A look back in time.

A PLEASANT COUNTRY TOWN

In the winter of 1920-1921 , New Vernon was ready and anxious for a fire department. People were living very differently than we do today.

There were two communities in northern Passaic Township, Logansville, and New Ver­non. The countryside was heavily wooded in sections like Mt. Kemble, Jockey Hollow, and parts of the Great Swamp. In between, perhaps 300 homes were scattered around the area that became Harding Township in 1922. (The township was named for President Warren Harding, then in office.) The dirt roads became well-rutted during the winter and seas of mud during the spring. Automobiles were an important status symbol but were not the most reliable transportation. One usually depended on a bicycle or horse and buggy. The most common automobile was the Model T Ford.

Both communities had a combined general store and post office with the only telephones in town. The center of New Vernon was near the blacksmith shop run by a young man named Herb Ortman. This blacksmith shop evolved into the service garage now known as New Vernon Coach & Motor Works. The school was on the corner of Lee's Hill and Glen Alpin Roads, alongside the Presbyterian Church. Logansville also had its school. It was on Lee's Hill Road on some of the property now developed along Sheepfield Farm Drive and Hunting Court.

Without electric power, all water had to be pumped by hand. Few houses boasted running water, and outdoor privies were standard. Water was carried into the house in buckets from the outdoor well. Light was obtained from kerosene lamps with an occasional gasoline lamp. There was no radio since broadcasting was still in an experimen­tal stage. Houses were heated with coal or wood stoves, making the kitchen the most popular room.

People were recovering from World War I; they had almost forgotten the war shortages of soap, sugar and fats. The few airplanes were biplanes. The Lackawanna still ran only steam trains. Madison was literally the Rose City, with large greenhouses sprinkled every­where. Morristown was still much of a summer resort for wealthy New Yorkers.

People loved this life. It seemed comfortable and peaceful. But they did worry about fires. There had been some disastrous fires in New Vernon. All too often, they could only stand helplessly by and watch as fire destroyed their homes and property.

Wilbur Haley, Postmaster and keeper of the general store, owned a large coach with a long seat on each side, which he used to take parties on picnics and other outings. When someone heard of a fire, Mr. Haley hitched his team to the coach and took the available men to it. In the absence of a water supply and pumps, the best they could do was to pass buckets of water from hand to hand.

After years of frustrating experiences with these fires, the community was ready for action. Mr. Haley posted a notice in his store of a public meeting on Tuesday, December 28, 1920, to consider forming a volunteer fire department. On that night, sixteen men met in Haley's store and sealed their resolve by chipping in a dollar apiece to launch the New Vernon Volunteer Fire Department. These men were Garrett Byrnes, Garrett Byrnes, Jr., Jacob B. Corbin, N. D. Goble, John A. Green, Marcellus H. Haley, Wilbur B. Haley, Harry W. Hardt, Michael Hughes, Fred L. Mullen, Reginald C. Oliver, John Quinn, Rev. Alfred E. Thistleton, Edward S. Walling, John T. Walling, and Eugene G. Wear. Mr. Goble was made Chairman of the meeting and the Rev. Thistleton, Secretary. Wilbur Haley then explained the purpose of the gathering, and four committee chairmen were appointed: Edward Walling, chairman of a committee to draft a constitution and bylaws; Mr. Byrnes, Sr., chairman of a committee to report on suitable equipment; Mr. Mullen, chairman of a subscription committee, and Mr. Wilbur Haley, a committee of one to secure a locomotive tire, set it in place, and arrange for a code of signals. Mr. Haley was also authorized to spend up to $IS and to assess those present. The meeting was then adjourned until January 3, 1921, at the same place.

The Chairman changed the time and place of the next meeting to suit the convenience of the members better. The adjourned meeting of December 28th, which also be­came the initial meeting of a new Fire Department, was called to order in the Club House of the New Vernon Field Club Wednesday, January S, 1921, with the same Chairman and Secretary. The report of the Constitution and By-Laws Committee was read and ac­cepted. The meeting then proceeded to discuss, adopt and amend the proposed Constitu­tion, article by article. The amended Constitution was adopted and signed by the forty men present.

The other committees reported their progress and continued with the Equipment Committee being given the power to consult out-of-town people on desirable types of fire-fighting equipment. It was then voted that the body elect officers under the provisions of the Constitution. N. D. Goble was elected President; Harry Hardt, Vice-President; the Rev. A. E. Thistleton, Recording Secretary; Reginald Oliver, Treasurer; Garrett Byrnes Sr., Chief; Herbert Ortman, Assistant Chief; Fred L. Mullen, Foreman, and Eugene Wear, Sergeant-at-Arms. It was then voted to set the amount of money sought for equipment at $3500. The meeting was adjourned until January 19.

At the second meeting of the department, in Haley's store, Floyd Kilpatrick reported an offer from Parker and Van Cleve, Morristown jewelers, of a clock for the permanent meet­ing room of the department. The offer was gratefully accepted. And that clock is still there. The Equipment Committee recommended the purchase of a LaFrance Chemical Engine on a Ford Model T chassis. The finance committee reported an $812 pledged. It was voted that the charter remain open for two months from the date of this meeting and that those joining during this period should be allowed to decide within one month after the apparatus was bought whether they would be active or associate members.

