Auglaize Twp Fire Dept. Celebrates 50 years; Honors Volunteers
Auglaize Township gathered on Saturday, August 16, to celebrate 50 years of its volunteer fire department—a milestone born from a neighbor-helping-neighbor effort that began in 1974. That spring, township trustees and residents voted to form their own department, holding the first meeting on April 24 at the Fox Club in Junction. Officers elected were President George Yoh, Vice President Rick Shipman, Secretary Bill Campbell, and Treasurer Vern Stork, with trustees Bernard Weidenhamer, Bill Link, and Ancel Grove helping guide the launch. By January 1975 the roster had grown to 38 volunteers, and on March 12, 1975, the crew answered its first call.
What followed was a community build unlike any other. A mail-in donation drive brought in $4,598.62, Richard and Helen Colwell donated the station site and adjoining acres for a ball field and park, and neighbors pitched in loans totaling $11,000 to bridge early costs. The steel-frame station—40 feet wide, 61.5 feet long, and 14 feet high—went up with volunteer labor, quarry stone, and donated or cut-rate materials. Equipment came the same way: a 1950 Ford pumper tanker was donated, a 2,000‑gallon tanker was gifted by a Defiance dealer, and an International tractor to pull water was purchased for $450.
The department built its operating budget with ingenuity. Beginning in 1975, firefighters hauled pool and cistern water—eventually delivering 5,282 loads and netting $158,784 before the program ended in 1994. Fundraisers became traditions: turkey shoots from 1976 to 2022 raised $54,094.60; the Ladies’ Auxiliary (the Ciderettes) anchored soup suppers and summer ice cream socials; a golf outing launched in 2002 has brought in $43,853 to date; and Flat Rock Festival breakfasts kept the griddles hot. Even the township’s voting location found a home at the station starting in 1979.
Pioneering communication helped them answer the call. Before 911, an Arthur Telephone “20‑fire bar” system rang a string of volunteers in a phone‑tree alert. During the 1978 blizzard, Don Johnson drew a giant township map so crews could locate every home—long before GPS apps. Training was constant, with veteran instructors emphasizing the heart of a volunteer company: service first.
Saturday’s golden anniversary observance honored all who built and sustained the department—from the first planners and builders to today’s firefighters, who now don protective gear that can cost $6,000 per person and maintain modern SCBA units far beyond the original $798 purchase for two. The celebration doubled as a thank‑you to generations of residents whose donations, labor, and loyalty created a station, a ball field, and a community hub that has protected Auglaize Township for half a century.
