Shortly after the Park Ridge Historical Society was founded in the early 1970s, Ralph Bishop and the Lil’ Pirsch line up along the parade route on Talcott Road.
In nearly 50 years of reminiscing about his hometown of Park Ridge with fellow members of the Park Ridge Historical Society, a favorite topic for Ralph R. Bishop was his adventures with the Lil’ Pirsch fire truck, first bought by the city in 1921.
His father, Ralph E. Bishop, was fire chief when the city bought the pumper truck, built by Nash. The original chassis turns 100 this year, but by 1932 the department decided it needed to be rebuilt to replace the hard tires and wooden spokes on the wheels, and double the water tank capacity from 250 gallons to 500 gallons. The makeover, by Pirsch, based in Kenosha, WI, gave it a new name. the Lil’ Pirsch, and an official age based on the 1932 parts.
Ralph and his brother Emmett grew up in a fire department family so he learned to help care for it, to drive it, and to nurse it through fires when service stations were few and far between. He also repaired Model T. Fords.
The Lil’ Pirsch, like another “little engine that could,” became legend locally.
“Ralph recalled working on the original Hines Lumber Yard fire, when Hines was located near the CNW tracks just north of Touhy and Cumberland,” explains Paul Adlaf from the Historical Society.
“Due to the nature of the materials stored in that yard, it was a long night of constant work for the Fire Department to gain control of the blaze. Ralph was detailed to the Pirsch Pumper and recalled how it performed faithfully through the overnight hours.”
Eventually, when the Pirsch was ready to retire from active fire service, it was sold to the Drake Funeral Home on Busse Highway (the building is now owned by Cooney Funeral Home). People still saw it in local parades, and Bishop often was asked to drive it.
Drake eventually moved it to Memphis, TN. He had offered to sell it to Bishop at the time, but Bishop said last year he had had no place to keep it. Reluctantly he said no, but kept track of it through friends.
He tried later to buy it, but the price went up. It ended up owned by the Memphis Fire Department, on display.
The Park Ridge Historical Society also wondered whether Memphis would be willing to sell the Lil’ Pirsch back to Park Ridge. For eight years, society archivist Brian Lazzaro and Bishop worked to prove it was the same truck. Bishop still had paperwork to identify the truck including part numbers and photos.
They finally persuaded Memphis to sell the truck to the Historical Society. The purchase price was $20,000, and there will be an estimated $5,000 to $10,000 in restoration repairs to get it running, Lazzaro says. For Park Ridge, it’s one of a kind.
Lazzaro and his son drove down last year to bring it back to Illinois on a flatbed truck. There were extra travel challenges because of the COVID-19 restrictions.
One of their first stops when they got back was to visit Des Plaines, where Ralph and his wife Ramona had recently relocated from Park Ridge. Ralph came out with his walker, wearing his mask and a smile on his face. The Pirsch arrived with a Park Ridge flag pinned on the side. It was a nice present for his 93rd birthday.
There is also a wonderful archive of community and fire department memorabilia now available as a bonus.
The Bishops donated a lot of memorabilia to the Historical Society and the Fire Department archives, Lazzaro said. The family located a diary of the pumper’s first year in service. Lazzaro and Ralph were still conferring on phone in early December to identify objects by photo.
COVID health restrictions over the 2020 summer shut down most public fundraisers and limited access to the Park Ridge History Center next door to Prospect Park. Despite that stumbling block, the Historical Society has raised about $10,000 online from members, friends and local businesses at www.parkridgefiretruck.com. Memorials can be designated on the list. Help is still needed. Donations also can be mailed to the PRHS by mail to: 721 N. Prospect Ave., Park Ridge, IL 60068.
When work is finished, the Lil’ Pirsch will have “Park Ridge Fire Department” stenciled on its hood again, and be ready for Park Ridge’s future parades.
Ralph Bishop (right) greets the Lil’ Pirsch pumper truck last year as it arrived back in Illinois.
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