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History: Local:
Also see
1923 Parade Shows Off First
Sussex Fire Truck
Sussex Fire Department
edited by Michael R. Reilly
Last Updated:
11/24/2009
Note - This article contains references and
information about early Sussex gas / filling stations. The
Sussex Fire Department almost had its start before the Sussex Main Street School
burned down on January 30, 1922. Before this event the Sussex-Templeton
Advancement Association had a project to form a fire company, but the project
floundered until after the school fire.I checked one article that Fred Keller
wrote about the Sussex Fire Dept, and it seems that there wasn't an actual fire
station until after 1937, that the equipment/trucks were just parked locally at
at least three different filling/gas stations along Main Street.
"Fully equipped, the first fire truck cost was $2,500. It was first parked at
the (Roy Stier)* Sussex Auto Garage*, later at the (Louis Marx's) Universal Garage (Lotter's Car Care Center
today) before the 1937 construction of Sussex Community Hall." From the
1982 60th Anniversary booklet, there's an ad for Carlson's Auto Center
(pre-Lotter's) on page 24 that states the Universal Garage kept the fire trucks
there from 1933 until 1937. It's said that the fire truck(s) were also kept at
Herb Beier's Templeton filling station (probably mid to later 1920's).(1)
*"Yesteryear in
Sussex: Fred Stier's Blacksmith Shop", by Fred H. Keller, Yesteryear in
Sussex Revisited, page 35-36. Where Cain's Service Station stands today was
once the center of Sussex, the "Four Corners." [Main and Maple Ave.]. Charles
Cooling, an English immigrant, operated Cooling's Carriage and Wagon Shop on the
southeast corner. Fred Stier took over the shop around the turn of the century,
It became Stier's Blacksmith Shop. " Editor's note - the 1920 Federal Census
lists Fred Stier as a automobile mechanic, as his son Roy.
(1) The 1930 federal Census simply lists Herb Beier as a
"mechanic-garage", no ownership accorded.
Editor's note: There is some confusion as to which Stier, Roy
or Fred (Roy's father), owned the blacksmith shop / garage. From the
Stier Family history (see
http://www.slahs.org/genealogy/families/stier.htm ), we find this about
Roy's life -
"There he practiced his life trade, mechanics and blacksmithing, initially
calling it Stier’s Garage. He later joined with Al Schroeder to sell and service
farm machinery under the business name Stier and Schroeder. Schroeder eventually
left and started Schroeder Implement in Templeton (now eastern Sussex). Stier
later rented out his garage to Clem (Cornelius
C. "Slim" in 1963)
Strobel, who changed the name to Sussex Auto, Inc."
Note-
In August 1963, Slim
and Martin "Johnny" Johnson bought the property at N64W23936 Main Street from
Roy Stier. Slim became the sole proprietor of the business around 1975 after
Johnny left Sussex Auto. It became an extended family enterprise as today Slim's
son, Nick, is in charge and his grandson, Nick Jr., is employed there. Source: "Slim
Strobel, Sussex mechanic for 46 years"
By Fred H.
Keller, Living Sussex Sun,
Posted: Sept. 1, 2009
http://www.slahs.org/genealogy/families/strobel.htm
The 1930 Federal Census shows that Roy Stier was a garage
mechanic and owned his own garage. His brothers Louis and Carl were only listed
as "mechanic - garage". George H. Zander is also listed as a mechanic-garage
and living with Herb's family.
Technically the
present Lisbon fire station at Good Hope and Hillside Rds. is the second town
fire station. When the first fire company was formed, "The Lisbon Volunteer Fire
Company No. 1", on May 2, 1922 at the Lisbon Town Hall meeting, Sussex wasn't an
incorporated village yet. That occurred in 1924. Even after the village attained
incorporated status, the name wasn't changed to the "Sussex Volunteer Fire
Company" until November 2, 1931.
I guess which municipality had the first fire station is up for debate, since
the equipment was stored on private commercial premises until 1937. The
first fire station location being the Sussex Garage (today Paul Cain's Service
Station*) on the southeast corner of today's Main St. and Maple Ave. This
location had a siren installed; sometime in the mid-1920's the siren was moved
to the Universal Garage. Later in 1937, the Sussex Community Hall had a 7
1/2 HP installed on its roof.
