Eighty-six years ago the Newark Valley Fire Department (NVFD) purchased a truck that was considered a star back-in-the-day. The $4,260 investment in a Sanford / Ford V-8 proudly served the company for many years.
The journey the truck took to a neighboring fire company and then out to the Midwest and back to Newark Valley is an interesting tale. If only the truck could talk about surviving a barn fire in 1980, and then later receiving a complete makeover by a private owner who was passionate about giving it a renewed life and purpose.
From left, Ken and Marty Schneider, members of the Newark Valley Fire Department, pose in front of a 1934 Sanford / Ford truck, which recently made its way back home to Newark Valley. (JoAnn R. Walter Photo)
Ken and Marty Schneider, NVFD members, are excited to have the truck back, and remarked, “We began correspondence with the owner, and he indicated that he would someday give the truck back to the NVFD,” adding, “We called and visited him several times over the years to keep that idea alive.”
Take a step back in time to 1955, and the newly formed Little Meadows Fire Department, located in Little Meadows, Pa., purchased the truck for $500 from the NVFD in October that year. By 1967, Little Meadows was ready to upgrade and purchased a 1961 International to take its place. Little Meadows then sold the truck for $150 to a private owner, the first of two private owners in Michigan.
Pictured is a Newark Valley Fire Department truck driven by a private owner at a Michigan car show. The truck has since been gifted back to the department. Provided photo.
The second private owner, Henry Burger, purchased the truck in 1991 for $1,200. According to the Schneider’s, Burger has volunteered at the Henry Ford Museum and is experienced in mechanics and machine tools. It was Burger who brought the old, charred truck back to life, transforming what was left from a tragic fire into an amazing original form.
Interestingly, Ken and Marty began corresponding with Henry shortly after Marty’s brother, who happens to live in Michigan, spotted the truck at a 2010 car show in Ypsilanti. Nearly a decade later, the Schneider’s welcomed the truck home.
The Schneider’s hope that Henry Burger will feel up to traveling to New York in a future year, and where they will give him the wheel once again to drive during a Newark Valley parade. In recognition of Burger’s gifting the truck back to the NVFD, he has also been made an honorary member of the department.
In the meantime, Marty plans to use her artistic hand to add detailing on the driver’s side of the truck, and so that it matches detailing already completed. The NVFD plans to take the truck out for special occasions and events, along with guest appearances by the department’s 1914 Federal fire truck.
The truck has been a hit in northern Tioga County. It was selected as the “Rarest,” and awarded a trophy at the second annual Rawley Park Car Show held on Oct. 3 in Richford, N.Y.
Despite the challenges faced by many in 2020, the NVFD sees the year as one that opened a door to a happy ending, and that being the year that a classic fire truck made its way back to its original stomping grounds.
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