
2. Some had small children that should be supervised at all times .
3. A participant that had a vehicle there had way to many beers and drooled on the bed of "Art" , & he drove home !!
4. Had to closely watch to elderly men w/ drinks in hand while trying to look inside the bed .
Then they get offended when told Do Not Touch !!!
Looks like this is a common thread at shows. I just don't get people! My kids would never act that that! I did have a few parents tell their kids to ask first before they tried to climb aboard but as I said the majority did not!
Denny, your story of the two old with beers reminds me of my most favorite car show story. Many years ago my cousin and I went to an inside car show in downtown Milwaukee. When we first walked in there was a little guy, maybe 5' 6" with a big cowboy hat on holding a beer. He was standing by a car whose owner was trying to get the guy to move on. Shorty was telling the owner his car was a '66 Chevelle while the owner's sign said it was a '65. The owner gave up and was just agreeing with shorty to get him to move on. About an hour later we were looking at a photo album by a restored Charger when I heard a commotion behind us. I turned around and saw Shorty arguing with a pair of Milwaukee's finest, a couple of rather big men in blue. I hear the cop tell Shorty that all they are saying is people are complaining because he's sloshing beer on their cars. Shorty came back with, "I know how to drink responsibly, you need to find the one who don't drink responsibly." The cops talk to him a little longer until Shorty announces in a rather loud voice, "If you guy don't leave me alone I'm going to kick your a$$e$!" The cop asks, "Are you threatening us with bodily harm?" Shorty replied, "Yes, I'll kick your a$$e$!" One cop backed up against the wall while the other walked away. I told my cousin, "This is going to be good." Shorty is telling the remaining cop that he should do like his partner and walk away and if he doesn't there's going to be trouble. The cop just stood back and said, "Sir, I'm just standing here watching the crowd." Shorty just wouldn't stop. Meanwhile I see the other cop coming back with two other rather big cops and within a minute they slammed shorty to the ground with a rather loud "Smack!", hogged tied and out the door. It was awesome!
Denny, your story of the two old with beers reminds me of my most favorite car show story. Many years ago my cousin and I went to an inside car show in downtown Milwaukee. When we first walked in there was a little guy, maybe 5' 6" with a big cowboy hat on holding a beer. He was standing by a car whose owner was trying to get the guy to move on. Shorty was telling the owner his car was a '66 Chevelle while the owner's sign said it was a '65. The owner gave up and was just agreeing with shorty to get him to move on. About an hour later we were looking at a photo album by a restored Charger when I heard a commotion behind us. I turned around and saw Shorty arguing with a pair of Milwaukee's finest, a couple of rather big men in blue. I hear the cop tell Shorty that all they are saying is people are complaining because he's sloshing beer on their cars. Shorty came back with, "I know how to drink responsibly, you need to find the one who don't drink responsibly." The cops talk to him a little longer until Shorty announces in a rather loud voice, "If you guy don't leave me alone I'm going to kick your a$$e$!" The cop asks, "Are you threatening us with bodily harm?" Shorty replied, "Yes, I'll kick your a$$e$!" One cop backed up against the wall while the other walked away. I told my cousin, "This is going to be good." Shorty is telling the remaining cop that he should do like his partner and walk away and if he doesn't there's going to be trouble. The cop just stood back and said, "Sir, I'm just standing here watching the crowd." Shorty just wouldn't stop. Meanwhile I see the other cop coming back with two other rather big cops and within a minute they slammed shorty to the ground with a rather loud "Smack!", hogged tied and out the door. It was awesome!
Shorty must have been drinking what we called in college, Joe Palooka beer. Beer that makes the imbiber want to fight.
Keith,
Sorry to hear that you've been having such negative experiences at the shows. I hear what you are saying, I see kids and adults that just don't seem to give a hoot.
I was at a truck show last year with some buddy's, we were standing about 20' away from our trucks. There were a couple of guys that were looking at my truck and leaning over the fenders to see the engine. They weren't touching anything but my buddy hollered out for them to watch the paint. These guys jumped a mile high and turned around looking guilty. We were tying to keep straight faces but just couldn't do it. We let these guys off the hook right away and everyone had a good laugh (yep, my fenders are pretty rough, I don't have to worry about someone leaning on them)
Many folk are missing common sense these days. I have the habit of holding my hand over my belt buckle when I'm looking inside the engine bay or cab. No I don't have a big belt buckle. Even the trucks with patina have taken lots of hours to get where they are.
I haven't been to many shows, and with my body i'm not as concerned with people. Now my son on the other hand. I get a talking to every once in a while. Sam doesn't appreciate me getting scratches on the bed. I tell him I'm using it as a truck, but that doesn't really fly with him. He has suggested powder coating.
Hi Guys.... hope all is well with everyone! We did the big St Patrick's Day parade again this year. It was the cities 50th anniversary and the crowds were huge. It was my last time for the event because its a hassle getting the truck up there. They had to pick me up at 615am to get me up there and the parade started at 2pm. So, I had hours to wait in a parking lot by myself until the family showed up. A friend of mine drove so I finally got to ride in the back and wave at the crowds! It was hot so the better seat was in the cab LOL. Getting home was an issue because the truck that brought me there had its winch break. The replacement truck, slightly smaller, had a leaking air bag so the driver (and I) were uncomfortable on the road so he dumped me off a mile down the road and I had to wait over an hour for the replacement to show up.
In a few days on the 29th, it will my last day in the Fire Service. I can't believe how fast the 34 years went. The guys gave me a great send off dinner at the fire house. The family was there of course! I had my main party at our Union Hall. My family flew into town for the event. I had 100 people attend and we had a great time. I had 3 gambling tables, 2 Blackjack and 1 roulette which was a hit. I was busy mingling and only got to play one hand of blackjack! Now that I will be officially retired, I plan on getting my book on the truck printed in a couple of months. Its been done for a few years now. There were quite a few members of the forum that were interested in a copy. I will probably do a new thread on the book when it goes to the printer. Here are some picture to share. Take care everybody and thanks for still looking in on my old thread!
Custom made cake looked just like my fire helmet and it was tasty!!
My crew.... I'll miss them for sure!!
This was from 1984 when I first started. Both pictures were used for the invitation.
