Fire Chiefs-All in the Family
It is easy to see how firefighting runs in families, probably because when one person gets the fever, it is infectious. When one becomes a firefighter, they fall in love with the camaraderie, the excitement, and the challenges. When we get around our families or friends, they see how passionate we are about the job, and they find it attractive as well. I can see that if one family member became a firefighter, how their feelings about the experience would intrigue brothers who might take on a role as well, and thus the beginning of a new emergency service “family business.”
Many of us were literally raised in the firehouse; maybe it was a father, grandfather or an uncle, brother or brother-in-law was a fire chief. Multi-generational volunteers keep the departments rolling. It's always been a part of being Chief, leaving holiday dinners and family gatherings to help people and helping the community ... protecting property and saving lives.
As I dug deep into the research for each of the fire chiefs, I noticed that over the years there have been several notable facts. There have been several members who served as Chief above and beyond the normal two-year term. Our longest serving Chief’s were.
- Andrew B. Heberer who spent 18 years as the Chief over two separate terms, 1895-1905 and 1910-1913. He remains the longest serving Chief in our history.
- Christopher Moskos Sr. served 4 Years over two separate terms from 2012-2013 and 2022-2023.
- Henry Gebhardt spent 4 Consecutive Years as Chief from 1926-1929.
- Robert Chiz served 3 1⁄2 Years over two separate terms as Chief, from 2006-2007 and 2018-2019.
- Henry Schnepf served 3 Consecutive Years as Chief from 1919-1921.
- Vincent Braun served 3 Consecutive Years as Chief from 1940-1943.
Other family historical facts and highlights include:
- Two Chiefs, who were Father and Son
- Chief Edward Schluter Sr. was Chief 1913 to 1914, and his son Edward Schluter Jr. served as Chief 1952-1954
- William Braun was Chief 1918 to 1919, and his son Vincent Braun was Chief from 1940 to 1943.
- There was only one Grandfather and Grandson that served as Chief.
- Walter Telender was Chief in 1962-1964 and his grandson, Robert Telender Jr. served 7 months as Chief in 2018. Note: While Robert is not recognized as a Chief, the By-laws were revised prior to him serving. The by-law now requires that Chiefs must serve at least 12 months to be considered a Chief. Robert spent six years as an Assistant Chief and 7 months as a Chief. It is also noted that in my research, there are several members who did not complete a full year as Chief. However, it was before the By-Law was changed.
- There were two brother combinations that served as Chief.
- Henry Schnepf was Chief in 1919-1921 and immediately followed by his brother August (Gus) Schnepf in 1922.
- Patrick McGeough was Chief in 2002-2003 and his brother Frank McGeough served from 2014 and 2015.
- Only two Chiefs were not born in the United States.
- Anthony Manzolillo immigrated from Italy as a child and served as Chief in 1917.
- John “Jack” Leckie immigrated from Edinburgh, Scotland as a child and served as Chief in 1945.
- Brothers-in-Law
- William Mohrbach was Chief from 1915-1916 and his brother-in-law, Henry Schnepf was Chief in 1919 and 1921.
- Owen Magee was Chief from 1984-1985 and his brother-in-law, Gerard O’Brien who served as Chief in 1988.
- Sons-in-Law
- Fred Fricke who served in 1924 was the father-in-law of Harry Borley who served as Chief in 1937-1939.
- Henry Gebhardt served as Chief from 1926-1929 and his son-in-law(s) were Charles Saurer who served from 1959-1961 and Vincent Braun who served1940-1943.
- Melvin Voorhies served as Chief from 1970-1971 and his son-in-law was Robert Lang who served as Chief from 2008-2009.
