The 1928 Chevrolet.
Story and photos by Ted Waddell
NORTH BRANCH – “A Century of Dedication, One Hundred Years of Service” –a few proud words that sum up the mission of Station 26, the North Branch Volunteer Fire Department (NBVFD) as they gear up to celebrate their 100th Anniversary on March 20, 2010.
Mae and Earle Poley - at 90, Earle is the oldest member of the North Branch Volunteer Fire Department.
The local volunteer fire department was organized in 1910, and in the words of Earle Poley the department’s oldest member at 90 years of age, it was organized on March 17, ’10 “by a bunch of men who realized the necessity of some kind of organization to fight fires as well as helping in any other emergencies.”
On Saturday, March 20, from 1 to 3 p.m., the NBVFD will celebrate their “Century of Dedication” with an open house at the firehouse, located at 20 North Branch-Callicoon Center Highway, right in the heart of the little community tucked away in the Upper Delaware River Valley.
The event will feature demonstrations and displays of firefighting equipment, freed prizes and games for kids, refreshments, and special demonstrations by the NYS Police, Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sullivan County Fireman’s Association’s smoke trailer. Thunder Country [radio] will be doing a live-remote radio broadcast, and Beth Hahl, postmaster of the local post office will be on hand to present a unique first-day-of-issue commemorative postal cancellation.
After the open house, the department will host an invitation only 100th Anniversary ceremonial dinner at the Little Texas Ranch in Obernberg, at which several local dignitaries are expected to honor the department for its 100 years of service.
1st assistant chief, Phil Banuat and firefighter Tom Keminski.
Robert J. Theadore, joined the North Branch Volunteer Fire Department, joined in 1981, and over the years served as chief, president, commissioner, and treasurer, while this year as an active member he took on the job of chairman of the Anniversary Committee, assisted by Tom Bisig, John Brockner, Larry Knack, Ernie Reimer, John Theadore and Chief Alan Welton.
“Of our 123 members, 59 are deceased,” said Theadore, who described himself these days as a “chief cook and bottle washer.”
Asked about the changes he’s witnessed in firematics over the years, Theadore replied, “I think it’s more efficient, and there’s better equipment with modern training requirements…but it’s tough to get volunteers these days, there’s a lot going on and a lot of training. A lot of people gripe about the training, but you don’t want to be fighting a fire with somebody who doesn’t know what the heck he’s doing…if you’re not, you’re putting everybody in jeopardy.”
Poley joined the department at the age of 13, and by the time he was 22 years old, was elected chief.
“They needed firemen, and in my days the chief did everything, you was everything,” he recalled while standing next to the department’s vintage 1928 Chevrolet apparatus.
Husband and wife commissioners, Jack and Joann Brockner.
Looking back in time, Poley said he answered calls for wires down, floods, structure fires, motor vehicle accidents and “some things you try to forget about” like the fatal fire of July 1997 that claimed the life of 59-year old Frank Hawkins and left 11 others including seven children homeless.
On September 24, 1971, the department that covers the towns of Callicoon and Fremont, responded to a motor vehicle accident in which six people perished and eight injured near the old Buck Brook School.
Later, on a New Year’s Day, a fire in Buck Brook killed three men at the former Novet Farm and Boarding House on County Road 95, while four others narrowly escaped the flames.
“Anything I couldn’t get out of they made me,” added Poley, noting he also served as president and commissioner.
“In a place like this, you’ve got to be a firefighter, [but] sometimes it’s kind of scary if you find somebody’s in there and you’ve got to get ‘em out.”
“It’s been very interesting being a local fireman here in North Branch,” added Poley, a graduate of the Delaware Valley High School Class of ’37. “They’re a good bunch of guys, not a bum in the bunch.”
A Brief History of the North Branch Volunteer Fire Department –
Based upon the 1980 recollections of Earle Poley and updated by Joan Kern (2001) and Bob Theadore (2010).
The North Branch Volunteer Fire Department was organized on March 17, 1910.
At the first meeting a century ago, the 38 men in attendance appointed Dr. Adolph Schonger as secretary/treasurer and at the next meeting on March 16, R.C Goegel was elected chief, Herman Goodman foreman and Johon Garry assistant foreman.
One of the first orders of business was an alarm system, so the membership acquired three old railroad engine wheel rims, which they suspended from two wooden posts and when struck with a sledge hammer, alerted the volunteers that a fire had broken out.
According to Poley, in October, 1910 the early firefighters voted to have a “fire wagon built which carried about 24 pails with round bottoms to use for a bucket brigade or just carrying water to throw on the fire.” “This wagon was pulled by horses. A gentleman next door to the firehouse had a beautiful pair of black horses which was nice for a show but not practical since it took a long time to hook horses to the wagon, so the fireman would pull the wagon by hand.”
Later on, the firefighters gave up on pulling the wagon around town and the horses took a back seat, as they started hooking up the fire wagon to automobiles.
In 1927-28, the firefighters went out to local taxpayers for approval to purchase a mechanized fire apparatus for the at-the-time grand sum of $1,200.
“I remember my dad promoting a yes vote and one of his arguments was ‘if it saves one house it’s worth it, it might be your house,’” said Poley.
“We thought the truck was pretty cool, it had a bell with a rope to ring it, an exhaust whistle that sounded like a train horn, it had a vacuum prime from the engine and a pump that took over when engaged by pulling a lever, also a soda and acid tank which was filled with water, you dumped the soda and acid into the water which created a pressure for the hose reel.”
Poley recalled that one day several firemen came to the house he shared with his wife Mae (they’re still married and live in the same house) and asked him to run for chief of the department at the next election. “After a long discussion I said I wanted to ask my wife what she thought,” he said. “She said ‘I guess you could do it if you wanted to, but I know one thing; those men aren’t going to leave until you say yes’.” Poley accepted on one condition; that he could name his running mates (Malvin Wood as assistant chief, Francis cram as secretary and Robert Welsh as treasurer).
“I won the best attended election I guess we had in a long time.”
In his recollections of the department’s early years, Poley recounted a few lighter moments of the fire service: while responding to a chimney fire on Stewart Road, the firefighters got sprayed by a skunk while shielding the driver “nobody but the driver thought it was funny, [but] we extinguished the fire”; and the time a resident went out to the outhouse after a few drinks of hard cider and inadvertently lit off a can of gasoline when he tripped while carrying a lit kerosene lantern “of course the lantern ignited the spilt gas and immediately we had a full engulfed house…it was kinda funny but it was lucky it was only the house. It could have been Mike’s life.”
A few years down the road Poley “realized now I was getting past the time to let the young firemen take over which they did and did a great job handling the whole situation.”
Bob Theadore, past chief, past president, and a 30-plus year member of the department, picked up the story from there. “The next 20 years of the department’s history were marked with good times and effective firefighting,” he said.
In the wake of WWII, trucks were still hard to come by, but the department eventually bought a 1947 Ford pumper through Carl’s Motor Sales, and at about the same time struck a deal with the JR. O.U. American Mechanics Association to purchase they building they had been renting as a firehouse.
During the 1940s, the North Branch Volunteer Fire Department held its first annual fundraising supper, which started out as a spaghetti and meatball dinner, with silverware and dishes borrowed from local churches – all for the princely sum of 40-cents a plate.
Not long afterwards, the department switched from pasta to chicken barbecues. It is believed that this was the first such event in Sullivan County”, and continues today after the chickens took flight only to be replaced by an annual roast beef dinner fundraiser.
“The 1980s were a good decade for the department,” said Theadore. “Membership was very strong and the department served the community of
North Branch very effectively.”
In 1985, the department celebrated its 75th Anniversary with festivities in town.
As the mid-1990s rolled around, it became clear the old firehouse has outlived it’s day, and was eventually sold to an internationally-known artist.
The new firehouse was erected on the site of the old Antler Hotel, the scene of one of the largest structure fires in local history, and the building was completed in 1999.
“The 21st Century has thus far seen the department modernize and expand its ability to serve the community more than at any other time in its history,” said Theadore in his role of chairman of the 100th Anniversary Committee. “As the North Branch Fire Department looks toward the dawn of a new century in its history, its members remain proud and ready to serve the community of North Branch, NY and welcome the opportunity to provide yet another ‘Century of Dedication’.”
To view more photos or to purchase prints from One Hundred Years of Service visit the Chronicle on Zenfolio.
Click this second link to view more photos from A Brief History of the North Branch Volunteer Fire Department.
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The Catskill Chronicle 
One Hundred Years of Service
March 16, 2010 by The Catskill Chronicle
The 1928 Chevrolet.
Story and photos by Ted Waddell
NORTH BRANCH – “A Century of Dedication, One Hundred Years of Service” –a few proud words that sum up the mission of Station 26, the North Branch Volunteer Fire Department (NBVFD) as they gear up to celebrate their 100th Anniversary on March 20, 2010.
Mae and Earle Poley - at 90, Earle is the oldest member of the North Branch Volunteer Fire Department.
The local volunteer fire department was organized in 1910, and in the words of Earle Poley the department’s oldest member at 90 years of age, it was organized on March 17, ’10 “by a bunch of men who realized the necessity of some kind of organization to fight fires as well as helping in any other emergencies.”
On Saturday, March 20, from 1 to 3 p.m., the NBVFD will celebrate their “Century of Dedication” with an open house at the firehouse, located at 20 North Branch-Callicoon Center Highway, right in the heart of the little community tucked away in the Upper Delaware River Valley.
The event will feature demonstrations and displays of firefighting equipment, freed prizes and games for kids, refreshments, and special demonstrations by the NYS Police, Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sullivan County Fireman’s Association’s smoke trailer. Thunder Country [radio] will be doing a live-remote radio broadcast, and Beth Hahl, postmaster of the local post office will be on hand to present a unique first-day-of-issue commemorative postal cancellation.
After the open house, the department will host an invitation only 100th Anniversary ceremonial dinner at the Little Texas Ranch in Obernberg, at which several local dignitaries are expected to honor the department for its 100 years of service.
1st assistant chief, Phil Banuat and firefighter Tom Keminski.
Robert J. Theadore, joined the North Branch Volunteer Fire Department, joined in 1981, and over the years served as chief, president, commissioner, and treasurer, while this year as an active member he took on the job of chairman of the Anniversary Committee, assisted by Tom Bisig, John Brockner, Larry Knack, Ernie Reimer, John Theadore and Chief Alan Welton.
“Of our 123 members, 59 are deceased,” said Theadore, who described himself these days as a “chief cook and bottle washer.”
Asked about the changes he’s witnessed in firematics over the years, Theadore replied, “I think it’s more efficient, and there’s better equipment with modern training requirements…but it’s tough to get volunteers these days, there’s a lot going on and a lot of training. A lot of people gripe about the training, but you don’t want to be fighting a fire with somebody who doesn’t know what the heck he’s doing…if you’re not, you’re putting everybody in jeopardy.”
Poley joined the department at the age of 13, and by the time he was 22 years old, was elected chief.
“They needed firemen, and in my days the chief did everything, you was everything,” he recalled while standing next to the department’s vintage 1928 Chevrolet apparatus.
Husband and wife commissioners, Jack and Joann Brockner.
Looking back in time, Poley said he answered calls for wires down, floods, structure fires, motor vehicle accidents and “some things you try to forget about” like the fatal fire of July 1997 that claimed the life of 59-year old Frank Hawkins and left 11 others including seven children homeless.
On September 24, 1971, the department that covers the towns of Callicoon and Fremont, responded to a motor vehicle accident in which six people perished and eight injured near the old Buck Brook School.
Later, on a New Year’s Day, a fire in Buck Brook killed three men at the former Novet Farm and Boarding House on County Road 95, while four others narrowly escaped the flames.
“Anything I couldn’t get out of they made me,” added Poley, noting he also served as president and commissioner.
“It’s been very interesting being a local fireman here in North Branch,” added Poley, a graduate of the Delaware Valley High School Class of ’37. “They’re a good bunch of guys, not a bum in the bunch.”
A Brief History of the North Branch Volunteer Fire Department –
Based upon the 1980 recollections of Earle Poley and updated by Joan Kern (2001) and Bob Theadore (2010).
The North Branch Volunteer Fire Department was organized on March 17, 1910.
At the first meeting a century ago, the 38 men in attendance appointed Dr. Adolph Schonger as secretary/treasurer and at the next meeting on March 16, R.C Goegel was elected chief, Herman Goodman foreman and Johon Garry assistant foreman.
One of the first orders of business was an alarm system, so the membership acquired three old railroad engine wheel rims, which they suspended from two wooden posts and when struck with a sledge hammer, alerted the volunteers that a fire had broken out.
