Author of Wrigleyville fire station tribute coming to Arlington Hts.
Back in the 1960s, going to a Cubs game for Karen Kruse meant also going to Wrigleyville Engine 78, the fire station directly across the street from Wrigley.
"I grew up in a firehouse," said Kruse, now 50 and living in Schaumburg.
In 2001, she wrote a book, "A Chicago Firehouse: Stories of Wrigleyville's Engine 78" which is the story of the famous Chicago firehouse, its Wrigleyville connection and the fires her dad fought over his 30-year career.
Kruse will be speaking about her book at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the Arlington Heights Historical Museum. The event is free and open to the public. There will also be autographed copies of the book available for $20 each.
Every time Kruse went to a Cubs game, she also stopped by the fire station where her dad worked.
"The Cubs food vendors would drop off leftover food at the firehouse," she said. "I ate more ballpark food in that firehouse than I did at the park."
When Kruse got inside Wrigley Field, she and her family always sat in the same seats in left field. It gave her the perfect view of both the game and the firehouse she loved.
"When they (firefighters) had a run and pulled out of the station, I'd look over the wall," she said. "On their way out, they'd wave to me. That's how a kid falls in love with firefighters. And her father."
Kruse still listens for the sound of sirens when she watches Cubs games on television.
From its beginnings in 1884 as a one-story frame building with one bay and its team of horses, Engine Company 78 has been the firefighting sentinel at the end of Waveland Avenue, sitting in the shadow of Wrigley Field.
Her best interview subject for her book was her father, Robert Kruse, who worked at the station from 1956 to 1970. He moved to other Chicago fire stations until he retired in 1986 and went to southern Illinois with his wife to raise farm animals.
"A Chicago Firehouse: Stories of Wrigleyville's Engine 78" came out a few months before Sept. 11, 2001 and includes a foreword by Mike Ditka and Chicago Fire Commissioner James T. Joyce.
" 'Engine 78 - Still alarm ...' These words have been broadcast thousands of times over the speaker in Engine 78's quarters," Joyce wrote.
"This proud old firehouse has been home to some of the hardest working public servants in the long history of our fabled fire department. The unique location of Engine 78 and Ambulance 6 serves as a landmark for visitors from all over the country. A great meeting place for families enjoying a day at the 'Friendly Confines,' where the friendly spirit of the neighborhood heroes proudly show off the shiny red truck and the worn brass sliding poles."
For more on the book visit www.achicagofirehouse.com.
<p class="factboxheadblack">If you go</p> <p class="News">Join Karen Kruse, author of "A Chicago Firehouse: Stories of Wrigleyville's Engine 78"</p> <p class="News"><b>When:</b> 3-4:30 p.m. Sunday.</p> <p class="News"><b>Where: </b>Arlington Heights Historical Museum, 110 W. Fremont St., Arlington Heights</p> <p class="News"><b>Cost:</b> Free</p> <p class="News">The author will sell autographed copies of her book for $20.</p>