Free
/LYLQJ /LIH $IWHU
January 2021
( .YLH[ >H` ;V 3L[ 6MM :[LHT :LL 7HNL
Allen County Edition Ed E Reaching Fort Wayne And Surrounding Counties
Vol. 33, No. 9
www.seniorlifenewspapers.com
Fire truck collecting: A family activity %\ 52' .,1* )HDWXUH :ULWHU As a kid growing up in the South Bend/Mishawaka area Jason Giszewski had a passion for ďŹ re trucks and vowed he would become a ďŹ reman. He made good on his vow and took it to the next level by becoming a ďŹ re truck collector. During his junior year at Carroll High School he joined the Cedar Canyons Junior Volunteer FireďŹ ghter program. Cedar Canyons merged with the Grabill Fire Department to form Northeast Fire where he also volunteered. He currently works for the Southwest Fire District located near the airport and is a part-time ďŹ reďŹ ghter with the Butler Fire Department. His passion for ďŹ re trucks, as he said, “is a labor of loveâ€? that costs him more than it returns. He has two of them stored in a facility east of New Haven. His ďŹ rst purchase was a green 1995 Seagrave pumper he got from the Novi, Michigan Fire Department. “New it cost $195,000, but I got it at the end of its service for just $5,000 on an online auction site called govdeals.com. It had 80,000 miles on it and was in really good shape. All it needed was a little TLC. “My other one is a ladder truck that was owned by the Flora, Indiana Fire Department. When new in 1963 it cost the Purdue University Fire Department $58,000. I paid $5,000 and it only had 12,000 miles on it! The day it was taken out of service, my wife, Melissa, and I drove down there and brought it home. That was a fun trip. “Obtaining parts is more difďŹ cult as the trucks get older. Having a membership in the
Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of Antique Fire Apparatus of America is a big help in locating people who have parts to trade or sell.â€? Collecting ďŹ re trucks (he’s also part owner of a tiller truck) has spawned a couple of related side hobbies. One is collecting ďŹ re truck emblems and the other is collecting die-cast Code III Collectables in 1/64th and 1/32nd scale. “I have more than 500 emblems from truck manufacturers across the country. There used to be 400 companies making ďŹ re trucks. Now there are only about 100. My goal is to mount them all on the wall when I get my own storage facility. “The ďŹ re trucks,â€? said Giszewski, “are more than just a hobby. It has been very educational for our sons, Jonathan, 12, who has his own set of tools, and Jacob, 7, who says he wants to be just like me. They’re learning a lot about engines and mechanics. My wife is very supportive and we take ),5( 758&. &2 //(&7256 Âł -D the trucks to festivals, car shows 0HOLVVD *LV]HZVN VRQ DQG L SRVH ZLWK WKHLU Ă€ UVW Ă€UH WUXFN D and parades around Indiana, 6HDJUDYH SX PSHU ,W ZDV SXUF KDVHG YLD DQ RQOLQH DXFWLRQ IRU Michigan and Ohio. It’s a fun 3KRWR E\ 5 RG .LQJ family activity. Melissa sometimes drives the trucks. “Being a ďŹ reďŹ ghter today is more than just putting out house, business, ďŹ eld and car ďŹ res,â€? said Giszewski. “Eighty percent of the job involves EMS runs for elevator rescues, senior citizens who have fallen and a variety of work accidents. In addition, we are heavily involved in safety education. “You know your hobby is allconsuming when you name your three boxers Segrave, Spartan and Maxim after ďŹ re truck manufacturers. We’re proud of what we do and try hard to keep 3$57 2:1(5 Âł -DVRQ *LV]HZVNL ZKR DOVR FROOHFWV Ă€UH WUXFN HPEOHPV DQG &RGH ,,, &ROOHFWDEOHV LV it interesting for the younger SDUW RZQHU RI WKLV \HDU ROG WLOOHU WUXFN WKDW VHUYHG LQ 3KRHQL[ $UL] 3KRWR SURYLGHG E\ -DVRQ *LV]HZVNL generation.â€?
Welcome to the New Year from Our Family to Yours . . . )\ 4QVKWTV[PQZM 8TIKM _M JMTQM^M \PI\ )TbPQMUMZÂź[ LQ[MI[M IVL LMUMV\QI [PW]TL VW\ TQUQ\ \PM LQOVQ\a IVL NZMMLWU WN aW]Z TW^ML WVM
,MLQKI\ML \W \PM KIZM WN ;MVQWZ[ _Q\P )TbPMQUMZÂź[ LQ[MI[M IVL ZMTI\ML LMUMV\QI
L P
incolnshire lace
I UMUWZa KIZM ZM[QLMVKM
Â&#x152; -`KMX\QWVIT )[[Q[\ML 4Q^QVO -V^QZWVUMV\ Â&#x152; 0QOPTa <ZIQVML +IZMOQ^MZ[ IVL )TbPMQUMZÂź[ 8ZWNM[[QWVIT[ 7]Z 4QVKWTV[PQZM .IUQTa ¸ 4I]ZQM <aTMZ ;IUIV\PI Â&#x152; :M[QLMV\QIT 6MQOPJWZPWWL ;M\\QVO )VL )XZQT Â&#x152; -VKTW[ML ?ITSQVO )ZMI[ Â&#x152; <W_V +MV\MZ +ITT <aTMZ <W ;KPML]TM PWJJa [PWX UW^QM \PMI\MZ XW\\QVO [PML IVL JMI]\a [ITWV
! ,QMJWTL :WIL Â&#x152; .WZ\ ?IaVM 16
___ 4QVKWTV[PQZMXTIKM ][
) .:-- <7=: