CHAPTER 1
FIRE STATION
My call as young man was to be a fire fighter and play football. I believe I could always count on our team at the fire department and on the football field. The two professions were similar at times. They were polar opposites at best. The one consistent, heartbeat in each of them was you had the sense of over whelming accomplishment when you walked away to find yourself. Perhaps we wrestle with who we are day to day. I know when the body and mind are drained from being your very best for those minutes of total focus. The exhaustion from the total day allows time to breathe in the fresh air and revives me once more to know that each cinder we took out and each tackle we made took all that I had within me. I look back and wonder how I had the strength and presence of mind to be successful at both. It was only because of God and the strength he provides.
Hi, I’m Charlie Stroup. I’m about 165 pounds soaking wet. The fire department garb, I weigh in at 195 pounds. With all the football gear on 175 pounds of angry Pennsylvania Dutch with the reddest face on earth when I’m an angry man. I love to pound people into submission and often will ask for what I want once until I get it. I wrestle with who I am almost on an hourly basis. I guess with growing up in a large family I fought everyday to keep my individuality. I always knocked my brothers around and not visa versa. I wouldn’t take their guff for any amount of money in the world. It goes way past pride to the very heart of being up rooted on my own choice to start a new life in Akron, Ohio. There was no entourage following me west to Ohio. Just, Charlie that’s all. I’m not trying to sound harsh, I enjoyed my family, respected my parents. I believe this was my shot in life and I better pay attention and make smart decisions along the way. I always love to walk around my neighborhood and take in the fall fresh air and fill the barrel chest man up with some serious oxygen. I had respect for oxygen. All firemen know oxygen feeds and nourishes our body and blood cells. We gain our strength from the oxygen similar to a fire that is spreading quickly through a building and moving at seemingly blazing speed. So, tonight I build strength in my own house so I can fight the good fight again tomorrow. The leaves were just turning and I was get psyched up to take a big bite out of a crisp, ripe red apple for a snack after the stroll. I could see kids playing on the monkey bars and I smiled and laughed at their transparent souls that lacked nothing for the moment. I could see similar children in my future someday, just not right now. I was in the best shape of my life and I had plenty to keep me out of trouble for the most part accept the trouble makers at the fire house and on the football field. I had to looking the mirror when I start thinking like that. Like who is calling who trouble. You are in many sense of the word,
Whom you surround your self with each day. It takes a strong man though to hold onto the best inside of you and stay strong to the call on your heart. Your like a car sometimes on black ice sliding and spinning out of control and you find just enough time and sense to straighten things out from becoming out of control. We certainly take for granted the outcomes in life. When for instance I read the other day cancer spread in a young ladies body and took her life at thirty nine. I just shake my head and realize that someday I will be just like her and have to throw up my hands and say you win this time. We just seem to skim by near misses and not realize how fortunate we are to be fighting the next fire, playing football with the boys, watching the kids play and bighting into a red fresh crisp apple before we call it a day and catch some well deserved hay. I round the third block and I head in the apartment for a bight of my crisp apple and some well deserved sleep. I open the screen door and shut the apartment door behind me and locked the lock for the night. I grabbed my apple and washed it under the faucet and wiped it dry. I took one big bight and I wasn’t let down one bit. This apple was crisp and amazing to the core. I hope my life will be the same as I live each day and I will not disappoint anyone and they will see me solid and great to the core. With a name like Charlie how can you possibly fall short?
I walked down the hall way and slapped the wall on the way though the door to jump in his bed. I flipped the wall switch and the room light dead center on the ceiling came on and was the only light for the room. Although the bedroom window brought daylight when the sun shown in. What else do you need in your room? I had a bed, a bed stand with a King James Bible and some change from his pocket and his leather wallet. I pulled down my sheets and blanket and sat on my bed and prayed a simple prayer. Lord, please keep my path straight, my family safe and the future clear. Amen. I shut off the light on the wall switch and jumped into bed and fell a sleep relatively quickly. You have to allow your time shut eye time to give and live your best tomorrow.
I was awakened from the sound of nature out my window and I sat up in my bed and found my slippers and made my way to the kitchen to brew up some coffee in the metal coffee percolator. I opened up the refrigerator door and pulled out the coffee can and measured up ten level scoops. I liked it strong so I would always add one more scoop just for the heck of it. Nothing like looking at the clear faceted top to know something good was brewing and about to make an awesome morning satisfying drink to keep me going all day long. Something about the aroma of coffee brewing early in the morning to get your senses and your mind awaken with that familiar feeling!
