29. John “Jack” Leckie (1945)
Served 1 Year
Jack Leckie was born February 13, 1906, in Edinburg, Scotland. He immigrated to the United States with his parents James and Gemime Leckie in 1909. His family moved to Hicksville in 1927 from Glen Cove. He married Mary Elinore Deppish in January of 1928. They resided at 111 West Nicholai Street. He was employed as a Maintenance Worker at the Nassau County Sanatorium in Plainview. This was a hospital that isolated tuberculosis patients from the rest of the population. He retired from the Sanatorium in 1967.
Before joining the Hicksville Fire Department, Jack was a member of the Glen Cove Fire Department for five years. Jack joined Chemical Engine Company 3 in 1932 and was given badge 264. He would go to serve as Lieutenant and as their Captain.
In 1940 he ran unsuccessfully for 1st Assistant Chief against Stanley Cheslock. In April of 1945 John Leckie was endorsed by members of the five companies to serve as the 29th Chief after serving one year as an Assistant Chief to replace George J. Engel, who had served for the prior year. His Assistant Chiefs were Edward Mack (1st Assistant) and George Kunz (2nd Assistant). Chief Leckie was only the second Chief elected that immigrated to the United States. Anthony Manzolillo was the first immigrant elected Chief.
During his term Jack helped celebrate VJ Day in August of 1945. An estimated 1,500 men, women and children crowded the streets of Hicksville immediately following the announcement of Japan’s surrender, parading, shouting, and regaling in a hilarious demonstration. Police closed traffic at the intersection of Broadway and West Marie Street. They halted automobile traffic temporarily as excited persons jammed Broadway waving flags, throwing paper, using noisemakers, and shrieking unintelligibly. The reaction that released pent-up emotions began with the sounding of the village fire horn one minute after President Truman’s official announcement that peace had come. Seven fire trucks followed immediately from the firehouse, and no sooner had they reached the street when residents jumped aboard for a ride through the main streets of the village. Chief Leckie led the parade. Cars, decorated with multicolored crepe paper and filled with persons inside and on the running boards, civilians and servicemen and women waving American flags and children dressed in costumes.
Chief Leckie represented the department as part of the Hicksville World War II Memorial Committee. Leckie was designated to act on behalf of the department in voting on the memorial suitable for the community as part of the Committee. Several proposals were discussed by members of the department, and all were deemed acceptable, depending upon Leckie's approval.
At the Memorial Day Parade that year, Chief Jack Leckie and the members paraded in full dress uniform with two fire trucks that included a wreath donated by the members of Company 1. It was placed at the village honor roll in memory of three members who gave their lives in the recent war. Chief Leckie approved a bronze plaque to be placed on the Firehouse in honor of those served. Ceremonies were held with 300 residents in attendance with NYS Assemblyman David S Hill as the keynote speaker. It was noted that 42 firefighters from Hicksville served in World War II and three did not return. They were Henry A. Gebhardt, Jr., Gregory Stock and Arthur Noeth.
In September of 1945, the Hicksville Airpark Club closed its doors. Opened since 1929, this 80-acre airfield on Jerusalem Avenue to Hempstead Turnpike had fallen victim to rising land values. While Hicksville was charmingly rural in 1929, by late 1945 it was about to become solidly suburban. As the houses closed in towards the airfield, it became dangerous to operate an airfield. That was when William Levitt offered $2,200 an acre and the club ceased flying. Chief Leckie and the firemen were asked to aid the fire support during the demolition of the aviation park buildings.
In November of 1945 several fire calls at the town dump located on Charlotte Avenue prompted John R. Brandt, Town of Oyster Bay Superintendent of Highways, to team up with Chief Leckie and to issue warnings to dump only noncombustible materials into the dump. Fires have been caused by spontaneous combustion and a plastics plant nearby forced firemen to spray water on intermittent outbursts of fire for days. The fires are particularly hazardous because of the adjacent plastic products plant where high acetone concentrations are used. During the early years of the war, bullets and high explosives were manufactured at the plant. As a precautionary measure, the Superintendent and Chief Leckie had to place a high fence around the dump and prohibit dumping.
During his term, there were a few notable fires that included in June of 1945 a fire in the warehouse of the Armour Fertilizer company, Jerusalem Avenue, that did considerable damage.
In December of 1945 Chief Leckie accepted delivery of the Ward LaFrance, 200 HP,
Model I85, Waterous Pump and 750 GPM pumper with closed cab (#2248) for Company 2. The old “White” pumper was used as a trade in.
In December, just 9 months into his term, John Leckie resigned to take on the role as Fire Commissioner. Leckie was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the recent death of Commissioner John Werthessen. He was appointed to his new position during a meeting of the board of commissioners. The members of the department chose Edward Mack, who was serving as first assistant to become chief, and George Kunz was raised from second to first assistant. One of the final acts in office by Leckie, was to appoint Charles Ambron chairman of the memorial committee.
Just a year after taking office as Fire Commissioner, Leckie was met with opposition to fill the unexpired term of three years. Jack lost to Ex-Chief Vince Braun. However, Jack ran again in 1950 and was elected Fire Commissioner with 751 votes against Daniel Munch who had 202 and Henry Quimby with 94. In 1950 through 1955, while he was Commissioner, the Hicksville Fire Department received its first ambulance, which was donated by the people of the town. Commissioner Leckie was an important figure in the purchasing of the grounds for the sub-station houses at Briggs Street and Strong Street. Jack served as Chair of the Fire District in 1955.
Jack helped organize the Exempt and Benevolent Association of Hicksville in 1938-1939 and he would go on to served, as their President in 1946-1947. He continued to serve as the Company 3 Trustee of the Association for many years.
In the mid 1960's Jack helped to organize Floodlight Company Number 8. Along with everything else that Jack would do, he found the time to be active on many Department Committees: Budget, Welfare, and Tournament Committees, just to mention a few.
Jack served as the Honorary Grand Marshal of the Annual Labor Day Parade and Drill. He was a member of the Hicksville Robert L. Bacon Republican Club.
He was a long-time trustee of the Hicksville United Methodist Church. He was a trustee of his church for 18 years and was instrumental as president of the trustees in the decision to sell the former church site on Broadway and build a new church on Old Country Road in 1949.
After 54 years of service, Chief Leckie passed away on March 7, 1987, and he is interred at Plain Lawn Cemetery.
