The history of the Wysox Volunteer Fire Company does not reach back as fire as that of some communities. But its formation was an instant hit with area residents, who have supported its operations through the years at a variety of popular fundraising events. Additionally, WVFC kept recreational activities active by merging early on with the Wysox Recreation Park Association and building a new ball field and carnival grounds.
By Rick Hiduk
(Originally published in 2016. Find more stories like this at www.wysoxtownship.org)
It’s hard to believe that Wysox Township once relied on companies from Towanda and even Wyalusing to cover the area in the event of a fire, vehicle accident, materials spill, or other emergencies well in to the 1940s.
“It was very inefficient,” Wysox Volunteer Fire Company (WVFC) historian and past president Jack Kilmer said of the response time from across the river. Even with the formation of a fire company in 1947, true efficiency would elude the dedicated founders until the first firehouse was built in 1955.
The Wysox Volunteer Fire Company was officially established on June 19, 1947 with the approval of bylaws. The bylaws committee was comprised of Andrew Moscrip, Marion Barnes, and Edward Strickland. After a short discussion, Harry Hancock made a motion to approve the bylaws, which was seconded by Stephen Strickland.
The first officers elected were Forest Beeman, president; Lewis Woodruff, vice president; Edward Strickland, secretary; and Marion Barnes, treasurer. The first three directors appointed were Harry Hancock, John Jennings, and Andrew Moscrip.
The group immediately set to the task of procuring a fire engine – not to exceed $8,000. On June 27, the directors ordered a GMC truck (above) equipped with “high pressure Fog Fire Equipment” at a cost of $7,242.
The new fire company members also conducted their first fundraiser, a V-J Day celebration, on August 14 in collaboration with the Eastern Bradford County Artificial Breeders. Fire company records indicate that $1,514 was raised that day in addition to donations. The first event was held along Route 6 where the Quick & Jennings store would be built eight years later.
1953 WVFC president and former circus performer Harry Sills (above) walks on stilts during the 1954 V-J Day carnival.
V-J Day (Victory over Japan Day) marked the end of World War II, which had a profound effect on area families and the local economy. It was a celebration of a return to normalcy as families reunited and embarked on new careers and raising children. The fire department would continue to mark V-J Day into the 1960s.
Many other fundraisers would follow, including the widely popular ox roast started in 1955, which served more than 3,000 fire company supporters in its biggest years. The labor-intensive events, which included clambakes, chicken barbecues, and pancake suppers, were coordinated and staffed by firefighters, auxiliary members and many other civic-minded volunteers.
In October of 1947, Forest Beeman was elected the first fire chief, with Cecil “Red” Ingerick (below) and Robert Lee elected as first and second assistants, respectively. The next month, the company appointed Francis Ross, S.B. Strickland, Blake Gavitt, T.M. Quick, and Lew Woodruff as its first fire police.
The Wysox Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary was formed in 1948 with Aline Woodruff serving as its first president and Evelyn Neiley the first Vice President.
Between 1948 and ’49, WVFC bought its first water tanker – a former gas truck used by Vandervort Mills – and a pump for Truck #2. Also in 1949, local businessman and then fire company president Sam Cass donated a lot along Route 6 for the construction of the first firehouse. The company’s apparatus was parked there, but WVFC would never build on the site.
A merger with the Wysox Recreation Park Association in 1950 was a giant leap forward for the growing company, providing room for fundraisers and, eventually, the firehouse itself.
WVFC sponsored a baseball team – the Wysox Owls (above) – and supported the construction of a new baseball field on the recreation grounds, with Sam Cass (below) throwing out the first pitch at its dedication.
Also in 1950, WVFC purchased its first ambulance, a “Buick equipped with a spotlight, heavy duty tires, and a cot for $350 from Francis Archer.” Archer also donated a frame to hold the cot in place and two spare axles. Standing Stone resident Ellen Franklin is recorded as the first patient carried in the ambulance on June 28, 1950, with Marion Barnes and David Turner sharing driving duties.
In lieu of a fire hall, WVFC met at the Wysox Community Center, which was situated adjacent to the Wysox Grange along Route 187 between the Wysox School and the Wysox Presbyterian Church.
The building of the first fire hall was approved in September of 1955, and construction commenced soon after. Heat was installed in 1956, and a water well was drilled the following year. Records indicate that the company voted to shut off the electricity at the Wysox Community Hall in 1964, as all meetings were by then being held at the new fire hall.
Construction of new buildings and other enhancements to the recreation grounds made the fire hall and the park a popular attraction for residents throughout the area and provided a venue for many family reunions and wedding receptions – another successful fundraising tool for WVFC.
Upgrades to newer vehicles and other apparatus were realized as the community continued to put its support behind the fire company. While the fire company remained open to trying new things – a rodeo, a beauty contest, a boat show, a lunch stand, holiday parties, square dances, volleyball and tennis courts, and craft shows – not every idea came to fruition. For example, state regulations and prohibitive costs were cited in 1961 for the reason that a community swimming pool would not be built.
WVFC ran fire and ambulance calls as a single company for nearly 40 years. The decision was made in August 1986 for Wysox EMS to elect a separate line of officers from WVFC. Nonetheless, the company remained unified with the WVFC chief still overseeing both fire and ambulance personnel and operations. In November of the same year, Auxiliary members were granted equal voting privileges with those in the fire company.
It was decided in 1990 to discontinue the ox roast. The annual Halloween costume party held for many years at the fire hall was discontinued in 1998 in part due to the increasing popularity of the Wysox EMS Haunted House.
In 1999, a portion of the north end of the fire company grounds became part of the Beers Wetlands Education Project when the Stohl Center asked to construct a small building there for classes for children. Square dances were started at the fire hall in 2000, the first one held in October of that year at a $200 profit.
