Postville Fire Department |
Postville Fire Department, 1897
The Postville Fire Department is shown in the white duck trousers, red sweaters and blue military caps they wore at that time when on dress parade. At that time firemen in Iowa towns met regularly for field days and they included contests, feats, and dances.
| Back row L-R: Dr. L. P. Coleman (dentist) John Fangmeier (salesman for Gregg Lumber Co.) F. J. Thoma (restaurant and grocery proprietor) John Hecker (wagon manufacturer and later an auto dealer) Ray Schuler (contractor) Henry Poesch (saloon owner) Fred Sutherland (machine shop owner) James Gregg (owner of Gregg Lumber) Elmer Gray (jeweler) |
Middle row L-R: William Oehring (farmer) Patrick McGreevey (elevator owner at Fonda) Arthur Burdick (postmaster) J.M. Thoma (druggist) Fritz Wilke (grocery store clerk) Fred Schara (meat market owner) |
Front row L-R:
James Horgan (bartender))
Hilmer Nazette (machinist)
Fred Schroeder (clerk at Gray Clothing Co.
George Thoma (hardware store clerk)
Bert Tuttle (editor, Postville Review)
This picture and identification of the firemen first appeared in the Cedar Rapids Gazette on January 28, 1940. Everett Cook provided the picture to the Postville Herald. Everett Cook and his brother Burr Cook, joined the Postville Fire Department in 1935 and on their 50th year with the Department, they were honored for their total of 100 years of service to the Postville Department.
~source: original photograph, now in the Postville Public Library; names of firemen, their occupations & other text is from a ca1991 issue of the Postville Herald, (a copy of the photo was also included in the Postville Herald article
~contributed by Connie Ellis
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