Retrospect: Geneva got new firetruck

More than four years of planning and fundraising came to fruition a quarter century ago.

Geneva Volunteer Fire Department welcomed a new fire truck 25 years ago this week after years of gathering funds for the new rig.

“We wanted them to know we were serious,” said longtime firefighter Art Booth, who was the fire chief when the effort to buy a new truck was launched in the early 1990s.

Fire department officials approached the town council to request the purchase of a new truck because the other one was wearing out. At the time, the town didn’t have the required $103,000, which equates to approximately $170,000 in today’s value according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The town’s attempts to receive grants for the money failed, so the volunteer firemen held countless bean dinners, fish fries, raffles and many other projects to raise funds.

As the truck arrived Feb. 28, 1994, Booth held in his hands a check for $11,300 to represent the department’s contribution.

An article in The Commercial Review described the scene moments after the truck arrived in Geneva.

“Within minutes after Geneva’s new fire truck was backed into the town fire station Monday night, those who had been waiting for it were crawling on the vehicle like children climbing on a jungle gym. They were turning knobs, opening storage compartment doors, testing the lights.”

Chief John Kleinknight, assistant chief Stewart Lefevre and firefighter Terry Koon drove the truck from Appleton, Wisconsin.

“It’s the greatest thing to happen to the Geneva Fire Department in 26 years,” Kleinknight said.