For all of its years of protecting the greater Wysox community from fire loss, WVFC suffered an almost unimaginable disaster of its own on February 14, 2003. In the early morning hours, the hall, which included the kitchen, dining room, and downstairs garage, went up in flames. Firefighters were able to get the trucks and some additional equipment out of the garage, but the building was otherwise a total loss.
Undaunted, the community rallied to support the construction of a new $1 million fire hall and garage that were completed about 15 months later. In the meantime, pavilions were enclosed to store that which had been saved and new items being purchased, and WVFC continued to operate with some assistance from Towanda.
The Wysox Volunteer Fire Company remains a strong force in the community but, like so many others across the country, suffers from a lack of new volunteers. Current officers and directors share the concern that additional annual activities may fall by the wayside and that service to Asylum, Standing Stone, and Wysox townships may be compromised without an influx of new recruits.
According to information posted at www.wysoxfire.org, the company runs approximately 270 calls per year, most of them motor vehicle accidents. For the most up-to-date information on WVFC, visit and “like” Wysox Volunteer Fire Company on Facebook. Those seeking to support the company either monetarily or as a volunteer should call 570-265-8466.
Other Milestones in the Fire Company’s History:
Some Rough Years
Newspaper accounts point to several events during WVFC’s history that proved especially challenging. Severe cold and abundant snow during the winter of 1977, for example, hampered firefighting efforts, especially in mid January when six fires in 24 hours (above) brought firefighters out of their own homes to help others. At least three of the calls were reported as chimney fires, with a fourth determined to be the result of a faulty heater.
Firefighters were again handicapped by bitter cold in January 1984 when Vandervort Mills went up in flames. Companies from Wyalusing, Towanda, Rome, and Monroeton helped to battle the conflagration which threatened to ignite several nearby structures. Witnesses reported seeing rats running in large numbers from the buildings, the Tim Franklin Insurance building (above) steaming as hoses were trained on it to prevent it from igniting, and water freezing quickly on every surface that was away from the heat.
The Ox Roasts
Feeding as many as 3,000 people over the course of a weekend, WVFC volunteers embarked on an ambitious effort each summer from 1955 to 1989 to provide the community with a one-of-a-kind eating experience. The method of procuring and preparing Angus beef quarters from local farmers and roasting them for 24 hours in large pits dug on the fire company grounds was reportedly handed down to local settlers by Susquehannock Indians hundreds of years earlier.
First, a pit four-feet-wide, four-feet-deep and 16-feet-long was dug, as seen in the above photo from 1981 with Gene Beers driving the back-hoe and Jimmy Roof riding along. A truckload of hard wood was loaded into the pit and left to burn overnight (below) into a three-foot layer of hot coals.
The coals were then covered with a layer of pea gravel on which the beef quarters, wrapped in foil and cloth, were placed. Bob Irvin, Cecil “Red” Ingerich, Dale Fulmer, and Steve Borick (below) lay out the meat on the hot pit before covering it with pipes, sheet metal, and dirt to trap the heat.
When dug up the next day and removed from the wrapping, the beef was sliced and served with baked potatoes, pothole beans, and a homemade dessert.
Helen Ferguson and Evelyn Neily (above) wrap silverware in preparation for the 1984 ox roast.
Pearl and Willis Jennings (above) were two of many helpers that cut up 140 quarts of strawberries for strawberry shortcake in 1984.
The ox roast remained popular in their later years, though patronage dropped from the thousands to around 600 per year.
Presidents and Chiefs
In the early days of WVFW, most presidents and chiefs served only two consecutive years, though many served in several positions over time. Forest Beeman (above) was the first president. He would also serve the company as chief, vice president, treasurer and secretary between 1947 and 1957.
Other “founding fathers” of WVFC included Lewis Woodruff (above), the fire company’s first vice president, and Edward Strickland (below), who served the company as secretary for its first two years.
Another dedicated WVFC member who served in almost every conceivable position was Marion Barnes (below). In addition to serving as chief, treasurer, secretary, vice president and a member of the original bylaws committee, Barnes was president of the fire company in 1951, 1952, 1962, and 1981. He was the last of the founding fathers to serve as an officer, retiring in 1984 after three years as vice president.
In a 1966, charter members Harry Smith and Ken McCormack (below) were driven by Ted Matthews in a VJ Day parade.
From the 1970s into the early 2000s, those to serve the company for the most years as president included Steward Rosengrant, Richard Engisch, and Mike Them. The longest-running chief was James Meckling, elected first in 1987.
The Wysox Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary was formed in 1948 with Aline Woodruff serving as its first president and Evelyn Neiley the first Vice President.
Later Auxiliary presidents (above) – Ann Sullivan, Hazel Bruce, Ann Smith, Mary Ross, Jean Post, Ellen Franklin, Frances Lewis, Louella McCormack, and Dorothy Shultz – were honored at a dinner in 1963.
Barb Rosengrant and Elaine Engisch served the most years as president of the Ladies Auxiliary, which did not meet from August 1998 to September 2001. At that time, the new Wysox Fireman’s Auxiliary was formed, and Vivian Abbott was chosen as its first leader.
Additional Memories:
This aerial view of the intersections of Route 6 and 187 in Wysox was taken after the construction of the ball field in 1949 but before the construction of the firehouse in 1955.
Santa and his team of reindeer were a regular fixture at Wysox Corners, erected there by fire company members at Christmas time throughout the 1950s.
1984 equipment lineup
Ken Ackley, Tim Secules, Tom Dixon, and Jeff Benjamin relax on the fire company grounds during a 1984 open house.
In September 2009, Patricia and Newman Benson, Beverly Beers, Jack Kilmer, and Wilbur Beers unveil a series of photos and documents commemorating the founding fathers of the Wysox Volunteer Fire Company.