By Ron Heal
A recent stop at the central fire station in Galesburg, Illinois, was to check out their new delivery of a Spartan/Alexis/RK Ladders aerial quint. While getting a few good pictures of the new rig, I met firefighter T.J. Scott. He is also the fire department historian. Soon our conversation turned to “old stuff” and some of the rigs that had served in Galesburg. The next thing I knew Scott was talking about a tractor trailer aerial the department had back in the late 1930s and was in service until the late 1960s. That aerial was a 1939 series 500 American LaFrance 85-foot tractor-drawn aerial (TDA). It was on the scene at every major fire in Galesburg for almost 30-years. When a 1968 900 series 100-foot aerial ladder arrived in Galesburg, the TDA was retained as a spare apparatus. I had seen the rig back in the late 1960s and at that point there was some issue as to why we could not get the rig out for pictures. The next thing I knew the aerial was gone from Galesburg, and nobody seemed to know where the rig went. For me that was the beginning of a 50-year mystery.
Fifty years later, Scott had the key to unlock that mystery when he pulled out a file with several good black and white prints of the 1939 American LaFrance. Best of all, knew where the rig was located. When he told me that he had been in touch with Larry Zotti in Granite City, Illinois, I knew that the rig was in good hands. I have known Zotti for many years as our paths crossed at various fire apparatus events in the greater St. Louis, Missouri, area. Zotti has helped on a couple projects that I was involved in. What great news to know that all I had to do was pick up the phone and learn even more about the1939 American LaFrance. A phone call and a few email messages later, and the story on the 80-year old ladder truck was coming together.
Over the last 35 years Zotti has gathered an interesting collection of vintage fire apparatus. Most of the rigs are American LaFrance models with a couple exceptions. Zotti houses three of his collection in the original Granite City firehouse. The two-bay firehouse was built in 1904. Zotti has a long-term lease on the building. His first rig purchased in 1985 is an American LaFrance 1948 700 Series 1,000-gpm pumper that served National City, Illinois. Zotti, his dad, and others did a frame off restoration of that pumper. Granite City’s 1922 Type 12 800-gpm pumper and a Port Jefferson, New York, 1939 500 Series 750-gpm pumper are on display in the old firehouse. There are several other pieces of apparatus that Zotti has stored off site and under roof.
So, how did Zotti become the owner of a rig from Galesburg, Illinois? Here is where Zotti was able to fill in some of the blanks on where the truck spent all those years after being retired from service. Marv Cohen purchased the rig from Galesburg in 1979 and drove the rig some 900 to his place in New York state. In 1987, the rig was on the move once more, sold to Mr. Hemingway, a car collector in Missouri. The truck would be involved in one more sale to another Missouri car collector. This collector was not into vintage fire apparatus, but the rig was part of the deal. Zotti is very well known in vintage fire apparatus circles. One day he got a phone call from the vintage car collector. The collector was wanting to know more about the truck. A few weeks later, Zotti headed over to Perryville, Missouri, to meet with the car collector. As a conversation went along, Zotti said that he was not in the market to own another fire truck. During that conversation is when the collector spoke up and told Zotti that he did not understand—the collector wanted to give him the truck! With