With a New Title Comes New Responsibilities

Not many of us go into our profession having a game plan of how our career will play out.  Most of the time, it’s a matter of chance that we end up where we are.

When I first met my husband, he was a proud firefighter.  About a year after we met, he had the opportunity to test to promote to Captain.  This had always been a goal of his.  He worked really hard and was promoted in 2003.

It took a while, working out of one of the busiest stations, training countless newly hired firefighters, before he ended up with a crew that he really enjoyed.  They trained every day.  They supported each other with personal goals.  They became a second family.

Recently, the opportunity came to test for the next level, a promotion to Battalion Chief.  The last time a Battalion Chief test was held was over a dozen years ago.  This opportunity may come literally once in your career.  After a lot of soul-searching, and countless conversations, Scott had the backing of both his family at home and his family at the Fire District.  He threw himself into studying for the test.  For a full month, he was consumed with studying.  If he was going to test, he was going to give it his all.

Four men went into the first day of testing, a one-hundred question written test.  Three would come out still standing.  The next full day of testing would consist of an oral interview, writing an essay, and running various scenarios.  It would take almost two days to get the final results.

All of the hard work paid off and Scott placed #1 on the promotion list.  It only took about a day for the excitement to wear off and the nervousness to take over.  Instead of being in charge of a crew of five, Scott will now be in charge of a shift of 17.  He also leaves the Union that he has belonged to for 23 years.  He becomes part of the management team, which brings more meetings and paperwork, and a lot less time playing in his turnouts.  And, if the promotion isn’t a big enough change, he is required to change shifts so that he is not supervising the people he has been working with for the last nine years.

To show their support, all of B-Shift came together to send Scott off to the wolves (otherwise known as A-Shift)

I think Scott was surprised that his crew was planning a little sneakiness behind his back.

For one last time, his red Captain’s passport would hang on the passenger door of 3111.  With the promotion, comes the switch to driving the Battalion Chief’s vehicle instead of riding shotgun in a fire engine.

Scott’s official promotion date was Sunday, April 15th, but because of the change in shifts, he actually reported for duty on Monday, April 16th.  There is always a small promotional ceremony the first morning. 

First up is being sworn-in by the Fire Chief.

Then Scott’s previous Battalion Chief pins his new gold badge on him.

As Scott’s “member of the family” in attendance, I had the honor of pinning on his new nametag.

The number of bugles shown on your collar is an easy was to signify what rank you are.  Here, the Operations Chief pins Scott’s new color brass on.

The last step of the ceremony is receiving your new white helmet from the Training Chief.

I think that just about makes it final. 

Oh wait, for the guy who takes everyone else’s picture on their first day, it was time to take his first day picture.

After a few shots, he loosened up and started having some fun.

I am really proud of Scott and how hard he worked for this.  He deserves it, and I am not just saying that because I am his wife. 

I say it because I know how much he loves this job and how much he believes in what he is doing.

The History of Sam Warren

Our Fire District lost one of our founding members a few weeks ago.  Sam Warren was the first man to sign up to be a volunteer fireman in 1948 for the Suburban Rural Fire Protection District.  Over the years, this organization would become the Fire District we all know today.  If it wasn’t for men like Sam, who knows what things would like like, or if any of us would be where we are.  What Sam, did 64 years ago can’t even be measured today.

Up until a few weeks ago, this was what I knew of Sam Warren.  He was a quiet man who did not share much about his past. There are just a few left in our organization who had the pleasure of working with Sam before he officially retired in the early eighties, but most of us knew very little of his life.

Here’s is Sam’s obituary.  It tells a much better story than I ever could.

Samuel R. Warren, 93, died of cancer at his home on March 27, 2012, with his wife, daughter, and son-in-law by his side.

He was born in Collingswood, N.J., to Mary and Samuel Warren and lived there only a short time as the family then moved to Oregon and lived in the area of Forest Grove and Hillsboro. The family next moved to the San Francisco Bay area in California. His mother moved to Klamath Falls with her three children. Sam attended Mills Elementary School and also worked at any jobs that were available.

He enlisted in the Navy in July 1940 and was sent to San Diego, Calif., for boot camp. He was placed in the aviation unit and became a machinist mate. He was assigned to the USS Honolulu and shipped to the Hawaiian Islands. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. His ship was one of the many ships that were damaged that day. Once repairs were completed, the ship headed for the South Pacific. During his years in the Navy, he was sent to many locations in Alaska, the Pacific Theater and Australia. He was transferred to the USS Curtis and stayed on that ship for the rest of the war. He returned to Alameda, Calif., and was sent to a naval base in Norfolk, Va., and continued being involved with airplanes. He was discharged through the U.S. Naval Personnel Center as a machinist mate first class with an honorable discharge after six years of service.