*Paul Cain's Texaco Service
in 1977
Editor's note - Adding to the confusion is this (though not a
piece of the fire equipment storage saga):
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The following
is an excerpt from Fred H. Keller's article "Honeymoon cottage for
Hardimans", first published in the Sussex Sun, Tuesday, June 27, 1978
Walter
Hardiman married Alfred's Wileden's daughter, Elsie, and the house
(formerly Boots in 1864, the James Elliott in the 1890's, later rental
residence of Otto Smith), was their honeymoon cottage.
Hardiman was
in the quarry business near where Vulcan Materials Quarry is today [Hwys
74 and County Rd K or Lisbon Rd.]. Later with his sons, Percy and Ralph,
he founded the Hardiman Oil Co. It was initially located where
Paul Cain's Service Station is today [southeast corner of Main St. and
Maple Ave.], but later quarters were in what is now a Sporting
Goods shop next to Sussex Creek [no longer there in 2004]. Today [1978]
Hardiman Oil Co. is located on Silver Spring. |
See "1923 Parade Shows Off First Sussex Fire Truck"
http://www.slahs.org/history/government/fire_department/sussex.htm
The Sussex Community Hall had some work done to it to accommodate the fire
equipment, but the first true fire house wasn't built until 1963 at N63 W24335
Main St.
There is a
60th Sussex Fire Department anniversary booklet that was prepared in
1982, there may be copies at the Pauline Haass Library for sale yet. On page 19
is an article (probably written by Fred Keller) "11 different
fire chiefs in the 60 year history". On page 20 it says the Sussex
Fire Co. had its own special quarters in the Sussex Community Hall. A two-door
garage was on the south face of the building with a meeting room immediately
behind it. (This probably faced
Silver Spring Dr. Address is unknown, though the dental practice across
the street was 100 E. Silver Spring Dr.)
The fire company took over the newly built
garage in October 1937 and used this until 1963.
Unfortunately the booklet has no photo of the
fire station. From Steve Haasch Nov. 22, 2009:
"There is an earlier anniversary booklet (50th
anniversary) that has the picture of the fire
house at the Sussex Community Hall on the front
cover. The doors were where the windows of the
Outreach center (Sussex
Food Pantry) are today. Behind the garage
area was a meeting room inside the building. I
will try to find the picture. I still remember
that firehouse. The first ‘Ambulance’ was called
‘The Rescue Truck” #454 and was actually an old
police paddy wagon. It was later replaced with a
larger International panel van when the
firehouse moved to the new location. The radio
system was part of the
Waukesha County system, Sussex having
number from 450 to 469. Their call sign was
KDZ-464."
County Board OKs
$500K for Sussex
substation; New
facility will serve
Merton and Lisbon,
too
The village's plans
for a new substation
to headquarter the
Sheriff's Department
deputies servicing
Sussex, Lisbon and
the Village of
Merton received a
much-anticipated
boost March 25 when
the Waukesha County
Board voted to spend
$500,000 to help
build it.
By PETER ABBOTT
Living Sussex
Sun, Posted:
April 2, 2008
The village's
plans for a new
substation to
headquarter the
Sheriff's
Department
deputies
servicing
Sussex, Lisbon
and the Village
of Merton
received a
much-anticipated
boost March 25
when the
Waukesha County
Board voted to
spend $500,000
to help build
it.
"It's a
win-win for both
Sussex and the
county," said
County Board
Chairman James
Dwyer in a
telephone
interview last
week.
The
substation will
replace what
Dwyer called the
"cramped
quarters" of the
Village Hall
basement, whose
900 square feet
now serves as
headquarters for
the deputies
Sussex contracts
for from the
Waukesha County
Sheriff's
Department.
The $1.15
million contract
provides the
village with
multishift 24/7
police coverage.
The new
facility "will
allow us to do
police work in a
proper fashion,
giving us more
room to
operate," Dwyer
said.
While county
assistance for
the project was
never much in
doubt, how much
the board would
appropriate
awaited Lisbon's
decision last
year to contract
with the
Sheriff's
Department for
police services.
