Whitesville Fire passes torch to new generation | News | Berkeley Independent

Printer friendly version |

E-mail to a friend |

Whitesville Fire passes torch to new generation

Published Tuesday, July 20, 2010 9:29 AM

By Dan Brown
Berkeley Independent

photo by Monnie Fishel

Firefighters past, present and future gather around the newly dedicated Amos A. Smith Firefighter Memorial.

photo by Monnie Fishel

Whitesville Rural Fire Department founder Fred Hall passes the ceremonial axe to Phillip Winningham during dedication ceremonies of the firefighter memorial.

For each Whitesville firefighter that had passed, the bell rang. Fourteen times.

It rang for Ernst Merting and George Huff.

Echoing over the quiet of a sweltering July morning, the bells were a reminder of those who dedicated their lives in the protection of others.

For John Stewart Sr., Charlie Streeter and John Stewart Jr., the bell rang as fellow firefighters and family members stood by silently and reflected on lives well lived.

For Rufus Antley, Pete Antley, Bob Paul, Bruce Avery and Andrew Caddell, members of the Whitesville community gathered together to reflect, and perhaps offer a nod of thanks for their dedication and service.

For Ron Williams, Charlie Morris, Tom Rose, and Randolph Dugger … 14 names for whom the bell tolled.

They will not be forgotten.

“While they did not die in the line of duty, they did dedicate their lives to the service and protection of their community, and in their honor we dedicate this memorial,” said Whitesville Rural Fire Department Chief Tim Stephenson. “We are honoring all of those who have passed away. They are our legacy and we don’t want to lose this precious history.”

The department dedicated the Amos A. Smith Firefighter’s Memorial on Saturday.

“We want to give the younger group of firefighters a sense of history about the Whitesville Fire Department,” Stephenson said. “There are younger firefighters here who see some of the past generation of firefighters come through these doors, and they ask, ‘Who are they?’ We want to preserve the link between the past and present and pass the torch on to the future.”

The Whitesville Rural Fire Department started in 1963 when founding “Chief” Fred Hall picked up a 1946 Dodge truck and an old oil tanker, which he converted into a water tanker.

“Back then we didn’t have any protection out here at all,” said Hall, now 83. “We started with an old Dodge truck and a converted oil tanker, and about seven men. We really didn’t have an official chief back then, but I was the one who started it all. I’m very proud of every one of you. It takes a lot of work and a lot of heartache to get where we are today.”

Currently encompassing two stations, the department stands 47 members strong and services an area of nearly 50 square miles.

“Back in 1973 we answered 21 calls,” Stephenson said. “Today we’ve answered more than 1,100 calls.”

The first Whitesville fire station was located on what is now Highway 17A near Oakley Road. Emergency calls came in the form of a party line call.

“You dialed one particular party line number and 10 phones would simultaneously ring,” said department historian Dan Caskie, who is working on the arduous task of compiling the history of Whitesville’s fire department. “A lot of the department’s history was lost over the years and I wanted to start piecing together the history of this fire department.”

Caskie added that the department wanted to create a living legacy.

“A legacy is normally something you leave behind, but we’re fortunate to have our legacy standing here in front of us today,” he said.

A ceremonial passing of the axe, the torch of the fire department, was handed to each successive representative down the line on Saturday, from Fred Hall to Phillip Winningham to Benji Winningham.

“We give you young people a special thanks for all you do today,” Winningham said. “We had a whole lot less people than are here now. We all have something we can be very proud of.”

From Elias Driggers to Walt Fishel to Andy Caddell, the axe was passed.

Marilyn Caddell accepted the axe for her husband Andy who passed away last year.

“I was a proud mom of this fire department,” said Caddell, a retired teacher, who was also a firefighter and would wear her uniform to school during Fire Prevention Week. “The kids were so impressed that their teacher was also a firefighter.”

Caddell said that 19 months and four days have passed since Andrew Caddell passed away.

“We all know where we came from,” she said. “But Lord only knows where we’re going. We had some good times and some hard times over the years, but we worked them all out.”

To Amos Smith, to Stephen Driggers and finally to current chief Tim Stephenson, the axe was passed.

“These fine people who stood up here and passed the axe, they are the foundation of this fire department,” said Smith, current Whitesville chairman of the board. “Without them this fire department wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Chief Tim Stephenson passed the axe to the future in Junior Firefighter member Brianna Crosby.

“The legacy can’t stop with us,” Stephenson said. “It has to continue through this generation coming up.”

Stephenson added that the Junior Firefighters, a program begun in 1999, currently stand 12 members strong. “They are our future,” he said.

Following the service, just as the names on the memorial were unveiled, the fire alarm sounded, sending firefighters scrambling for fire trucks, squad trucks and EMS vehicles.

In less than a minute they were gone.

It seemed only fitting to end the memorial service this way … with firefighters answering the call to duty.

Comments

Notice about comments:

Berkeleyind.com is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Berkeleyind.com does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not Berkeleyind.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.

Users can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends' recent posts, add an avatar that fits their personality, and more. If you have posted here before you'll need to sign up again, or if you've never posted before, start now by reading our terms and conditions, and then signing up below!

Full terms and conditions can be read here.

Most Viewed
Most Commented

104 East Doty Avenue | Summerville, SC 29483 | 843-572-0511 office