He returned to Klamath Falls after his discharge and began a career as an auto and truck mechanic.

He met Elsie Kurnick and they were married April 6, 1947. They bought a house in the suburbs and found out there would be a fire station built across the street from their house. When the article appeared in the paper that volunteers would be needed, he became a charter member of the Suburban Fire Department, which then became Klamath County Fire District No. 1. He served as a volunteer for the fire department for 35 years. He devoted countless hours to the fire department and was able to see it grow into the fine organization that it is today. There was never a time when the fire department asked for help that he was not first in line. He served as president of the organization and also was honored as the Fireman of the Year twice during his time with the fire district, once in 1953 and then again in 1981.

He and Elsie had two daughters, Linda Mary and Barbara Anne.

He worked for various car and truck dealerships during his career and finally ended up being the mechanic and maintenance man for Klamath Falls Creamery, where he retired in 1984.
One of his hobbies was bowling. He bowled in a league for many years after retirement. He also liked to fish. He and the family spent time at Union Creek, camping and fishing for trout. They also spent time in Winchester Bay and Newport, where he would fish for salmon from the charter boats.

He is survived by his wife Elsie; daughter Barbara and her husband Butch Ellis of Gridley, Calif.; granddaughter Melanie and her husband Mark Underwood of Roseburg, Ore.; and grandson Matt and his wife Heather Ellis and their children Alexis and Jonathan of Sacramento, California. He was preceded in death by his daughter Linda DeDobbelaere.

It was an honor that the Fire District was asked to facilitate a fire service funeral for Sam.  There are several traditions that go into a fire service funeral.

Apparatus is parked in a line, with black bunting draped across the front of the engines to signify the mourning of the passed firefighter.

All firefighters stand at attention with the widow and family are escorted through the honor corridor into the service.

Then the firefighters file into the service and take their seats directly behind the family.

The tradition of having a bagpiper goes back hundreds of years.  I don’t care who you are, the sound of a bagpiper playing “Amazing Grace” will bring tears to your eyes.

For our purposes, the Honor Guard consisted of both the Fire District and the Navy, due to Sam’s service in both.

I would estimate that about 100 people turned out for the service.

In addition to the fire service traditions, the Navy traditions also played a large part.  If the bagpiper playing “Amazing Grace” didn’t get you, the lone bugler in the background playing “Taps” during the flag folding ceremony would.

Another fire service tradition is the sound of the bell. In the past, as firefighters began their tour of duty, it was the bell that signaled the beginning of that day’s shift.  Throughout the day and night, each alarm was sounded by a bell, which summoned these brave souls to fight fires and to place their lives in jeopardy for the good of their fellow citizen.  When the fire was out and the alarm hand come to an end, it was the bell that signaled to all the completion of that call.  When a firefighter had died in the line of duty it was the mournful toll of the bell that solemnly announced a comrade’s passing.  The bell ceremony consists of five rings of the bell, a pause, five rings of the bell, a pause, and five rings of the bell.

The final tradition is the last call.  If you have managed to get to this point and not shed a tear, get out your handkerchief because this one will for sure get you.  All firefighters in attendance are asked to turn on their pagers.  The room goes silent and the 911 dispatcher comes over the radio saying the following:

Firefighter Sam Warren (pause)

Firefighter Sam Warren (pause)

Firefighter Sam Warren (pause)

Attention all units and stations (pause)

It is with deep regret that we announce the passing of Firefighter Sam Warren, Veteran of Suburban Fire Department and Fire District No. 1.  Roll call has been taken and Firefighter Warren has failed to answer.  The bell has been struck for his last alarm.  May the sun shine upon his path, may the wind always be at his back, and may the Lord hold him in the palm of his hand until we meet again.

The worst part of this is when the 911 dispatcher’s voice catches as she struggles to recite the words.

Although Sam had retired long ago, he and Elsie continued to provide support to the Fire District.  Here is the link to an earlier blog that I wrote about Sam and Elsie http://scottandstacysadventures.blogspot.com/2011/05/sunday-brunch_15.html

These services are reminders of the incredible people that I work with and how the fire service is not just a job, but it’s a family and lifetime commitment.

40 x 40 - 13. Complete Project 366 (Update)

105 Days have passed since we started Project 366.  This is the project where we take one photo a day for an entire year.  I thought I would take a moment and catch you all up on a few of the photos we have taken so far.

Day 34 – It’s hard to get up to Albany to see my niece and nephew play sports.  It’s a big part of their life and time is flying by to get this opportunity.  I made a point to get up to see Austin play basketball.  (In case you were wondering, he did sink this three-pointer!)

Day 41 – Decorating for the annual Employee Appreciation Dinner.  This year, we decided to take down the prom decorations leftover from the last event held at the venue.

Day 51 – This would be why some days it’s so cold in our bedroom.  When we can’t find Lae’ula, it’s usually a pretty good bet that she is hiding under my nightstand, on top of the heater vent!

Day 55 – Where else can you buy seafood, batteries, a porch light, and a toilet?  Costco of course.

Day 66 – I am fairly certain this is why none of my spring bulbs came up this year.

Day 71 – After hearing so much about the Hunger Games trilogy, I decided to breakdown and at least read the first one. I purchased the last paperback copy that WalMart had. I sat down one Sunday and was instantly hooked.  I couldn’t put it down!  I was reading along when suddenly the story stopped making sense.  From one page to another, it didn’t see to flow.  I had this strange feeling that I had read this part before.  Then I realized that the book went from page 121 back to page 90.  Repeated those 30 pages and then went from page 121 to page 153.  I was missing 30 pages in the middle of the book!!!!  Ugh, that will teach me not to buy a book at WalMart!!!!

Day 77 – We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with Shepard's Pie and green beer.

Day 80 – Welcome to the first official day of Spring.

Day 96 – It was an honor to be a part of the funeral service for Sam Warren.  Stay tuned for a future blog article on Sam.

Day 99 – What would Easter be without an Easter egg hunt.  Thank goodness the Easter bunny (i.e. my sister) remembered the eggs.

Day 103 – Scott’s last shift as an B-shift Captain.  His great crew sent him off to his new adventure with cake and ice cream.

Looking back through these pictures, I am inspired to continue with this project.  It will be a great book of memories when we are done.

Recycling - A Great Craft Idea

What can you make with a stack of men’s dress shirts? 

I had this great idea for a craft project using men’s dress shirts.  I just needed some help from my dad in the dress shirt department.  For as long as I can remember, my dad has worn dress shirts to work.  Like me with shoes, he has quite the collection.  I asked him for a dozen random dress shirts that he wasn’t using anymore.  I didn’t want to give too much away and sway him with the color or pattern choices.

The first thing I did was remove all the buttons.  (These may come in handy for a later craft project.)

Then I cut each shirt into sections, and cut the sections into rectangles.

Mix and matching the various colors and patterns, I sewed two rectangles together to make a square.

Squares would be enough, but squares would be boring, so I cut the squares into triangles.

Through a series of sewing these triangles together into larger triangles and then sewing those triangles together, I was back to squares.

Back to squares.  We all know that squares are boring!  Using five of these squares, I sewed three strips, then two of the three strips together.

The next step was to add the border around the two panels.

Enough with the triangles, squares, and rectangles.  Let’s move on to something a little more fun.  Using the leftover scraps of fabric, I cut several circles in various sizes.  I then stacked these circles on top of each other.

You can’t really see it very well, but the larger circles on the left are the front panel of the shirts and still include the pockets.

Mixing and matching the circles, I sewed them down a rectangle (back to the rectangles!) of white fabric.

I then sewed the circle panel in between the other two finished panels.

At this point, it was time to turn this project over to the experts.  I took the quilt top and the backing fabric down to Heart to Heart quilters in Merrill, waited 33 days, and then went back and picked up a finished project.

I love the quilting pattern on the finished quilt. 

But most of all, I love that I have a quilt made out of something that belonged to my dad.

Hometown Pride

There a lot of things that I love about living in a small community.  Recently, I was reminded of the pride a small town has for the people who make up that community.

Our local college basketball team won the National NAIA Basketball Championship.  This team brings this community together in a positive way.  The team is made up of upstanding students and a coach that has given more than 40 years to the program.  They are definitely positive role models in our community.

In honor of this championship, the town decided to throw an impromptu welcome home parade. Every business on Main Street had some type of sign in their window. And, since we were honoring the college basketball team, why not throw in the local high school teams that have recently won State Championships.

It was a cold and rainy afternoon, but several hundred people turned out to show their support.

Each team carried its banner with pride.

Local businesses provided trucks for each of the teams to ride on.  Again, this was a show of the support that the community has for these athletes.

That’s the local news reported in the background in the white car.  He was heading back to the station in time to file his report for the 6:00pm newscast.

You could see the excitement on the faces of these boys.  They were just as excited for the parade as the rest of us.  I heard that a few of them we so nervous to be paraded down Main Street.

I am proud to live in a community that recognizes the success of the people who live here.