I hopped on his Schwinn bike and pedaled my way on the six mile journey to Fire Station #4 to serve the public today. I could smell that fall burnt leaves smell from the local neighbors and I kept an eye on small fires because I knew how quickly they could spread. I wasn’t afraid to stop people and warn them so being a fireman and all. Folks in my neighborhood knew that and respected my words and would pay mine to them. I found most folks to be awful nice and they were. Awful and nice depending on whom they were with! Just thinking about that put a smile on my face as I made my way down the block and around a 1918 Chevrolet Sedan. I thought how bulky it looked and who would ever buy a Chevrolet to begin with. Charlie was a little stubborn that way I mean why one single person would lay money down on anything other than a Ford automobile anyway. The 1918 Ford Runabout was the way to go! I felt the wind push behind me making my navigation up the block seem to cruise by. I made my familiar right turn at the end of the block by the park without even thinking about it. Someday I would be able to say I could remember when I rode my bike six miles each way everyday to be fireman and fought fires on top of it! I would forget about the lull time where they passed the shift away playing checkers with one another. I took pride in kicking anyone who would challenge me to a checkers match tail all the way out of good old #4 Fire Stations, on Lincoln Avenue. I made my checker board back in High School at Garfield in the wood shop. The checker board was made of pine and oak squares on plywood and glued together with wood glue. I used a mighty-nice stain and varnish to give it that store bought look. The checker pieces were bought at the five and dime store and where red and black like they have always been. My checker board looked store bought and I kept it that way. So did every fireman in #4 Fire Stations. I never looked for trouble, really I did! Trouble wasn’t necessarily my middle name just something I liked to vie around with, if you know what I mean. I knew exactly what irked people and loved to get under their skin when I got the chance. I didn’t manage to cause trouble; I sort of was trouble all right. I had a quick thinking brain and could come up with some hair brain ideas at a moment’s notice. I was able to get away with a lot of shenanigans at elementary school when I was a young one. Like sticking a big twig just right in my friend’s bike spokes so his friend would topple over in the middle of the gravel road. You could hear my friend cussing up a mean streak trying to pull his act together again and recovering from his bumps and bruises. I would be cutting up around the block where I had a perfect bird’s eye view. My good side would keep me from being suspected by anyone. You just wouldn’t have called me on it, I mean never! I was slick as a whistle and covered my tracks amazingly well.
I was never sure as I finished my bike ride to the Fire Station whether I was going to say match game or be fighting matches and the damage they can do. You have to remember in 1918 Akron, Ohio was one of the fastest growing cities in the world. The city went from 69,000 up to 180,000 almost overnight. The hustle and bustle of new people in a new area caused havoc all by itself and left very little room for accidents to happen and recover from them as well. Goodyear Tire and Rubber became Americas top tire manufacturer and Akron was granted the title of “The Rubber capitol of the world”. What will you tell me next? Woman will be flying single wing airplanes next year in Canton! I heard all the hub-bub of the Wright Brothers was causing all around the world. America had ninety million people living there at the time. We knew Teddy Roosevelt’s term in office was ending soon. Now, we heard about that crazy around the world race. People came from all over the world in that crazy race. Who would have thought of such a lame brain idea? I skidded up to the #4 Fire Station and parked my bike along the right side of the building against the brick walls. I thought to myself that someday I will have a sturdy brick house like this that is safe from catching on fire.
I rolled in and saw my brother Sam whom I fought fires with and played semi-pro football after their shift was done. Sam was shorter than I and he lacked my barrel chest and strength. Sam would play football on a need be basis he was really kind of the Canton Bull Dogs Manager. He kept the footballs stout and the uniforms clean. Sam made Charlie always smile from the get go. I’m not sure of much, but the history between Charlie and Sam just flowed like water over Niagara Falls. These two got each other and were overwhelming support in those tough times in which they lived. The young men never felt like they lacked much because they were so full of life.
The #4 Fire Station had everything you would come to expect. We had three strong horses that pulled a steam boiler with ladders along the side of the carriage. We were known as the bucket brigade across the country. The shinny carriage always looked good and Vern took care of the horses and bridled them up and drove the carriage with his handy little whip. We use to tease him about that whip. He never left it overnight at the fire station he always took it home with him. We weren’t sure if he used in the wood shed on his young ones or his Mrs. When she got out of line. Maybe he just kept it above the fire place to keep all the troops in line.
No just kidding! We actually had real new motorized fire trucks made by South Bend Motor cars. The fire truck was very shinny and very red that the city just purchased. Believe me we took very good care of them. They were washed more than some of the men did, on a daily basis. The chrome always shinned real nice.
