Rensselaer Day 5

I met Assistant Chief Kenneth "Kenny" Haun, Jr. at the station. By his lonesome, he pulled out Engine (Pumper) 1 and Aerial 1 for me to photograph. It was another gorgeous clear, but cold, day. I also photographed the interior of the station with the multitude of photographs, memoriabilia, trophies, artwork and honours adorning the walls.

The original fire station was located in the two-story section of the City Hall. The upper level was an apartment for a volunteer firefighter. Whoever resided in that apartment would be responsible for calling the other volunteers to a fire and hooking up the horses to the fire carriage, getting it ready to go. Kenny's uncle was that firefighter. Now, by Kenny's day, the horses were no longer in use but the apparatus was still kept in front of the building along Van Rensselaer, across from the Jasper County Courthouse. The fire station didn't move until 1976, when the new building along Cullen was constructed, but it's still in the Courthouse square vicinity. Since firefighting with the Rensselaer Volunteer Fire Department is literally in his blood, the Assistant Chief had a lot of information to share.

Kenny brought me to the warehouse by the water tower, where the antique apparatus, as well as numerous other items that they've squirrelled away, are kept. I photographed the carriage, their first gasoline-powered engine, and many other antique items.

After appreciating the old, he took me to see the new: the Mitchell Training Facility. It's mentioned on the Fire Department's page of the City of Rensselaer website. The Assistant Chief had a major role in the design and construction of the live fire training facility and all the volunteers are constantly brainstorming to create simulations of different fire and rescue situations. The department does not provide Emergency Medical Service, but it does provide rescue when needed. Currently under construction is a training tower that ought to be ready to burn in a few more weeks.

The property for the Mitchell Training Facility was donated by a Chicago firefighter's widow and hometown resident of Rensselaer. She had six lots and sold them to the department for $1 under the condition that the property only be used for fire department-related activity. It was this generous gift that allowed the department to build their training facility, which they had been fundraising hard for. The training facility is named after this good-hearted widow and her departed husband.

I really could not have asked for a better tour guide than Kenny Haun.

Later in the day, I stopped into City Hall for a photo op of the Mayor and also to pick up Kenny's business card. Since the Mayor of Rensselaer is the most open and friendly public official I have met - and this includes the previous leader of the category, Florida's Lee County Commissioner Bob Janes - getting his portrait was no problem... once we got him to stand still. He has more energy than my eight year-old! Kenny, who is also the City's Building Commissioner, invited me to a meeting at the fire house this evening. He said that it would be a good opportunity to take more photographs, especially of the men in gear.

He was right on all counts except for the light. Dusk was harsh tonight because of the approaching rain. The cloud cover brought darkness before it should have so my light was compromised. I still got good shots of the crew in front of Aerial 1. I got done in record time. I did have more ideas but they will have to wait for another time... hopefully with better light (and a warmer season!). I knew I was welcome to stay for the meeting but I thought it was better to grab some dinner and talk to Michael and Eddie back at the hotel.

I returned to the hotel, ate dinner, tended to my photos and spoke to my boys. Tomorrow they should be brought back to my parents' house and then brought here to Rensselaer. Weather permitting, I will take them down to see the Lourdes Grotto at St. Joseph's College and then we're on our way back to Florida.

I do have a telephone appointment with someone from the Historical Society in the morning. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to go to the hospital or just call her room. I think I'm going to call her room to ask my questions. I'm really not comfortable bothering someone when they're laid up in the hospital, even though I know hospitals can be so boring that an interview isn't an intrusion. Still, I'm not a reporter. I'm a photographer and curious person.

Here are some of the shots from today, more is available on my Flickr: