Volunteer firefighters: true community heroes

I am sure that, over the years, articles may have been sent to the paper regarding the “unsung heroes” who are volunteers for the Holyoke Volunteer Fire Department. Nonetheless, when I saw the photo of 11 firefighters in the April 9 issue of the Enterprise, I just had to offer a few comments.

When I studied the photo, taken sometime in 1963, I realized I knew most of the men pictured. That year, I was finishing up my junior year of high school and beginning my senior year. I remember a lot about the HVFD in those “formative” years. My father, Kayle Russell, who worked for many years for Highline Electric Association, was also a firefighter with the HVFD for most of his adult life. I will never forget the first time he took me to the fire department and showed me around.

My dad loved to be among those who rushed to the fire department when the town whistle blew; in fact, he usually tried to be the first one there so that he could drive the truck! (He told me that was the “rule” at that time.) It was disappointing to him when he was not the first one downtown.

One day, sometime between the fall of 1965 and the spring of 1968, when I came home from Colorado State University to see my folks and my sister, as well as some friends, the siren sounded to alert the town of a fire. My dad rushed out of the house, but when he got to his car, he realized I had parked my car behind his, so he was blocked from getting out of the driveway. He never made it to the fire department that day. I was not at our house when this happened — I was running around town seeing friends — but you can be sure, when I got home, my father “educated” me very forcefully about rule No. 1: never block in his car when I parked my car at our house. From that time on, I parked on the street. I did not want to disappoint my father again.

The men in the photo bring back lots of memories. In the summers, I would also work for HEA, and I had a great relationship with lineman Bob Fisher and superintendent Frank Linnenbrink. Art Vollmer was a good friend of my dad’s, and I remember the three of us playing golf at the Holyoke Golf Course. Les Lutze was another good friend of my folks, and he and I had a good rapport whenever our families were together. I worked for Don Karraker about three years — three times a week, early in the morning, delivering milk around Holyoke and even to Haxtun and Grant, Nebraska, on weekends. (I could tell lots of stories about those years!)

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