48-Year-Old Station Still
Stands
For
48 years, Los Angeles' first fire station at Avenue 19 and Pasadena avenue
has served the city. At the right is shown one of the cell doors
with a window opening through for prisoners to receive bread and
water. In the old days, when part of the present station served as
the old east side jail, "Arizona Slim" and other characters
inscribed their names on the walls. Below are pictured some of the
present firemen at the station, noted for their athletic prowess.
They are: Willie "Gus" Schultz one of the department's champion
high jumpers; Jimmy Gilmore, football star; Jimmie Koepke who is also a
student pilot and Whitney Turk who also "rassles." |
----
CLANG,
Clang! Fire!
Outside the bright, new fire station
standing at Avenue 19 and Pasadena avenue, an excited person clanged the
call bell.
Volunteers from nearabouts came running. They
jumped off the horse cars and hurried to the station.
Across the street, the swinging doors swung open.
Out burst Henry Ruess, proprietor of the saloon.
On his arm
he carried a five gallon water bucket filled with beer. In his hands
were weiners and sandwiches.
He rushed forth, following the volunteer firemen.
"Henry, why do you always follow the fires?"
somebody asked once.
"Always after the fires I make a helluva good
business," said Henry.
Well, that was in 1881 or thereabouts.
In those days, Los Angles' original fire
station was a thing of beauty and joy. Forty-eight years make a
difference in the appearance of a fire station.
* * *
THE
station still stands. The "white angels" that drew the one
horse reel and the horse cart have long since gone to greener pastures.
Generations of firemen have fought fires out of that
station.
A few years after the station was first built in 1881,
it was reorganized under Chief Moore and all the men employed were paid.
Before that, under the call system, call men received
$10 a month for running to the fires. The engineer and drivers were
the only ones employed in the company, and they worked nearby at other
jobs until the alarms came in.
Under the reorganization, Charles Grotzinger was named
as the first captain of the station. He was later injured and died of the
injuries sustained in the service.
The present fireman's band played for the first time at
his funeral.
At the same time as the early firemen were employed at
the old station, a little building at the north side was serving as the
old east side jail.
The late W. H. McKeag, father of Charles McKeag, was
the first sergeant at the old jail.
There it was that the bad men of the old days
were incarcerated.
* * *
THE
cells of the old jail are used by the firemen.
The ancient inscriptions of "Arizona Slim,"
"Norway Kid," "Jimmie," "Whitey" and their
various attempts at poetry still are discernible through several coats of
paint plastered
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