IN MEMORIUM
ART THOMPSON, 1922-2009
Long time CFE friend and member Art Thompson passed away on Saturday, November 7, 2009. As some of you know, Art had successfully battled cancer, but after some months in remission the cancer returned. Art owned several Crown Firecoaches including the ex-Anaheim/Valley Center pumper (F1502, seen in the photos above and below) that previously belonged to CFE member Mike McDonald. Art attended many of our events including the SPAAMFAA convention in Pomona last February.
Art's memorial service was held Saturday, November 14 at the Colton High School Auditorium and attended by hundreds of friends, including many CFE members. Following the service, Art's casket was carried on his 1955 Crown, escorted by the Colton Police and Fire Departments which led a procession of CFE apparatus and ATHS trucks through the streets of Colton on their way to Art's final resting place at Montecito Memorial Park. Click on the photo below to see more photos.
ArArt was born on August 28, 1922, a life-long resident of Colton. He was one of the city's most well-known and respected residents. He worked his entire life in trucking. He worked for Matich Corp. for 20 years before starting his own company, Tom-Son Tank Lines in 1984. Art was a member of the Grandview Baptist Church, the Colton Kiwanis Club, American Truck Historical Society, California Trucking Association, and Crown Firecoach Enthusiasts. Art is survived by his wife of 36 years, Linda, his daughter, Jennifer, 8 grandchildren, and 1 great grandchild. Art was proceeded in death by his daughter Debbie Mathews. Art was very active in his church and the local community and a supporter of many charities and local civic events. He began collecting Crown fire engines after acquiring a Crown pumper and refurbishing it at his own expense to donate to a church camp in the San Bernardino Mountains. Art was so impressed with how well made the Crown was he decided he wanted one for himself.
CFE member Mike McDonald says of Art, "besides being a great person and friend since my tenure at Matich Corp. in the late 60's, Art had been a very active CFE member these past several years. He attended each and every event he could and if he didn't feel up to it, his drivers (Jim and Ron) would bring his rigs. Art overhauled CFE's club-owned 1971 Crown Pumper and as recently as two weeks ago furnished a very hard to find power steering pump for the CFE's Hall-Scott Powered Crown Bus. As usual, this was done without any reimbursement requested."
CFE member Jim Conrad, a good friend of Art and frequent driver of E373 supplied the above and below photos, saying the bottom photo "depicts what Art loved best - the fire engine at a school with kids on it."
I personally considered Art a good friend. He was the kind of exceptionally kind and generous individual that is rare these days. He will be greatly missed.
- Mike Britt, CFE Webmaster
1963 Crown still proudly serves northern California volunteer fire department
Pictured is Crown Firecoach S/N F1287 which currently serves the Westhaven Volunteer Fire Department on the northern California coast in Humbolt County. This 1963 pumper was one of three identical units purchased by Eureka, CA. Read about the history of this rig and see more pictures by clicking on the photo above.
More Crown Videos on the web
JCFE member Bill Hoeft is featured behind the wheel of his 1970 Crown (S/N F1643, ex-Mt. View, CA) rolling Code 3 in a Denver Post video called "Fun at the Firehouse," an event recently held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of old Denver Fire Station 1, now home of the Denver Firefighters Museum. Bill restored this Crown to look like a Vernon FD Crown, where his dad served. To watch the video, click on the photo above. To see what the exterior of F1643 looks like, click here and then click on the top left photo.
JA YouTube video posted August 10, 2009, shows a firefighter turning on the lights on this Crown at a recent emergency services display in Scotland. Yes, that's Scotland in the U.K. The notes with the video state "1967 Crown Fire Engine doing a light test, note the lights arent very effective on this appliance as it is about 40 year old." (Actually, it is exactly 40 years old since it is a 1969, not a 1967). For those unfamiliar with the story, in 1996, Pleasanton, CA donated Firecoach S/N F1579 to its sister city, Blairgowrie, Scotland, who maintains it as a parade "appliance." For veteran club members, see the 1997-3 newsletter. To see the video, click on the photo above.
JYet another YouTube video now online which features a Crown pumper is the unsold pilot for a 1959 TV show called 'Where There's Smokey," starring Soupy Sales as a bumbling but good-hearted fireman and Gale Gordon as his brother-in-law and the fire chief. You only need to watch part I of the 3 parts posted on YouTube to see the Crown. If you watch all three parts of this Desilu Production, you will realize why it never sold. It really has nothing to do with the fire service, that is just a setting for this sitcom.
