THE MINOA, NEW YORK, VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT will be proudly driving a fresh entry in the town’s annual Field Days parade at 6:00 this evening.
With the assistance of the Jerome Fire Equipment Co. and a generous cash contribution from the family of present and former members, they have been working for the past six months restoring their 1953 Mack engine.
Pictured at left is David Van Marter, former Minoa fire chief. Right front is Tom Schepp, whose family is helping fund the restoration. At far right in the back is Schepp’s son, Erich Schepp, a Minoa Firefighter. Jerome Fire Equipment mechanic Carl Vankesteren is opening the hood.
(Post-Standard / Gary Walts photo)
“It looks just beautiful,” said Erich A. Schepp, a Minoa firefighter whose grandfather, Russell Schepp, drove the engine the entire time it was in service. “It hasn’t looked that good in years. There’s a lot of excitement brewing over it.”
The engine, which has been out of service for almost 10 years now, will continue to be used for ceremonial purposes in parades and funerals, Schepp said. It was the department’s first green fire engine; today all its engines are green.
Russell Schepp, a 65-year member of the Minoa Fire Department, died in 2003. He was on the committee that purchased the engine, Erich Schepp said.
It was the Schepp family business that contributed financially to make the project work. David Van Marter, a Minoa firefighter who’s overseen the restoration project, said the department’s membership wanted to restore the engine. “It’s nostalgia for us,” he said. “It’s nice to have an older fire engine to remind us of our younger days.”
The Syracuse Post-Standard has the full STORY.
Minoa Fire Department WEBSITE.
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