Monday night a member of the Superior Fire Department spoke to the Superior City Council and told about the need to address the budget and the need for new equipment and adequate space to house that equipment.
Since the current Public Safety Building was built about 50 years ago, equipment has grown in size and the prices have skyrocketed. Levi Gunn, the department's treasurer said the city and the department needed to develop multi-year plans for the replacement and maintenance of equipment.
Forty years ago, in the summer of 1981, members of the Superior Fire Department were proud to add another truck to the fleet of vehicles. Compared to today's vehicles, it is a shrimp and the department no longer has room to store the truck in the Public Safety Building. Instead, it and another truck that was in active service 40 years ago are stored at the Nuckolls County Historical Society Museum.
In the summer of 1981 The Express reported Superior's second fire engine had been returned to service with the donated assistance of three Superior craftsmen.
The truck, a 1929 Seagraves was assigned to parade duty. Newer trucks were used to answer the community's fire calls.
The late Charles (Skip) Fullerton and his associate in the Bill Morris Ford Truck Shop, Duane Fraley along with Eldon Thompson of Superior Motor Parts had completed rebuilding the old fire engine's Hercules JKC cylinder gasoline engine. The truck had missed several parade calls because of its faltering mechanical condition. The three donated their time to the rebuilding project. Money for parts came from the city and the fire department coffers.
As a parade vehicle it was expected the truck would see its third tour of duty.
When purchased it was the city's only fire truck. It was considered to be of the most modern design when purchased in 1929. It replaced an older truck with hard rubber tires. The Seagraves was equipped with a 500 gallon per minute pump which could supply two hoses, one coming from each side of the truck. The unit would answer many calls in the next 19 years.
It rolled out to help fight the biggest fire in the history of Superior, the February, 1946, fire which destroyed the former Bossemyer Brothers Elevator. The truck was also said to have provided invaluable assistance in containing a fire that threatened to destroy the Lawrence business district.
Once the pride of the Superior Volunteer Fire Department, the truck fell into disgrace when in 1948 it threw a rod while en route to a fire at the Scoular-Bishop Terminal Grain Elevator. Fortunately, the firemen were able to contain the fire without use of the truck and the elevator is still in use.
After the fire, the firemen chained the truck to a pickup and paraded it up and down main street. That night several community leaders gathered in the City Auditorium to discuss the need of a replacement. A short time later the city council met, declared an emergency and placed an order for a new American LaFrance fire truck which is now also on display in the county museum.
With the arrival of the La France the Seagraves had to take second fiddle and soon was determined to be surplus. The truck was sold Dick Lyons who repaired the engine and used ti pump irrigation water for a farm near Edgar.
Later city funds were appropriated to repurchase the truck and return it to Superior as a museum piece.
The truck's engine was built by Hercules to the Seagraves Company specifications. According to those specs, the 282 cubic inch engine developed 33.75 horsepower. The bore is 3.75 inches and the stroke 4.25 inches. It has two heads and dual ignition-each cylinder has two spark plugs, one supplied from a distributor and the other from a magneto.
The truck also has a dual starting system. It has a six volt electric starter and a crank. A longtime member of the fire department, Willard Springer told The Express in 1982, he had used the crank method several times. He described the truck as an easy starter-just lift up on the crank and it would start.
An open cab design, the truck lacked a windshield. The firemen built a windshield but when it was pulled off while answering a fire call, it was not replaced. The truck was rolling out of the fire station located where the city administration building is now located when the rope used to ring the fire bell, which not stands in front of the Public Safety Building, caught and yanked the windshield off.
Firemen who took the truck to Lawrence recalled it was a long and difficult trip.
The truck has a three-speed transmission and floor mounted stick.
Several problems had to be overcome in rebuilding the engine. Babbitt was used for the rod, main, cam and idler bearings. The Babbitt system had not been used for many years in the manufacture of new engines, It took considerable time before a man was located in Lincoln who was willing to run the Babbitt. He was located just in time for he decided to retire after completing the fire truck job.
Several parts were also hard to locate. The Hastings company had to make the rings to special order. Gaskets, valve springs and keepers were also difficult to obtain.
When new, the truck sportsed the latest in fire fighting equipment including a 50-gallon water storage tank, large hose storage compartment and a booster hose reel.
After the engine was repaired, the firemen completed other restoration work. For example, the original bell and siren, which were removed when the truck was sold to Lyon, were reinstalled.
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