The Villages
of Sussex and
Merton, both of
which have such
contracts with
the county, had
already
committed
themselves to
the project when
the Lisbon Town
Board decided to
eliminate its
own police
department and
do likewise.
Sussex will
put up the rest
of the money for
the project, but
no one yet knows
how much that
will be. That's
because the
plans are too
preliminary,
village
officials said.
The village
has contracted
with Yaggy Colby
Associates of
Minnesota to
design what will
be an estimated
4,000-square-foot
addition to
Sussex's
firehouse on
Main Street. The
design firm,
which also has
offices in the
City of
Delafield, will
work with a
design committee
that includes
five members of
its own staff,
five
representatives
from the
Sheriff's
Department, five
village staffers
and Sussex Fire
Chief Colin
"Corky" Curtis.
Curtis said
the committee is
"tentatively
leaning" toward
adding the
substation to
the east side of
the firehouse.
The substation
and the
firehouse will
have separate
entrances "for
security
reasons," he
added.
The addition
will include
some shared
rooms and spaces
for the two
departments,
including a
locker room and
storage space.
Sheriff's
Department
deputies will
also have their
own interview
rooms, office
space and a
reception area.
Sussex also
plans to add "a
few more
sleeping
quarters for
future
expansion, so
more
firefighters can
stay overnight,"
Curtis said.
Besides the
Sheriff's
Department
deputies serving
the three
communities, the
substation will
also serve as
headquarters for
two Sheriff's
Department
detectives on
separate shifts
and the squad
car that now
patrols the
county's
northeast
quadrant out of
Nashotah.
The village
will pay the
entire cost of
maintaining the
facility once
it's built and
will not charge
its neighbors
for a share of
the expenses.
"I wouldn't
say forever,"
added Assistant
Village
Administrator
Jeremy Smith,
"but at least
not for the
first few
years."
Sheriff substation
architect hired
The Village Board
voted unanimously
last Tuesday to hire
Yaggy Colby
architects to design
the new Waukesha
County Sheriff's
Department
substation addition
to the Sussex Fire
Station on Main
Street.
By LAURA DRITLEIN
Living Sussex
Sun, Posted:
March 4, 2008
The Village
Board voted
unanimously last
Tuesday to hire
Yaggy Colby
architects to
design the new
Waukesha County
Sheriff's
Department
substation
addition to the
Sussex Fire
Station on Main
Street.
The
substation will
provide a
headquarters for
Sheriff's
Department
deputies
servicing the
department's
contracts with
Sussex, Lisbon
and the Village
of Merton.
The overall
addition also
includes more
space for the
Sussex Fire
Department.
"This is a
wonderful
opportunity in
regional
cooperation,"
said Sussex
Village
Administrator
Evan Teich.
Waukesha
County has
pledged $500,000
to help build
the substation.
Sussex will
pay the
architect
$34,000 and
oversee the
construction.
The village is
also responsible
for substation
maintenance once
it's in
operation.
The
Minneapolis-based
Yaggy Colby will
operate out of
the company's
Delafield
office.
The village
still needs to
bid out the
construction.
The design
has to take into
consideration
more access to
the building,
Teich explained.
The village's
paid-on-call
firefighting
system already
has people
coming and going
from the Fire
Station and
bringing large
and expensive
equipment out
onto a county
highway, he
added.
The new
police station
will draw about
80 walk-ins a
month, plus the
deputies
themselves,
Teich noted.
"We want to
make sure that
access in and
out of the site
is appropriate,"
he said.
While Teich
stressed the
importance of
the deputies'
and firefighting
portions of the
building
blending
architecturally,
"you can't have
the public in
certain areas of
the Police
Department," he
said.
Firefighters
and the public
would have
separate
entrances than
the Police
Department,
which would
require some
private access
points.
Working together for safe communities
New headquarters serves Merton, Lisbon and Sussex
By Kelly Smith
Living Sussex Sun, Posted: Sept. 29, 2009
Village of Sussex — Lake Country and Waukesha County officials participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week in front of a building they hope becomes a monument to intergovernmental cooperation.
The $1.8 million annex to the village fire station, that was scheduled to open for business Monday is designed to serve the public safety needs of Waukesha County as well as the Villages of Merton and Sussex and the Town of Lisbon.
