Harvey the Bainbridge-Terre Hill fire truck at home in museum [I Know a Story column] | Food + Living

In Terre Hill, in the early 1980s, my father, William F. Stirk, rescued and set about restoring a 1938 REO Speed Wagon firetruck that was originally commissioned by the Bainbridge Fire Department.

Harvey the firetruck’s restoration process was not foremost in my mind when I was a high school and college student. But my dad’s love of cars is a trait I picked up unwittingly. Upon completion circa 1982, Harvey the firetruck went to car shows and won ribbons. But Harvey’s primary mission became hauling the grandkids and their friends all over town, ringing the bell with glee.

When dad passed in 1998, his buddy from the trucking industry helped mom find an enthusiastic buyer. Thankfully, a lawyer in West Virginia wanted him, so we let the truck go and hoped for the best. When we received the news he ended up in a museum, no one paid much attention, and we sort of wrote it off as some hobbyist, fire history-type museum. We could not have been more wrong.

This summer has been strange for all. As my husband and I headed west and passed through Michigan and the Upper Peninsula in our self-converted cargo van, my sister was the hero in remembering and suggesting we stop in and see Harvey.

Stepping inside the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum was literally jaw-dropping. Anticipating a few vehicles, we stepped into one of the finest auto museums available anywhere. Hundreds of world-class vehicles superbly tell the story of what R.E. Olds and company created, and the impact they had upon the world — a genuine love letter to Lansing, Michigan, and all those who created that past.

With our emotions already running high, the museum staff graciously allowed me to step behind the rope and take photos of this lasting piece of my father’s legacy.

Perhaps the greatest compliment the museum director could’ve ever given to my father was to tell us that Harvey was always easy to start and runs great. Especially poignant for me was opening the running board compartment and seeing dad’s insulated lunch bag still in there.

When I peeked in, the coffee Thermos was not there, but a few of Mom’s not-quite-old towels were still in there. Only the best for Harvey, the 1938 REO Speed Wagon firetruck.

Thank you for giving him an extremely respectful final resting place. Harvey is back home in Lansing.

— Patti S. Stirk, loving daughter, and car nut.

The author grew up in Terre Hill and lives in York. This story was originally written as a letter to the Spirit — the newsletter of the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum in Lansing, Michigan. The author’s late father, William F. Stirk was a civic leader in Terre Hill, having served both as the borough’s mayor and fire chief. For more information on the museum, go to: reoldsmuseum.org.