The West Milford Village building at 1468 Union Valley Road, built in 1930 to serve as Mechanics Hall, later became the first firehouse of West Milford Fire Company No. 1. The officer in this 1940s photo is John F. Moeller, father of John H. Moeller, who became the police chief. (Photo provided)
The West Milford Fire Company No. 1 was incorporated on June 3, 1944, by attorney Louis Wallisch, the first president of the organization, who served in that capacity for 19 years.
Wallisch witnessed the original certificate of incorporation before notary public Walter S. Terhune along with Donald Sly, John McKinnon, Eric Arnold, Lawrence Terhune, Henry Jecker, Keith Terhune, Thomas Bay, Clarence Terhune and the Rev. L G. Leary.
After officially naming the company, the document spelled out its purpose: “to protect life and property from fire; to render first aid and assistance in accidents and drownings; to promote and disseminate the knowledge and education of safety methods and of fire prevention; to promote and foster community and social life among its members; to engage and assist in such projects of like character as shall, in judgment of officers and trustees, (deemed) to be necessary, proper and not prohibited by law.”
Wallisch also incorporated five other fire companies: Greenwood Forest (Oct. 29, 1924), Macopin (April 29, 1927), Upper Greenwood Lake (Feb. 20, 1935), Community Fire Company of Newfoundland and Oak Ridge (July 24, 1945), and Apshawa (Sept. 18, 1945).
The Junior Order of United Mechanics (JOUM) building, constructed in 1930 on Union Valley Road in the center of West Milford Village, was for sale for $1,500 and was seen as the perfect location for the firehouse.
Proceeds from suppers, square dances, other fundraising events and donations provided money for the purchase.
Split from parent group
Why this building was for sale is a story to be told later. Briefly, the fraternal organization had separated from the Order of American Mechanics, its parent group, and promoted jobs for native-born Americans over immigrants, emphasized patriotism and supported public school education.
While the Junior Order was open to American citizens of good moral character who believed in a Supreme Being, it also had a history of being exclusionary toward Catholics and immigrants.
Early New Jersey laws had anti-Catholic sentiments, stemming from religious and political conflicts in England. The prejudice that existed in New Jersey was seen to a lesser extent in West Milford and other area towns because of the remoteness of the area, but it was there, openly shown by Ku Klux Klan members who paraded in Wanaque, Butler and Bloomingdale and other towns in their white hoods.
Early settlers here lived under Queen Anne’s 1701 ruling that directed New Jersey Governor Lord Cornbury, in his leadership capacity from 1701 to 1708, “to permit liberty of conscience to all persons except Papists.”
A new era of freedom came at the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783.
Like similar organizations, the JOUM experienced gradual decline in membership because of broader social changes and no longer needed the building.
Building conversion
The next task for the firefighters was to remodel the building, making it a firehouse. Doing all the work themselves, they knocked a wall out and put in double doors and before long the Mechanics Hall was changed into the West Milford Firehouse.
Obtaining the equipment to fight fires was next on the list. That need was quickly solved when Charles Cahill of Macopin sold his Chevrolet milk truck to the fire company. Wallisch and several others traveled to Hawthorne and purchased a 500-gallon pump from that town’s civil defense organization.
With Cahill’s remodeled truck and the pump on it, the fire companu was in business and led the first Memorial Day parade in the township in 1945.
The firefighters responded to their first major fire emergency in December 1944. The Davenport building, its row of stores and a three-story parsonage on Union Valley Road at the Macopin Road intersection were destroyed by an overpowering blaze.
Other fire companies also responded, but their efforts were hampered when water coming from their hoses immediately froze in the sub-zero weather.
The next major fire, fought by all township fire companies along with those of neighboring towns, was in January 1953, when the third Brown’s Hotel at Greenwood Lake was too powerful for firefighters to conquer, resulting in a loss estimated at $90,000.
The hotel was empty at the time, having been the training location for top prizefighters, including Billy Conn, Rocky Graziano and Tippy Larkin.
John Bean apparatus
It was a big moment for West Milford Fire Company No. 1 when it became the first local fire company to obtain John Bean firefighting apparatus. That company began operating in 1884 as the Bean Spray Pump Co. in Los Gatos, Calif., with products for the agricultural industry.
It moved on to farm machinery and chemicals. In the late 1930s, an orchard farmer used a John Bean sprayer to successfully extinguish a fire in a neighbor’s home. That story was passed on to company management and led to development of the John Bean high-pressure fog firefighting pump and nozzle and other firefighting equipment.
This became a much-used firefighting item and was difficult to acquire. With help from Wallisch, who won the backing of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and the local congressman, the local fire company was able to get this equipment before the end of World War II. This was an amazing accomplishment when everything made of metal was mobilized for the war effort.
To pay for the John Bean equipment, the firefighters mortgaged their new home with the First National Bank of Bloomingdale (it later merged with the First National Bank of Passaic County and now is Wells Fargo) for $6,500.
