THE SPARK THAT STARTED IT ALL
“About noon, April 23, 1932, a resident of Carll’s Straight Path, in Huntington Township, was burning trash in an open container, when a sudden gust of wind carried some sparks into the surrounding brush. Those few embers ignited one of the most fearful forest fires ever witnessed in this area. A brisk wind fanned the flames south into Deer Park, southeast into the Edgewood-Pilgrim State property, and east into Pineaire. At the first sign of smoke, townsmen rushed to the scene with brooms, shovels, axes, or any makeshift fire fighting tool they could find. In the path of the fire were two houses, the residence of the Ezra Harwood family, and a house owned by Mrs. Katherine Harwood, both on Oregon Street. Fire Warden Randolph Soper gave permission to “back fire” to halt the advancing flames. The maneuver saved the dwellings.
At the next meeting of the Deer Park Civic Association, Bert Harwood suggested that something be done about fire protection. The club’s president James Collins, appointed Harwood, Fred Weis, and Jack Erthal to a committee to investigate the possibility of organizing a fire company.
Their efforts were soon rewarded for on May 27, 1932. In the home of Walter Schiel, with fourteen “recruits” present, a motion was made by Vincent Guenther to organize a lire company. “With unanimous approval, the Deer Park Volunteer Fire Company was formed. Fred Weis was selected as the first Chief.”
The Deer Park Volunteer Fire Company was incorporated September 3, 1932- The certificate was filed in the Suffolk County Clerk’s office September 12, 1932 and recorded in Liber 23, page 24, of Certificate of Incorporations.
FIRE DISTRICT No.14
Almost immediately after its formation, the Fire Company realized it could not operate efficiently, nor for that matter survive, from the proceeds of dues and contributions alone. Their first attempt, in 1933, to gain local support for the creation of a taxed fire district in their hamlet of four hundred twenty six people was unsuccessful. Undaunted by the earlier failure, a more earnest drive was started in 1935. After fifteen months of canvassing and convincing, the members had, by April 1937, collected enough signatures to petition the Babylon Town Board to establish a fire district in Deer Park. On November 12, 1937, the Town Board officially created the Deer Park Fire District No 14.
FIRST FIRE HEADQUARTERS
After holding their first five meetings in the home of Trustee Walter Schiel, the Company rented the Acorn Hall at $25 a month, located on Railroad Avenue, now called Acorn Street in honor of the old clubhouse, between Half Hollow Road and the present North First Street. It was used as fire headquarters for the next twenty three months. This aged structure had been a social hall for various organizations through the years and was perfectly suited to the Company’s needs, even though the rent was a little high for the ‘church mice” firemen. Since the building didn’t have an operating heating plant, the Company met in the local schoolhouse the first winter. In November 1933, Milton Soper donated a much needed oil stove and Al Ettlinger installed the unit. Partitions were built around the truck to entrap the meager heat supply in order to prevent the Indian cans from freezing. The severe winter of 1933-34 saw the Company meeting at warm and friendly Dave Beck’s Hall.
During the milder seasons, the engines were rolled off the Acorn dance floor to make room for the many fund raising affairs sponsored by the Company, be they dances, bingo, biweekly card parties, or minstrel shows. Their first dance made a profit of $56, but some subsequent ones made as little as $6. Occasionally, the hall would be sub-let to other groups, as the treasurer’s log shows a $5 rental fee was received from a “Yodeling Jack’.
While installing a signal horn compressor in the crawl space beneath the building, the boys discovered parts of an ancient hook and ladder engine. Old time residents claimed that these were relics of an earlier false start at organizing a fire company, back in 1916.
The Company attempted to purchase the clubhouse several times, in fact, in 1932 they boldly offered $3000, with $200 down, but nothing came of it. As the great depression worsened, hard times beset fire companies and social clubs alike. After the vamps moved to a new firehouse in 1934, the Acorn Club, it would seem, moved closer to the poorhouse. For not paying their realty taxes for the years 1935, 36, and 37, the clubhouse was put up on the block, it is reported in the January1937 minutes that the Acorn Hall could be had for $273, total price, covering mortgage, back taxes, and legal fees. The Company voted to buy the property, but again to no avail. Later, when the building was razed, sections of the clubhouse were taken and used in the back room expansion of the Town Kaffay, next door to the Deer Park Ave. firehouse, south of Lake Avenue. Numerous dances and installation dinners were held here, with the ghosts of the Acorn Hall looking on. Finally, the last traces of the old clubhouse disappeared into ashes, when in March 1977 the Town Kaffay burned to the ground. An ironic end for a building that was once dedicated to combat the ravages of fire.