According to Poley, in October, 1910 the early firefighters voted to have a “fire wagon built which carried about 24 pails with round bottoms to use for a bucket brigade or just carrying water to throw on the fire.” “This wagon was pulled by horses. A gentleman next door to the firehouse had a beautiful pair of black horses which was nice for a show but not practical since it took a long time to hook horses to the wagon, so the fireman would pull the wagon by hand.”
Later on, the firefighters gave up on pulling the wagon around town and the horses took a back seat, as they started hooking up the fire wagon to automobiles.
In 1927-28, the firefighters went out to local taxpayers for approval to purchase a mechanized fire apparatus for the at-the-time grand sum of $1,200.
“I remember my dad promoting a yes vote and one of his arguments was ‘if it saves one house it’s worth it, it might be your house,’” said Poley.
“We thought the truck was pretty cool, it had a bell with a rope to ring it, an exhaust whistle that sounded like a train horn, it had a vacuum prime from the engine and a pump that took over when engaged by pulling a lever, also a soda and acid tank which was filled with water, you dumped the soda and acid into the water which created a pressure for the hose reel.”
Poley recalled that one day several firemen came to the house he shared with his wife Mae (they’re still married and live in the same house) and asked him to run for chief of the department at the next election. “After a long discussion I said I wanted to ask my wife what she thought,” he said. “She said ‘I guess you could do it if you wanted to, but I know one thing; those men aren’t going to leave until you say yes’.” Poley accepted on one condition; that he could name his running mates (Malvin Wood as assistant chief, Francis cram as secretary and Robert Welsh as treasurer).
“I won the best attended election I guess we had in a long time.”
In his recollections of the department’s early years, Poley recounted a few lighter moments of the fire service: while responding to a chimney fire on Stewart Road, the firefighters got sprayed by a skunk while shielding the driver “nobody but the driver thought it was funny, [but] we extinguished the fire”; and the time a resident went out to the outhouse after a few drinks of hard cider and inadvertently lit off a can of gasoline when he tripped while carrying a lit kerosene lantern “of course the lantern ignited the spilt gas and immediately we had a full engulfed house…it was kinda funny but it was lucky it was only the house. It could have been Mike’s life.”
A few years down the road Poley “realized now I was getting past the time to let the young firemen take over which they did and did a great job handling the whole situation.”
Bob Theadore, past chief, past president, and a 30-plus year member of the department, picked up the story from there. “The next 20 years of the department’s history were marked with good times and effective firefighting,” he said.
In the wake of WWII, trucks were still hard to come by, but the department eventually bought a 1947 Ford pumper through Carl’s Motor Sales, and at about the same time struck a deal with the JR. O.U. American Mechanics Association to purchase they building they had been renting as a firehouse.
During the 1940s, the North Branch Volunteer Fire Department held its first annual fundraising supper, which started out as a spaghetti and meatball dinner, with silverware and dishes borrowed from local churches – all for the princely sum of 40-cents a plate.
Not long afterwards, the department switched from pasta to chicken barbecues. It is believed that this was the first such event in Sullivan County”, and continues today after the chickens took flight only to be replaced by an annual roast beef dinner fundraiser.
“The 1980s were a good decade for the department,” said Theadore. “Membership was very strong and the department served the community of
North Branch very effectively.”
In 1985, the department celebrated its 75th Anniversary with festivities in town.
As the mid-1990s rolled around, it became clear the old firehouse has outlived it’s day, and was eventually sold to an internationally-known artist.
The new firehouse was erected on the site of the old Antler Hotel, the scene of one of the largest structure fires in local history, and the building was completed in 1999.
“The 21st Century has thus far seen the department modernize and expand its ability to serve the community more than at any other time in its history,” said Theadore in his role of chairman of the 100th Anniversary Committee. “As the North Branch Fire Department looks toward the dawn of a new century in its history, its members remain proud and ready to serve the community of North Branch, NY and welcome the opportunity to provide yet another ‘Century of Dedication’.”
To view more photos or to purchase prints from One Hundred Years of Service visit the Chronicle on Zenfolio.
Click this second link to view more photos from A Brief History of the North Branch Volunteer Fire Department.
Click any service in this box to share this post with your friends!
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