Historic Mundelein fire truck being restored
As it approaches its 100th birthday, Mundelein is set to reacquire a unique piece of history: the village's first fire truck, given to the town 83 years ago by its namesake.
The 1925 Stoughton truck is gray and rusted and doesn't look very impressive now, but officials hope to restore it in time for a centennial celebration scheduled for October 2009.
"This is a little bit of Mundelein's history right here," said local resident Bob Stadlman, who's on the committee overseeing the recovery effort. "It's part of the (village's) heritage. It's part of Mundelein."
Mundelein was called Rockefeller when it formally incorporated in 1909. It was renamed Area later that year and became Mundelein in 1924.
That final renaming was to honor Roman Catholic Cardinal George Mundelein, who oversaw the construction of the Midwest's first major seminary, St. Mary of the Lake, in Mundelein in the 1920s.
As a sign of appreciation for taking his name, the cardinal gave the village the fire truck in 1925. Until then, the village's only firefighting equipment was a hand-drawn hose cart, according to village literature.
The truck remained in use until 1945. It was then sold and changed hands repeatedly through the ensuing decades, eventually winding up in Maryland.
That's where retired Mundelein firefighter Jim Carew, a Bristol, Wis., resident who collects and restores old fire trucks, found it in 1994.
The vehicle was five days from being crushed and turned into scrap, Mundelein Fire Chief Tim Sashko said.
"It was something I did not know even still existed," he said. "To have that brief moment of 'We almost lost it' is absolutely amazing."
Carew, a Mundelein firefighter from 1966 to 1993, bought the truck and has been working on it through the years.
Negotiations to sell the truck back to Mundelein began this year.
Stadlman and the centennial volunteers were excited by the opportunity. So was Sashko, whose department already is restoring a 1972 fire truck.
"Throughout the fire service's history, a lot of this (old) stuff is gone," he said. "We're going to get this piece of history that so many fire departments lost out on."
The truck was in pieces when Carew picked up the truck, Sashko said.
Although the original hoses are long gone and other parts have deteriorated, Carew has put together much of the vehicle.
"We've got all the big pieces, but little things are missing," he said.
Stadlman is impressed with the truck's condition.
"There's an awful lot of equipment there with it," Stadlman said. "The frame is in really good shape, and it's been painted."
Carew has proposed restoring the truck himself, at an estimated cost of $60,000. Normally such a job would take two to four years, he said, but he's aiming to get it done in one.
"It'll be a full-time endeavor," he said. "When it comes back to (Mundelein), it'll be in as good or better shape as when they got it from Cardinal Mundelein."
The centennial committee is developing fundraising efforts to come up with the cash, Stadlman said.
Sashko believes the truck, once restored, can be used at open houses and in public-education programs.
"It would certainly be a showcase," he said.
The village board recently authorized the preparation of a purchase agreement with Carew, with the price set at $11,000.
It also authorized the preparation of a special, temporary fund that would pay for the truck's restoration until the centennial committee raises enough money to cover the project.
No board members opposed buying the truck, but Trustee Terri Voss opposed using village funds to restore it.
That money could be used to pay for sidewalk construction or road salt, she said.
"In this uncertain economic time, I just can't justify spending $60,000 to refurbish this truck," she said.
Other trustees disagreed.
"This needs to be back in Mundelein," Trustee Ray Semple said.
Trustee Ed Sullivan called the truck a great investment that's worth the financial risk.
"It's not like a fireworks show that goes up in smoke," he said. "We'd have this forever."