Kalamazoo Fire Department, 1950s

Kalamazoo firefighters, out playing with an old fire engine at the Kalamazoo fairgrounds, in 1955 or thereabouts. Another Martin Sernstinger photo inherited from my father, who was a KFD firefighter when he was young (and I was really young).

Photographer: Martin Sernstinger, developed (at Michigan News) June 8, 1955. Explored! #56 on Flickr [July 6, 2007.] Thanks! My father--Roger Dinda--is on the left in this photo. The guy in the middle is Fred Stone, and I'm not sure who the other is; since Dad & Stoney were off-duty firemen, I presume the other guy was as well [Sam Garrison, it turns out; see my brother's Flickr comment ]. Dad was a firefighter when I was young, and considered himself still a firefighter until he died. On his off-days, he held other jobs. The fallback job--this one--was called "driving hacks." Or just "hacking." The photo was taken on Michigan Avenue (still called Main Street in 1955, methinks) in Kalamazoo, in front of the cab stand beside Michigan News Agency. The official-looking building across the road is the Kalamazoo County Building, which still looks about the same; on the other hand, Michigan Avenue's been a One Way road for most of my life. Michigan News still stocks comic books, which was the attraction when I was a kid. Good place to buy maps, too. Since the picture dates from 1955, it's over fifty years old. Mom had us digging through boxes of old photos shortly before she died. This one was the best of a stash of Sernstinger pix which had mostly obvious firefighting connections. Dad was a little chubby, I see.... New scan uploaded 12/30/05.

My father, Roger Dinda, newly promoted to Driver, and Kalamazoo Fire Department's truck 16, in 1955 or thereabouts. This was taken in front of Old Station 1, the Central Station at the time. 'Twas called "Ones" or "Central," as we discussed in the comments to one of my brothers' pix. The station's been gone since the sixties. Another Martin Sernstinger photo. I have a bunch of these, and have created a special set for 'em.

Another Martin Sernstinger photo from around 1955. Kalamazoo Fire Department's engine 8 sits in front of Station 3 on a sunny afternoon. Threes was the prettiest of the Kalamazoo fire stations; it was located on Charlotte close to Roosevelt School, and was on my normal route to class. Since Dad was a firefighter at the time, though not normally stationed here, I'd greet the guys as I passed by. Threes had repair facilities for large trucks, so it was an interesting place for a youngster to visit. Mom tended to discourage me from doing so....

Another Martin Sernstinger photo of my father, Roger Dinda, in Engine 16 of the Kalamazoo Fire Department. This time Dad's actually driving it. 1955 or thereabouts. That's the Kalamazoo State Theater in the background. Still standing; just as wonderful today as it was new, in the late 20s. It's grown kinda raggedy, though.

Kalamazoo Fire Department's Engine 9, as photographed by Martin Sernstinger at the Kalamazoo Fairgrounds in (roughly) 1955. Eventually KFD would move their training exercises to a specialized facility off King Highway, but these photographs predate that. Unfortunately, Dad didn't leave me any training-exercise photos half as dramatic as Alessandro Cani's . But Marty's pictures are, nonetheless, excellent. Don't recall who the handsome dude is. Partly that's because I was six in 1955, but mostly it's because it's been fifty years.

Kalamazoo Fire Department, circa 1955. No idea whose house that was, nor where. Clearly not a fire station, though. Continuing my series of Martin Sernstinger photographs, inherited from my father, who was a Kalamazoo firefighter for much of the 1950s.

Explored! #369 on Friday, February 1, 2008. Thanks! Kalamazoo Fire Department's Engine 9. It's parked in front of the old North Burdick Station , called Fours by the firefighters. 1955 or thereabouts. While Dad was with the department, they replaced a substantial number of trucks with these larger, more impressive Seagrave units. I suspect that's what Martin Sernstinger was actually documenting with many of these photographs.

Another view of Kalamazoo Fire Department's Engine 9, still parked in front of old Station 4. Fours has been restored; there's a picture in my brother's Flickr stream . When I was a kid, I knew a lot about these engines; what they were designed to do, and how they differed in detail. I'm afraid that's all gone.... Photo taken around 1955 by Martin Sernstinger.