The First National Bank of Madison was chosen to deposit the department's money. Frank Oliver, George Beers, and Jacob Corbin were appointed to report on possible housing for the engine and a meeting place for the department. The Rev. Thistleton was elected the first Chaplain. And the meeting closed with hot coffee and doughnuts, the gift of President Goble. This was before the days of the Ladies Auxiliary.

The next regular meeting, on Wednesday, February 2, was held in the Club House. The practice of calling the roll at the beginning of each meeting was started. Chief Byrnes reported on a grass fire for which Mt. Kemble Fire Co. had been unnecessarily called; He recommended that in the future, members ascertain whether a building was on fire and communicate immediately with the chief, assistant chief, or foreman before calling for outside help. To avoid such confusion, he further recommended that a signal be purchased immediately. John T. Walling and Mr. Haley took on the job of obtaining locomotive tires for signals, ·for a reasonable price. And Mr. Hardt, Mr. Ortman, Ed Walling, Joseph Faulkner, and Reginald Oliver volunteered to bring one tire each from Upper Montclair. Mr. Van Ogen, Mr. Hardt, and Mr. Byrnes Sr. were appointed to report on incorporation,

A special meeting was called two 'weeks later in the chapel to consider the immediate purchase of the chemical engine because of a $150 price rise announced by the manufac­turer. Chief Byrnes reported that the engine could still be bought at the original price of $2550 if ordered by February 28th. Herb Ortman offered to relinquish his commission on the engine chassis and was given a rising vote of thanks. The offer was accepted, of course. Chief Byrnes was asked to write the company and ask them to hold their offer open until after the next regular meeting on March 2.

Mr. Van Ogen reported that to incorporate under the laws of New Jersey, the depart­ment needed to have a Board of Trustees. Notice of an amendment to the Constitution offered at the next regular meeting was read.

The next regular meeting was held on March 2 in the chapel. Mr. Mullen, Chairman of the Subscription Committee, reported over $2550 pledged, and the Treasurer, Mr. Oliver, reported $458 in hand. Chief Byrnes' recommendation for the purchase of the chemical Engine was unanimously approved. After an interesting and instructive address on the advantages of incorporation by the County Clerk, it was voted to incorporate, with the forty-two members present signing the articles of incorporation.

The April meeting convened in the Chapel. John Green reported that the Township Committee had permitted for the four fire signals to be placed at strategic points around town. The Site Committee reported a good deal of progress. Mrs. Mahlman was willing to let the company use her barn on Village Road to house the engine temporarily. The Field Club, on the southeast corner of Village and Millbrook Roads, had been of­fered to the Department for $600. And fourteen club members, also members of the Department, had volunteered to give their $40 shares to the Department's treasury. These offers were unanimously accepted, and a hearty vote of thanks was dispatched to all in­volved for making it possible to purchase the building at such a low price. At the next meeting, the Site Committee reported that Mrs. Fred Potts, owner of the land on which the Field Club stood, was willing to leave the building where it was for an indefinite period for $15 a year. She had also permitted to add a garage at the back of the building for the chemical engine. It was also decided to have the building wired for electricity.

On May 15, Chief Byrnes, his son Charles, and Assistant Chief Ortman went to New York on the train, picked up the new engine, and drove it home. Charlie, ten years old at the time, remembered it as a red letter day. He said he was the proudest boy in New Jersey, and he certainly was envied by all the other boys in town. Herb said they surely put New Vernon on the map that day, too, for on the way home, they were asked many times, "Where's New Vernon?"

On May 23rd, a special meeting was called to invite the ladies to form an auxiliary. A rising vote of the men carried the suggestion, and 35 women stepped forward. Offic­ers were elected, and the ladies were off and running. In June, they were invited to help manage the Carnival, which they did with great skill and enthusiasm for many years.

In June, the Field Club became the firehouse. And by December, it looked like a fire­house. Mrs. E. F. Oliver gave the department the sign from her father's general store -to be repainted and re-lettered. The Parker and Van Cleves clock was installed in the meeting room. Electric wiring was installed for $50. After the first annual Carnival in July, the treasury was replenished, and the department could proceed with its improvements. Telephones and a siren were installed in August or September, and a heating system was in De­cember. Department members had repaired the ceiling and walls at a frolic on November 11, and shortly after that, the flooring was installed, thanks to George Buckingham. Michael Hughes built an addition at the back, just big enough to house the engine.

Sixteen meetings were held that first year and much had been accomplished. The com­pany numbered 73 active members. Eight alarms had been answered, and numerous drills had been held. The firehouse had been acquired and put into shape. An engine and a siren had been bought and paid for. Thanks to a successful carnival and the generosity of many New Vernon residents, the treasury showed a sizeable asset gain – from $16 in January 1921 to $267 in January 1922.

End of Chapter One. Come back soon; we will be adding more content every month.