Richard Yokely brought this to our attention and after carefully examining the footage, Don Croucher determined it is a Downey Crown and fire station, and I narrowed it down to one of Downey's 4 identical 1957 pumpers (F1109-F1112). Several editing flubs I guess they assumed people would not notice include, the rig used in the studio shots is an open cab 1958/59 C series Mack, and in the scene of the Crown returning to the station they have flipped the film backwards so the rig is on the wrong side of the road and the driver is on the righthand side (maybe it was in Scotland!). To see the video, click on the photo above.
2009 American Heroes Air Show
JThe annual American Heroes Air Show & "Rollin' to the Rescue" event was held Saturday Julyy 11, 2009 at Hansen Dam Recrecation Area in Valley Terrace, CA. Members from both CFE
and the Southern California Chapter of the Professional Car Society participated in a display of emergency vehicles at the park, which included CFE member Jim Koenekamp's ex-Nevada Dept. of Forestry 4x4 Crown.
CFE Members Put on display for Inland Empire Cub Scouts at Auto Club Speedway
Five CFE members brought rigs on Saturday, June 5 to the Inland Empire Cub Scout Pinewood Derby District Championship at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. Over 100 boys ages 6 to 10 attended and enjoyed looking at and climbing on rigs brought by members Frank Sealy (1985 Pierce/Chevy, ex Chino FD), Jim Conrad (1967 Crown, ex Valley Center FD), Tom Ryan (1976 Mack, ex Long Beach FD), Mike Britt (1970 Crown, ex Culver City FD), and Carl Lucey (1976 Ford/Van Pelt, ex Tulare County FD)
Click on the photo below to see more photos from the event
CFE Members Participate in 2009 Firefighters Quest Run For Burn Survivors
The 2009 Firefighters Quest For Burn Survivors Burn Run was held from June 1-5, 2009. Over $180,000 was raised. Several CFE members participated and a couple of Crowns were in the run.
CFE Board Member/Rec. Secretary, Len Zlotorowicz is one of the event coordinators.
Click on the image below to see more photos from the event
CFE Club Crown Firebus wins first place in Valley Center Western Days Parade
CFE’s 1958 Crown Firecoach Bus won 1st Place in the Emergency Vehicle Category at the Western Days Parade held Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Valley Center. The Firebus, which also served as a shutle bus during the 3-day annual Western Days, was among about 8 other entries with Hewy & Ruth Wick’s LAPD / Adam-12 Car coming in 2nd. According to Mike McDonlad, "Valley Center is kind of a magnet for Retired LA City and County FD people." No less than four retired LA County guys came up to Mike during the weekend to say that they had either ridden on the bus or had seen it in L.A. County while it was in service. One was retired Capt. Ron Rayhawk who recalled the Jim Page story about Jim responding to an accident call with the bus while loaded with camera-laden visiting Japanese fire chiefs, and going on scene before the first in engine and ambulance arrived.
CFE’s Ex-North County Fire 1971 Crown Pumper (freshly detailed with new gold leaf door lettering) carried an entry for the Valley Center Chamber of Commerce. The California Fire Museum’s Ex-Fallbrook FD 1957 Dodge-Howe 4X4 Brush Engine opened up the parade in front of the Escondido Police Color Guard and Mounted Posse.
Click on the image below to see more photos (courtesy The Valley Center Roadrunner)
CFE May 2009 Meeting Report
The May 16 CFE meeting was held at member Justin Aldi's warehouse in Burbank. Justin and his business partner, who started "First Security Lending" in the mid-1990s, bought the warehouse to store all of their "toys." Justin collects trucks and Triumphs. He got into Triumphs because his Mom owned one that sat in the garage for years. When Justin was 16 and wanted a car, his Mom said "you can have it if you can get it to run." Justin drove this car to high school and learned to repair it (weekly, as it's British), and soon became hooked on the little roadster. He got into trucks because a neighbor of his had a rig. His business partner collects motorcycles, go-carts and muscle cars. Justin owns 4 fire rigs - an early 1940s Mack, a 1952 Seagrave quad and a 1958 Diamond-T/Van Pelt that is for sale. He also has a 1930s Moreland that he got from L.A. County as a future restoration project.
