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LaMoyne Fern’s family heads out for their ride last Friday. In front are driver Matt Ullman, KVFD engineer, and Sam Fern-Reeh, 5. Sam’s parents, grandfather and a cousin are seated behind.
Sam Fern-Reeh was delighted with the fire hat he got from Kearney Volunteer Fire Chief Jeremy Feusner before his ride.
KEARNEY — Sam Fern-Reeh is just five years old, and he’s already had a ride in a fire truck.
Sam’s eyes lit up last Friday as Kearney Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jeremy Feusner gave him a black plastic fireman’s hat and helped him climb up into the front seat of a 1922 American LaFrance pumper so that he could go for a ride.
Sam’s great-grandfather, the late LaMoyne Fern, restored that prized vehicle for the department. Now a century old, it was the first mechanized pumper purchased by the KVFD. It cost $12,750.
Next to Sam, driving the antique pumper, was Matt Ullman, a KVFD engineer. Seated on benches in the back were Sam’s parents, Beth Fern and her wife Jenni Reeh, of Lincoln, along with LaMoyne’s son John Fern and LaMoyne’s grandson Jamison Fern of Staplehurst. Feusner rode along, too.
Sam Fern-Rees is ready to go for a ride in the 1922 American LaFrance fire truck restored by his great-grandfather, the late LaMoyne Fern.
The engine was in service in Kearney from Aug. 8, 1922, until 1948. From 1955-59, it was displayed in Harmon Park. Then the city sold it.
“When it sat in Harmon Park, kids would sit in it and play on it, and a lot of parts were lost or damaged,” said Eric Van Horn, a former Kearney firefighter. “It was nothing intentional. It was just wear and tear.”
In 1967, LaMoyne, who had been a volunteer firefighter from 1971-87, often drove that truck. When he found the vehicle’s rusted shell in Jack Lederman’s salvage yard in Kearney, he decided to restore it.
LaMoyne painstakingly restored the historic vehicle to its original mint condition and gave it back to the city on his 80th birthday in 2002. Since then, it has been used in parades, funeral processions and other ceremonial events.
The 1922 American LaFrance pumper is as good as new after a massive engine repair completed this summer by Vintage Vehicle Restoration in Harleysville, Pa.
LaMoyne died in 2016 at the age of 94.
About six years ago, the truck suffered major engine failure, so the department’s antique fire engine committee painstakingly researched where to send it for repairs. They found Hal Fillinger’s Vintage Vehicle Restorations in Harleysville, Pennsylvania, one of the nation’s best restorers of American LaFrance fire trucks.
In July 2017, it was sent east to Harleysville on a flatbed, “but first they removed the valuable items, like the bell, the headlights and loose equipment, so it would not be damaged during transport,” Van Horn said. He chaired the restoration committee and acted as the liaison between the department and the restorer.
“This engine has a T-shaped cylinder special to American LaFrance fire trucks. It’s not something where the parts are readily available,” said Van Horn, now of Minden. “That truck is one of our most prized assets. We wanted the best person to do the job.”
The repairs took longer than expected. Some parts were no longer available, so Fillinger worked with a foundry to have them made. COVID-19 halted work for a time, too. Funding for the project came from KVFD’s antique fund.
Ready to go for a ride in the back of the truck are Beth Fern, (striped shirt) in front; her wife Jenni Reeh, behind her; John Fern, son of LaMoyne Fern; and a cousin, Jamison Fern.
A few weeks ago, the good-as-new fire truck returned in an enclosed trailer just in time for its 100th anniversary celebration last weekend.
Van Horn kept LaMoyne’s family up to date on the repair process. “I sent videos to (daughter) Julie (Fern Thatcher) to let her know her dad’s prize possession made it home safe and was in good running condition,” he said.
A few changes were made when the engine was rebuilt: “We replaced a piece that goes from the radiator to the water pump, so the radiator does a better job of cooling the engine,” Van Horn said.
Van Horn, who with his wife Nickola owns Craig Funeral Home in Minden and is now a Minden volunteer firefighter, remains in awe of all the labor, sweat and devotion LaMoyne put into the project.
“Today we can do internet searches for repairs, but when LeMoyne restored it, that was not possible,” Van Horn said. “Most importantly, it shows the department’s dedication to tradition. Departments that have their first pumpers obviously care about their apparatus.”
The Fern family donated all the handwritten correspondence LaMoyne sent to various companies as he scouted around for parts during his restoration. Those letters are in a scrapbook of the renovation the family brought to the fire station last Friday.
All 616 pieces of LaMoyne’s donated firefighting memorabilia can be seen at the Nebraska Firefighters Museum and Education Center at 2834 E. First St. His collection includes fire lanterns that hung on fire trucks, an old fire call box, metal firefighter helmets, hose nozzles, a leather water bucket, fire extinguishers, old fire hatchets and more. The engine is displayed periodically, too.
Sam’s mother Beth Fern was deeply touched by the fire department’s cooperation in giving the family a ride. Ullman even drove them past the house at 103 W. 28th St. that LaMoyne and his wife Janice once owned.
“I really appreciate the thought and effort the fire department put into this. It meant so much to me,” she said.
Feusner was happy to do it. “We like to show this fire truck. It’s a source of pride,” he said. Especially to a little boy of 5.
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LaMoyne Fern’s family heads out for their ride last Friday. In front are driver Matt Ullman, KVFD engineer, and Sam Fern-Reeh, 5. Sam’s parents, grandfather and a cousin are seated behind.
Sam Fern-Reeh was delighted with the fire hat he got from Kearney Volunteer Fire Chief Jeremy Feusner before his ride.
Sam Fern-Rees is ready to go for a ride in the 1922 American LaFrance fire truck restored by his great-grandfather, the late LaMoyne Fern.
The 1922 American LaFrance pumper is as good as new after a massive engine repair completed this summer by Vintage Vehicle Restoration in Harleysville, Pa.
Ready to go for a ride in the back of the truck are Beth Fern, (striped shirt) in front; her wife Jenni Reeh, behind her; John Fern, son of LaMoyne Fern; and a cousin, Jamison Fern.
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