Sheri Nickel: OSFA Administrative Director’s Report

The administrative office here at the OSFA is like a tin can surrounded by a circle of powerful magnets.

The magnets represent tracking memberships for three associations, planning events, committee meetings, board meetings, maintaining social media, answering phone calls, tracking legislation, managing grants, attending meetings outside of the office, just to name a few.

You may be thinking to yourself that those responsibilities don’t seem like much, but each magnet attracts hundreds of pins and needles on the back side because there are so many people and additional duties attached to each task.

I use this parody to help you visualize how busy our office has been. Whenever I began working here six years ago, I was told that the first six months of the year was our busy season, and that was no lie. We begin with the Chief’s Winter Workshop in January, end with the OSFA Convention in June and have events in between.

But don’t think that after convention that our office is at a standstill, because it is anything but that.

We continue with sending out and processing ORFA, OFCA and associate memberships, notifying members of their committee appointments, preparing for the statewide memorial, and if we haven’t already, begin planning the events for the next year. Again, to name only a few.

This is not a six-month job. There’s sometimes that we don’t think that 365 days is enough to get everything done in between events.

Being busy isn’t an absolute. Everyone has a different threshold. Some people are overwhelmed with more than one social engage- ment in a week; others love to party, party, party.

There are people who would trade in bored and stagnant careers for a little stress if they were engaged in doing something they love. Fortunately for the members of the OSFA, our staff is willing to keep up a frenetic pace because they are passionate and care about their jobs and are sometimes too busy to notice they are busy.

Six years ago, there were six administrative employees working in the office. We are now doing the same job with three.

We have digitized membership and streamlined a lot of the work that was done manually in the past. Digitizing membership and registration isn’t necessarily popular with some of our members, while others are over-the-top happy with the ease of it. It gives us less room for error and enhances the way that we keep membership records.

Offering the option to Zoom into meetings has also given firefighters the option to be able to join committees since they don’t have to drive into the city to attend meetings.

Change isn’t for the faint at heart but it is necessary to improve and grow. And we are committed to being the best we can be.

Executive Director Mike Kelley mkelley@osfa.info

Administrative Director Sheri Nickel sherin@osfa.info

Membership Coordinator Madelyn Roth madelynr@osfa.info

Need training for your mechanics?

Are the mechanics working on your equipment certified?

Think you cannot afford training?

Events Coordinator Raegan Layne raeganl@osfa.info

Publications

Penelope Soldan penelopes@osfa.info

Museum Director Gene Brown geneb@osfa.info

Museum Archivist Bob Noll bobn@osfa.info

Museum Assistant Lance Gill lanceg@osfa.info

Museum Volunteer Greg Roberts groberts1960@gmail.com

Museum Volunteer Andie Hernandez

William Cooper Hunneman, a citizen of the state of Massachusetts, was born in 1769, in Boston. As he passed through his childhood and then his teenage years, it became evident to him that he would be a craftsman and tradesman.

As such, he apprenticed with Paul Revere, patriot-to-be and an accomplished coppersmith. After his employment contract with Revere was finished, Hunneman went to work with Martin Gay, a brass founder.

This was a period of intense political feeling, and opinions on many subjects varied. Mr. Gay was a rabid Tory, and as such, was banished back to England.

Hunneman then set himself up in business and produced warming pans, and irons and other household items. As a master smith, he made many of the items that were essential to both homes and businesses.

Major fires plagued many colonial cities, and Boston was no exception. Hunneman responded to this continued threat by beginning the manufacture of hand pumped fire engines. He was joined by a gentleman named Ephraim Thayer, who had also been an apprentice of Paul Revere.

New York City produced another hand engine builder by the name of James Smith. There were several others who also produced hand engines.

Hunneman produced his first hand engine in 1792 which was sold to Bath, Maine. This was the start of a decades long interface with the American fire service.

Hunneman, with his brothers and sons, produced 750 hand engines, and then later steam fire engines. Growing competition from larger builders, such as American, eventually caused Hunneman’s company to cease operation.

I hope, after reading to this point, you have found this article interesting but may be thinking, “How is Oklahoma involved?”

The Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum, which is supported by over 900 fire departments in Oklahoma, is in proud possession of one of Hunneman’s hand engines. Its production number, 708, originally sold to New Richmond, Indiana, in April of 1870.

While our hand engine never served in Oklahoma, it is very illustrative of fire apparatus that was manufactured in the mid 1800s. This hand engine is fully operational and

Hello everyone!

Progress has been made on the new shop.

Ronnie Walker (Ret. Lawton), Bob Noll (Ret. Yukon), Shannon Conway (a friend of Ronnie’s) and I built the shop bathroom.

The next step is to get the plumbing completed. We are ready for the electric, and we hope to have it completed very soon. Our fundraising is off to a good start. We have already raised almost $8,000 parking cars for softball games.

The Big 12 Softball Tournament will happen before you get this magazine, and we hope we were able to park cars for that tournament.

We also have the Women’s College World Series coming in June. This a great fundraiser for your museum.

We have expanded the gift shop with more items for sale, We have plenty of new ball caps. Come in and see us!

Stay safe!

will draft and pump.

Many recruit firefighters have come to the Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum to hear about the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association and our museum. Part of their museum experience is putting our hand engine in service and pumping a very satisfactory fire stream.

William Cooper Hunneman’s company’s craftsmanship has made its way into 21st century and is still going strong.