It will be the headquarters for Waukesha County Sheriff's Department deputies patrolling the northeast quadrant of the county as well as the three communities that have separate police service contracts with the Sheriff's Department.
Seven deputies are assigned to provide around-the-clock protection to the Village of Sussex. Two deputies are each assigned to work an eight-hour shift for the Town of Lisbon. One deputy serves various eight-hour shifts for the Village of Merton.
In addition, two sheriff's detectives will work eight-hour shifts at the regional substation, according to Sheriff Dan Trawicki.
Waukesha County contributed $500,000 to the project, which also includes facility improvements for the Village of Sussex Fire Station on Main Street.
Local officials recognized that providing cooperative public safety services in a single building was more important than building individual political fiefdom's, Trawicki said. Sussex Village President Tony Lapcinski said officers will be able to operate more effectively in the building because it will improve communications among the law-enforcement officers and permit then to spend more time in the communities rather than having to commute between the communities and the County Administration Building in Waukesha.
"They will also be more visible. They are going to be on Main Street. They won't be in the basement any longer," he added.
The deputies assigned to Sussex shared an office space in the basement of the Village Hall. Village of Merton officers work out of small office in that Village Hall, and those assigned to Lisbon worked out of a town public works building.
Town Chairman Matt Gehrke said Supervisor Joe Osterman will negotiate with village officials over whether the town is willing to contribute to the salary of a full-time village employee who will work at an information desk in the substation.
Village officials have suggested that since residents of the town and the Village of Merton will benefit from services provided by the Sussex employee, those two communities should share in the cost of her salary.
Trawicki's idea for a regional substation was enhanced when the Town of Lisbon decided two years ago to dump its police department, which had become bogged down in personnel controversies, and replace it with a police service contract with the Sheriff's Department.
Gehrke cast a key vote in the Town Board decision that was spearheaded by former Town Chairman Michael Reed.
Some Merton officials have privately - and half-jokingly - suggested they are disappointed that the two to four county squad cars usually parked in front of the Village of Hall will be moved to the new Sussex facility.
The squads are a deterrent to speeders on Highway V near Village Hall and other potential criminal activity. .
One of those cars might remain at the Village Hall. It is assigned to a canine deputy who lives in Washington County. Trawicki said "something can be worked out" to keep the car in front of the Merton Village Hall.
Village President Bob Weber said the squad cars are a minor consideration compared to the benefits the village and other communities will receive from the new regional substation.
Weber said the Sheriff's Department can provide the village with cost-effective law enforcement service without village officials having to worry about operating its own police department.
Greenwald named Sussex Firefighter of the Year
 Firefighter Shelly Greenwald was recently named Sussex Firefighter of the Year for 2007 by her fellow firefighters.
By FRED H. KELLER
Living Sussex Sun, Posted: March 4, 2008
Firefighter Shelly Greenwald was recently named Sussex Firefighter of the Year for 2007 by her fellow firefighters.
Sussex Fire Chief Colin "Corky" Curtis announced the award, and several others, at the Sussex Fire Department's Founders Day banquet Friday.
A 2006 Hamilton High School graduate, Greenwald is the youngest firefighter in the department's history to earn the annual award. She joined the department's cadet program when she was still in high school.
"Shelly is a dedicated professional, a role model and a team player," Curtis said.
Others honored
Deputy Chief Tony Emanuele was given a Chief's Award and a plaque for 25 years of service.
Deputy Chief Cathy Selerski was recognized for 25 years of service; Lt. Jerrad Blenfeld and Boyd Thew for 10 years; and Bill Gribble, Barb Beres, Clint Beardsley and paramedic Ardith Gribble for five years.
The annual dinner and awards event commemorates the Jan. 30, 1922, Sussex Main Street School fire that caused the Village of Sussex to organize a fire department in May of that year, with 32 original charter members. The department has 50 members today.
News and notes
The Sussex Fire Department won two government grants this year: $2,500 from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for a mapping computer and a new pump for the department's grassfire truck and a $95,000 FEMA homeland security grant for self-contained breathing apparatus for firefighters' backpacks to help them fight structural fires.
The Sussex Fire Department answered 690 calls in 2007, with a high of six calls a day several times.
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