History of the Southard Fire Department No.1
Southard Fire Department
Incorporated, March 13, 1933

The Southard Fire Department was organized 1933 after Louis Bry Jr. circulated a petition to ascertain how the residents of the neighborhood felt about having their own volunteer fire company. One hundred and three names were obtained. On February 3, 1933 approximately fifty men who signed the petition met at the Mannerchor Club on Lanes Mill Road for the first meeting. Richard Nissen Jr. presider. At the next meeting on February 10, 1933, Mr. Chester, Mr. Clayton, and Mr. Barholow from Adelphia Fire Company attended and explained the procedures they used when organizing their company in 1927.

On February 17, the company held it's first election of officers. Chosen were, Henry Hamberger, President, Louis Bry Jr., Vice President, Austin Gunther, Secretary, Charles E. Pool, Financial Secretary, William Schlaterer, Treasurer, Dick O'Donnell, Adolf Austin and Robert Mitchell the Trustee's. John Reynolds was elected chief, Kingsley Addison the Assistant Chief and Carl Reynolds Foreman.

Front of firehouse - August 1948

On February 24, land for a fire house was donated by Mr. & Mrs. George Paterson. Feeling that more land would be needed for parking, the company met with the donors and a second tract was purchased at a cost of three hundred dollars. It was agreed that the company would pay ten dollars a month until the land was paid off. During this time a building commitee was named. Austin Gunther was named Chairman. Commitee members Alfred Layton and Willis Applegate, mason work, Carl Reynolds, Al Mitchell and Austin Gunther, carpentry, Bob Mitchell and Chris Rohrback, concrete work, George Thompson, excavation, Houston Burdge, civil engineering, Adolf Austin and John Harting, painting and Albert Gunther, electrical. Construction started in late March and the cornerstone was laid on October 21, 1933. Enclosed in the cornerstone were the names of the members of the fire comapny and ladies auxilary that were in good standing, plus various items of the times. To help pay for the building construction, the company ran dances, minstrel shows, fireman's carnivals, envelope drives and fifty-fifties. The ladies auxilary ran suppers and various other events to raise money, which they donated to the firehouse fund. Work on the building was done mostly on nights and weekends, or whenever the members could donate their time. At first the men made their own cement blocks with a block making machine that was donated. As funds became available, they bought blocks at a discount to finish the walls. It took about six thousand, seven hundred blocks to complete the masonary work. Work continued through 1934 and though not yet complete, the first meeting was held at the firehouse on Jan 4, 1935. Previous to that, meetings were held at the Mannerchor Club, the Blue Bird Inn, the church hall at Kent and Church Roads and various other locations.

In July 1935, the company got it's first fire truck. It was a 1921 GMC chemical truck bought from Goodwill Hook and Ladder of Freehold for $150.00. The first fire the truck responded to was on July 25 at the Joseph Reynolds farm on Friendship Road. There was no siren at this time, but John Reynolds and Art Wangenstein who were across the street from the firehouse, answered the call and put the fire out with forty gallons of water and chemical. Later on in 1937 Adelphia fire company donated a Studebaker service truck to the company. Affectionally nicknamed "Aunt Martha". This truck, a cut down hearse, carried donated milk cans full of water to re-supply the chemical truck. In December 1939 "Aunt Martha" was taken out of service and eventually sold to Anton Zauner who had a farm on Lanes Mill Road.

In December of 1936, a siren was purchased and installed on the roof of the firehouse. Three switches were installed to operate the siren. One in John Reynolds house, one in his garage and a third in the firehouse. Fire calls would come in by telephone at Reynolds and they would relay the information to the first fireman to arrive at the building who in turn would write the information on a blackboard.

In 1937, The chemical truck responded to the explosion and fire of the dirigible Hindenberg at Lakehurst Naval Station. A Letter was later received from Commander C.E. Rosendahl thanking the company for their assistance.

In 1939 it was decided by the company to purchase a new fire truck. A chassis was bought from George Matthews Chevrolet of Farmingdale who delivered at cost. The chassis was taken to Rockville Center , Long Island where the Approved Fire Apperatus Corporation constructed the truck. The truck was delivered to the company early December 1939. The truck carried four hundred gallons of water with a five hundred gallons per minute single stage pump. It could also carry up to one thousand feet of inch and a half hose.

During World War II, approximately twenty Southard firemen were in military sevice. During this shortage of man power, the company continued to function with the help of Adelphia, Lakewood and Farmingdale fire companies. In December 1943, the company received notice that Pvt. Charles T. Williams was missing in action and it was later confirmed that he had lost his life.

In February 1946, the company held a special ceremony at the firehouse to burn a $2,200.00 mortgage. The money was loaned to the company by Leon A. Barkalow on October 16, 1936 to put the finishing touches on the firehouse and to pay off debts incurred during construction. Company President Ray Le Compte held the mortgage as John "Pop" Wolf, owner of the deer head inn lit a match to it. Mr. Wolf had donated liberally to the organization from it's inception in 1933.