Successful fundraising events earned enough money to pay off the mortgage. As time went on, additional equipment was purchased and a new wing was added to the firehouse.
One time during a drought, Pinecliff Lake went dry and Wallisch, as he did more than once, saved the day. He obtained a Chrysler pump from the City of Passaic. The firefighters overhauled it, installed it on a Willy’s truck and put it to work.
To fund the building addition, the firefighters and their wives held turkey dinners that became so popular that hundreds of people came to town to attend.
The West Milford Volunteer Ambulance Corps (later known as West Milford First Aid Squad) started as an offshoot of West Milford Fire Company No. 1.
Eventually the workload became too heavy, and the first aid group was organized as a separate unit.
Greenwood Forest
The late Joe Phillips, who with his wife, Mae, owned and operated Phillips Transportation Co. in Hewitt, transported thousands of children to various schools through the years.
He remembered that his father, Joseph Phillips Sr., who owned and operated Phillips Inn on Greenwood Lake Turnpike (now Jessie’s Country Kettle), Tom Weinhardt, John Redner, Frank Carey and Charles Brosman were among those involved in the organization of the Greenwood Forest Fire Company in 1924, the township’s first volunteer fire company.
The fire company’s first truck was a Brockway Torpedo. This was a specialized fire engine produced through a collaboration of American LaFrance and Brockway Motor Co. Brockway supplied a compact 3,000-pound Torpedo chassis to American LaFrance, which then equipped it with firefighting components particularly for use in smaller towns and departments with limited budgets.
The trucks were known for quick response and typically carried chemical tanks. They also had essential firefighting tools: hoses, ladders, bell, spotlight and siren.
Later, the Greenwood Forest Fire Company loaned the chemical tank and hose to the Upper Greenwood Lake Fire Company when it formed in 1935. The next company truck was a 1918 Rio from the Mountain View Fire Company in Wayne.
Macopin
The second volunteer fire company to organize was the Macopin Volunteer Fire Company in 1927.
William McKennny, the first company president, owned and operated the Windmere Tavern on property next to Bubbling Spring Lake, now a parking lot for lake activities.
The original firehouse on Macopin Road was built on property donated by Walter Vreeland. The first company truck was a 1914 Rio, costing $325, that was purchased with money collected from friends and neighbors.
The late Harry Fox said everyone who donated any amount would be given fire company membership.
In 1970, the fire company had two LaFrance pumpers, one Bean firetruck and two tank trucks.
The firefighters were outstanding when they marched in parades wearing their maroon and gray dress uniforms.
Upper Greenwood Lake
In August 1935, the developer donated funds for land to build a firehouse. The same year, the firefighters bought a 1927 La Salle touring car for $50. The men spent $30 to have the body cut and the car painted to be used as a firetruck. The chemical tank from the Greenwood Forest Company was mounted on the firetruck.
In September, 1935, the cornerstone for the new firehouse was laid. Residents were told, “In case of fire, go to the nearest fire hoop and ring the number designated. Stay by the hoop and direct the firemen when they arrive.”
When the firehouse on Warwick Turnpike opened on May 30, 1936, an auto parade consisting of the firefighters and their friends drove around the lake development. There was a celebration and dance in the original clubhouse (now a private home) that night.
Community
The Community Fire Company of Newfoundland and Oak Ridge, incorporated in 1945, was developed from another organization, the Lake Region Recreation Association, according to the late Jim Norman, who was postmaster at the Newfoundland Post Office.
He explained that this was a sportsmen’s club. Members raised pheasants and fished and hunted. Norman was the first president of the fire company.
He remembered the idea for forming the company being discussed in the winter of 1944. He also spoke of having a separate rescue (first aid) unit.
He said there had been an earlier fire company organization proposal, according to the Evergreen News’ January 1907 edition. The report said the earlier fire department had 15 members. Bert Miller was foreman and Gideon DeWitt was treasurer. The earlier company was never incorporated.
The current fire company celebrated its 25th anniversary in the summer of 1970. Norman recalled when firefighter John McCormack formed an 80-member Fife, Drum and Bugle Corps for young people.
The fire company also held dances and other activities for youths until churches became active in planning young people’s activities.
Apshawa
The first president of Apshawa Fire Company after its incorporation in 1945 was Bill Kutik, with Floyd Struble as the first fire chief. Struble was serving on the Board of Education at the time, and he and Kutik went to buy a U.S. Army surplus truck for the department.
Money was scarce and funds were not available to cover its dingy brown color. Gene Struble, a resident, took care of the problem by painting the truck.
When the Apshawa rural schoolhouse was closed and put up for sale, the firefighters saw it as an ideal place to locate the firehouse. They took up a collection and the $100 they received was enough for a down payment on the building.
After it was in use for a while, they bought property and built a new firehouse further north on Macopin Road near the Weaver Road intersection.
They sold the old school, and for a while, it was the Pit discotheque. Now, it is a private business.