He will try to get it hauled to Salem, OR in May 2016 for the next ATHS convention, because the 200 mile drive is probably too much for the 73-year-old truck.Elmira, in south central New York, has become a town of minimum wage and part-time workers with no benefits, he said. His mechanic, Ben Keith, was able to fix it so they could drive home, but they never made it to Spokane. He drove it over Snoqualmie Pass on I-90 in 1994, headed for a national ATHS show in Spokane, but broke down in Ellensburg with a bad bearing. In addition to parades, Bill has brought the truck to car and truck shows over the 26 years he has had it, including two national conventions of the American Truck Historical Society. So Jon Martin’s loss became Bill’s lucky break. Of course, it later became clear that Stevens wasn’t the Green River Killer after Gary Ridgeway confessed and was convicted. Stevens had been buying, collecting, and reselling equipment and vehicles at government auctions using the alias “Jon Martin of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.” and possessed police cars and uniforms, among other things!Īpparently he had bid on Bill’s truck about the same time he was arrested. Shortly after getting the truck, Bill found an article in the newspaper that said a fellow named Stevens had been suspected of being the Green River Killer, since the high-profile investigation was going on at the time. He paid for it, got the title and historical paperwork, and drove it (50 miles) back to Seattle. Luckily for Bill, the truck still had ladders, suction hoses, extinguishers, and other accessories that frequently are missing from old fire trucks. The Fire Department took it to their headquarters station where they washed it and filled the truck with used hoses that they donated. Led to a barn at Fort Warden where the truck had been stored, he saw it for the first time when it was driven out of the barn. So, Bill headed to Port Townsend with a cashier’s check to see his truck for the first time. After Bill bought it, he added a bell in front, two more red flashing lights, and a small seat behind the cab with seat belts, suitable for carrying children. Some time after delivery, it was modified with a post-mounted red flashing light and a rear-access ladder on the water tank.
No photos were supplied of this truck as it was originally built for the Navy, although Bill has found some from the years it served Port Townsend.
But this truck was supplied before those restrictions, so it has chrome lights, siren, and other trim, and the instrument panel is stainless steel rather than painted like on later deliveries. The truck has always been red, specified as “official fire department red, with fine coach colors.” Fire apparatus built during WWII was generally devoid of chrome and other bright trim, due to wartime restrictions of strategic metals. The present owner added the small seat on top for carrying kids.
The pump controls and the suction hoses are on the right side of older American LaFrance pumpers, the opposite of modern rigs. Right side US Navy markings are imaginary, since no photos exist of the original paint job.
0 kommentar(er)