In October 1946, a meeting was held to consider the possibility of buying a new fire truck to replace the GMC Chemical truck. In the following months, it was decided to replace the GMC and a commitee was formed to investigate the cost and type of truck needed. With the approval of the members, a 1947 Ford chassis was purchased and sent to the Approved Fire Apparatus Corporation in Rockville Center, Long Island . The new truck was delivered on June 15, 1947. It had a five hundred gallon per minute pump and carried three hundred and fify gallons of water. It featured a large split hose bed for ??? and one half and two and a half inch hose. Anothe feature was 3 floodlights that were mounted atop the truck directly behind the drivers seat. Power for the lights were supplied by a D/C generator. The truck also carried a thirty-five foot aluminum ladder.

In May of 1950, the members embarked a project to construct a fire truck themselves. Sighting the need to carry more water to a fire scene it was decided to build a tank truck. A purchasing comitee headed by Bob Mershon consisted of Victor Vorhees, John Reynolds, Art Wangerstein, Carl Reynolds, Frank Nissen and John Gunther spent many weekends searching for suitable parts and equipment. A truck chassis with a new motor was bought from a local Chevrolet dealer, an eight hundred and fifty gallon fuel tank was found in Elizabeth, New Jersey and a pump and various fittings and accessories were purchased from manufacturers. Working nights and weekends, welders Victor Vorhees, John Reynolds, Art Wangenstein and Bill Lane mounted the tank on the chassis. Storage bins were constructed and attached to each side of the tank. Carlton Peterson fitted the pump assembly to the front of the truck and connected it to the tank. Jay Estelle, Charles Simons, Belmont Force, Carl Reynolds, Lloyd Estelle and Frank Nissen helped by installing the siren, lights, wiring and other fittings. They also helped with sanding and preparing the truck to be painted. While the truck was being built, a 16' x 30' addition was added to the north side of the existing building to house the new rig. Robert Mershan and Austin Gunther constructed the addition and had it complete when the truck was put in service late in 1951. By doing all the work themselves, it was estimated that the tank truck cost about one-third the cost of one built by the manufacturer. The truck was aquired by Squawkum fire company in 1960 when the membership bought a new Ward La France 750 G.P.M. pumper. The new truck carried 1,000 gallons of water and was mounted on a Ford chassis. It had to be sent back to the manufacturer when it was found to be too high to fit in the existing truck bays. The modifications were made and the truck was delivered and approved within a few weeks.

In 1959 the 5 companies in Howell Township met for the purpose of establishing fire districts in the township. Borders for the district were agreed on and they were numbered according to the age of the companies. Squawkum, formally Camp Houseman Fire Company was the oldest and therefore was district one. Adelphia number two, Southard number three followed by Ramtown and Freewood Acres. The first election for the fire districts was held on Saturday, February 20, 1960 . District #3 commissioners elected were Lloyd Estelle, Robert V. Lloyd, John Somay, Carl Reynolds and Jay Estelle. After the elections the board organized by naming officers and adopting by-laws as required by law. The board then negotiated and drafted agreements with the fire company with respect to the use of fire equipment and associated matters. During 1960 the board made studies and formulated a budget to present to the tax payers of the district. In February 1961, the first budget was submitted to the voters and approved. It should be noted that at this time the company was still responsible for maintenance of the building, utilities and various costs that came with it.

King's Furniture - Route 9 South Howell

In May 1963, the Hess oil company or Perth Amboy donated a 5500 gallon tank to Southard and numerous other companies throuout the state when a law was passed that single axel could no longer be used on semi oil tankers. A committee headed by Walter Estelle and Chief William Daly converted the tank for company use. the capacity of the tank was converted to 4300 gallons by installing doors and welding a new bulkhead in the rear compartment. This provided room to install a 300 gallon per minute pump and the necessary hose and other equipment. The members cleaned and scraped the truck and got it ready for painting. A white tractor was donated to the company to pull the tank trailer. And after the lights and siren were installed, Walter Estelle painted and lettered it.

In 1964 the membership voted to put and addition on the rear of the firehouse. A comittee headed by Charley Koreny had plans drawn up for a 50' x 120' building. The building would consist of a 100' x 50' hall and a truck bay to house the tractor trailer tank truck. A loan was obtained and a contract for construction was issued for Walter Ostrander to construct the block work, roof and complete the shell. Members installed the required electrical, heating and plumbing. They finished and painted the interior and the building was occupied in April of 1965. To pay for the addition, the company ran bingo, dances, show dances and rented it to the public. The Howell Board of Education rented the hall for one year when it need room for the elementary classes due to an increase in the communitie