1918 Fire Wagon - Okanogan, WA
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 48° 22.419 W 119° 34.152
11U E 309745 N 5361021
The first piece of motorized apparatus to be owned by the Okanogan Volunteer Fire Department, this was, as some might believe, not a true fire engine.
Waymark Code: WMYTFM
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 07/22/2018
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member NW_history_buff
Views: 1
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One of three motorized pieces of fire fighting equipment in the Okanogan Firemen's Museum, this is the oldest of the three. The other two are a 1945 Buffalo Fire Engine, the department's Engine #2, and a 1928 GMC Fire Engine, Engine #1.

Never having a water tank or a water pump, this old "Jimmy" was used only to haul the firemen and their equipment to the scene, thereafter not participating in the action. It was put into service well before (10 years, actually) the department had a real fire engine. Their major offensive weapon at the time was a hose reel, of which they possessed several, by all accounts.

The museum has managed to compile a relatively complete history of the Fire Wagon, which can be read below.

1918 Fire Wagon

Our story of this Fire Wagon begins in the mid 20s when "Grandpa" Soren Petersen bought it from the City of Okanogan- as another piece of fire suppression equipment for his sawmill down in Aeneas Valley.

It was stationed there until the mid to late 30s when he dismantled the mill and took the mill and Fire Wagon to storage in the warehouse at the Okanogan Orchards South of Tonasket. (Home to Lawrence and Elizabeth for some 20 plus years) it was stored inside out of the elements until the late 50s.

In 1958 after Harvey (oldest son of Lawrence and Elizabeth) and Marjorie Rupert were married, Harvey joined the Tonasket Fire Department. He remembered that the old Fire Wagon was still in the warehouse so he and several of the Tonasket Firemen retrieved it and cleaned it up to use as an extra in the Tonasket Rodeo Parades. In 1961 Harvey and Marjorie moved to Omak and left the Fire Wagon in the good hands of the Tonasket Fire Department. Harvey joined the Omak Firemen at that time. It wasn't until they moved to their home in Riverside that they relocated the Fire Wagon to their yard there. It was used as a backdrop for birthday pictures. 8th grade and high school pictures for Jim, Dan (Boone) and Suzie. It even appears in the wedding pictures of Suzie and George.

In 1986 when Harvey and Marjorie moved from Riverside to Reno, Nevada they left the Fire Wagon in the careful hands of their son, Dan and his family. In 1996 Dan bought a home of his own and daughter Suzie and her husband moved to the Riverside house and it was passed to their care.

In June of 1997, when Harvey and Marjorie decided to sell their Riverside home, they read in the Omak-Okanogan Chronicle that the Fire Museum was being dedicated. There in the paper was a picture of this Fire Wagon in front of the old Okanogan City Fire Hall. It was then that they decided that the old wagon needed to "go back home".

Just as an interesting side note - Marjorie's dad, George Rupert, told them that he could remember using this wagon to fight a fire at the Aeneas Valley sawmill while he was working there for "Grandpa Soren".
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