We had our nice lockers with our fire gear in there and stool’s in front of each one. The Chiefs office was on the main floor in the back with big windows so he could see the doings within the fire station he was in charge of each day. One could see the fire pole which lead up stairs to our hangout where we were, always ready to fight fires. We had a small kitchen, beds and a place to read. We had stairs we took up and down in non-emergency times. “Hey bro-, did you catch any perch last night?” Charlie said To Sam with a smile! “Nope, no walleye either!” Sam quipped back. You can hardly keep the two from teasing one another. Only when, they are fighting fires and saving lives! I went over and sat on the stool and put my personal belongings in there. I only brought to the fire station what I absolutely needed and not much more. I knew and trusted everyone there. You just had to! It was just the way I went about my business and carried myself. No sense starting trouble or tempting someone to covet something you worked hard for. Money didn’t come easy to anyone. Think about all that we are facing in these hard times today. I often wondered when times would ever turn around and get better. I was just fine, but Akron just needed a little boost with all the new folks around. Wally, Buck and Jim, Carl, Ralph, Gene, Elvin, Matt, Ted and Jack wondered in and got ready for their day. I thought to myself. What a great bunch of men that I entrusted my life with. Chief Vern came out and slapped some of the guys on the back and went over the agenda for the week. Chief knew the lay of the land from one end to the other around the #4 Canton Fire Stations. The fire station was just east of downtown Canton. Lincoln Street was a main thorough fare as you could have going in front of the fire station. The city of Akron was twenty three miles do north. The other main road was Trump Avenue just due east of our station. Vern grew up around these parts and knew every nook and cranny from horsing around as a kid. Horsing around doesn’t pay off! It most certainly did for Vern. He was made captain at a very early age of twenty-eight and has been captain for fifteen years already. You had to respect him just for all the knowledge of the area. Not to mention, he has some pretty good stories about folks. That he will occasionally share with us outside the fire station when we are all hanging out catching an ice cream soda after a shift. I looked at Sam and gave him the eye to go up stairs once Chief Vern was done so I could whoop him in Checkers. I want to tell you all the sudden the fireman’s bell was being run by Jack who just received word of a fire right off of Marietta Drive. We jumped over to the lockers and manned our fire suits and hats. Vern got the troops rolling and loaded up in the fire truck and Sam and I were standing on the back holding on to the chrome handles to the left and right. I’m telling you it was out of nowhere and I could feel my adrenalin pumping real good now. We all know that that is a good thing when it happens. I was fighting the wind though which seemed to be picking up and catching the brim of my fire hat even though the chin strap was holding it firm into place. We made a left on Lincoln and headed up to Marietta Street where we would turn right and try to determine where the fire was at. We heard Wally holler back he could see billows of smoke rolling out of a farm house just to the west. Which concerned every fireman on the fire truck? The downtown city of Canton was west of there. Fortunately, the winds were blowing east. The truck stopped in front of the farm house and we could see the family seemed safe on the ground. Buck was talking to them trying assuring the whole family was out of the house. We heard Buck holler out, “All - Safe!” So, Sam grabbed a ladder and I grabbed a hose and headed toward the farm house to put out the fire coming from the second story window. I started in the front door and up the stairs with the fire hose and Elvin was making sure the hose had no kinks in it. Sam, Gene, Matt and Ted were fighting the fire from the north side of the farm house. Buck got us there safely. Wally Buck and Jack ran the water pressures by the truck. Each man had a specific job to do and did it well. I just rounded the corner up stairs and was kicking the door down with the back of my foot and the fire turned back on me and the floor went from under my feet. It was a strange feeling to be standing and all the sudden have the feeling I’m falling. I quickly braced myself for the fall and rolled out of it. The roll was just instinctive we practice it all the time. I was in disbelief it actually worked. Ralph checked I was all right because he heard the explosion and crack of the floor and came a running. Jack was all ready up the stairs and doing a great job of getting the fire out from across the hole in the floor. I was so proud of him and completely forgot about my fall and took his part back by the truck until all clear sign was given. Within twenty minutes of getting there we were able to contain the fire to upstairs and put it out. We all had that charred fireman’s look on our faces and on our fire clothes. We gathered up our stuff and family came to help about the family who’s upstairs caught on fire. Wally was still asking the family questions trying to figure out how the whole thing started. Sometimes we don’t know for weeks, months or at all how the nasty fire got rolling. We finished putting everything back on the fire truck and headed back to good old #4. Vern opened the two big fire doors left and right and Wally backed the fire truck back into the fire station. We quickly unloaded and put away our stuff. We still had to go over our check list and prepare the truck for the next big event we keep hoping will never come to fruition. I always remember this one fact. Fireman our fireman no matter where they are at! So, I put my arm around my brother Sam and said,” How about the game of checkers now!” Sam just smiled!