Justin also provided a deli and cold-cut tray and all present made sandwiches for lunch. After lunch, the group went over to Burbank's Headquarters for a tour. Burbank Engine 11, a 2009 Seagrave, was just put in to service on May 15th and they have two others just like it.
Click on the photo below to see more photos from the May CFE Meeting
CFE 2009 Pump-In
Click on the photo of the 2009 CFE Pump-In dash Plaque, below, to read an article and view photos from the Pump-In held on April 26, 2009, including the 2009 Brian Dierkens Award winner.
CFE Members Participate in 2009 AARBF Southern California Burn Relay
The Annual Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation’s Southern CA Burn Relay took place on Saturday, April 24th, 2009 with several CFe member's rigs participating. The relay wasl broken into two legs, one doing the coastal cities and the other heading inland, each with CHP escort. Both groups departed from the Santa Monica Airport where even an airplane wanted to join in! Money was collected at each stop, with both groups meeting back up at Los Angeles county F.D. Station 118 for diiner and closing festivities.
Click on the image below to see more photos from the event
CFE Rigs in L.A. St. Patrick's Parade
The Los Angeles St. Patrick's Day Parade was held on Tuesday, March 17th and CFE member rigs were again invited to participate. Members Mike Briel, Brian Grimes and Jim Konekamp each brought a rig, and commenting on his Laker girls passengers, Brian grimes said, "Of course I got to haul the best cargo!"
Thanks to all who attended and helped make the 2009 Winter SPAAMFAA Conference a Success!
VIEW VIDEOS ABOUT THE CONFERENCE:
Click here to see the news video story about the 2009 SPAAMFAA winter conference, by Reporter Barbara Brooks of Fire Department News Network (FDNNTV.com)
Click here to see the second story the FDNNTV team filmed at the SPAAMFAA Convention which is about the steam-up demonstration by the CSFA Steamer Team.
CLICK ON THE PICTURE BELOW TO VIEW CFE's CONFERENCE PHOTO PAGES
CFE's club-owned 1963 Crown/Snorkle is featured on the official 2009 SPAAMFAA Winter Convention Dash Plaque. Crown S/N F1313, this 1000 gpm quint with a 350 gallon tank originally served the Stanton, CA FD and later became Truck 46 with the Orange County Fire Department when the City of Stanton contracted fire services to the County of Orange in 1988. A limited number of these collector dash plaques are still available for purchase for $5.00 each plus S&H. Contact the Webmaster for details.
CFE Rigs at 2009 Firehouse World
CFE member rigs were on display insdie the San Diego Convention Center for Firehouse World , Febraury 15-19, 2009. here they are on move-in day.
Staged awaiting move -in to the convention center: Randy Marsile brought OCFSA's 1967 Crown pumper and Brad Hammer brought his 1948 Ford/Van Pelt pumper.
Rigs moving into the convention center display area are led by Doug Hammer's 1940 United-Kenworth pumper.
- Classic Crowns on the Web -
CLASSIC CROWNS ON YOUTUBE
There are several clips currently on YouTube showing classic L.A. and Honolulu Crown Firecoaches.
The short video entitled "LAFD Crown Firecoach, Auckland, New Zealand, 1 Dec 07" shows former LAFD shop 60086, a 1961 Crown that ran as W10. It was given to New Zealand by LAFD in 1993 and is now part of the collection of the Museum of Transportation and Technology in Auckland. Click on the image below to go to the YouTube video.
There are also some clips taken from the 1960s television drama "Hawaii Five-0" on YouTube that show some classic Crowns. The first clip shows two different Crown pumpers, a 1960s triple rolling out of a station and then a 1950s Crown responding down a street. These are actually LAFD rigs filmed on the streets of Los Angeles but edited in with footage filmed in Hawaii to make it appear they are in Honolulu. Click on the image below to go to the YouTube video.
The other clip is from the opening of the episode "The Sunday Torch" from season 6 of the "Hawaii Five-0." It shows the very first 85-foot Snorkle that Crown built (S/N F1224), which was mounted on a 1961 International-Harvester chasis with only two axles. This beast was a one of a kind rig! Click on the image below to go to the YouTube video.
