Classy Cadillacs

The Pulaski rig reminds me of a nearly-identical example operated by Art Kost Ambulance Service in Mankato, MN. Same color scheme and side roof signs, but Kost's had suicide doors.

I agree with Steve's comment about the ugly speakers on the Fairfield S&S. Not that the front needs more clutter, but a pair of chromed CP-25s mounted between the tunnel lights would have been a logical and professional alternative.

And who could argue that the '58 from P&S is just one awesome Cadillac ambulance??

Thanks for sharing these, Steve!
 
Tony Karsnia said:
Thanks for sharing these, Steve!
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My pleasure, as always. Had I been the photographer the Mercer car would've been washed (at least on the driver's side!). The Reno car would've had a wheel cover pulled from the other side.

Note the lack of fins on the '58's front tunnels.
 
Here are some old Kost Ambulance from Mankato, MN photos from 1974.

The group shots are the 1969 Superior hightop, 1971 Superior hightop, and what I thought was a 1965 M&M low top with suicide doors. The interior is the 1971 hightop. The others are identifiable.

Sorry about the quality. At the time, all I had was a 110 camera. Wish I would have done a better job taking photos over the years.

SA
 

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Sorry, foggy memory. I sure don't have any expertice in low tops cars from that era. I think I was fooled by the Ful-Vu lights. This was the third car out so not used very often. My memory of that car was a mechanical siren (not a Q) under the hood that wasn't very effective, and the extreme difficulty in changing the big oxygen tank under the floor. Also recall a very poor air conditioning system and the dusty old car smell.

There was a fourth car, the Mercury station wagon used by the owner's wife. They had a stretcher bracket on a piece of plywood that we could slide in the back with the rear seat folded down, and a F/W cot that scissored into the base rails for lower height. There was a rack that clipped to the roof gutters that held a beacon light with an electronic siren speaker in the base.
 
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1972 not 1971

Scott Anderson said:
Sorry, foggy memory. I sure don't have any expertice in low tops cars from that era. I think I was fooled by the Ful-Vu lights. This was the third car out so not used very often. My memory of that car was a mechanical siren (not a Q) under the hood that wasn't very effective, and the extreme difficulty in changing the big oxygen tank under the floor. Also recall a very poor air conditioning system and the dusty old car smell.
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I believe the last car is a 1972 Superior ...
 
Since Scott brought us to Mankato, Minnesota, I'll continue the road trip north to St. Cloud. My dad took this photo ca. 1968 while attending St. Cloud State University. He worked part-time for Brenny's Granite City Ambulance Service. This 1964 Superior Cadillac was replaced not long after this photo was taken, with a brand-new 1969 Superior Cadillac Rescuer.

In those days, there were two ambulance services in St. Cloud; Brenny and Murphy. While Jim Murphy was a loyal Miller-Meteor customer (with one '68 C/B Olds which he hated), Bob Brenny preferred Superior. He also had a '61 Rescuer and a station wagon conversion as a 3rd rig out.
 

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1940 AJ Miller LaSalle

Albany Janisse & Sons Funeral Home, Windsor, Ontario

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Tony Karsnia said:
Since Scott brought us to Mankato, Minnesota, I'll continue the road trip north to St. Cloud. My dad took this photo ca. 1968 while attending St. Cloud State University. He worked part-time for Brenny's Granite City Ambulance Service. This 1964 Superior Cadillac was replaced not long after this photo was taken, with a brand-new 1969 Superior Cadillac Rescuer.
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If I wasn't already a procar buff, I would've been after seeing this picture. What a doll!
 
Tony Karsnia said:
Since Scott brought us to Mankato, Minnesota, I'll continue the road trip north to St. Cloud. My dad took this photo ca. 1968 while attending St. Cloud State University. He worked part-time for Brenny's Granite City Ambulance Service. This 1964 Superior Cadillac was replaced not long after this photo was taken, with a brand-new 1969 Superior Cadillac Rescuer.

In those days, there were two ambulance services in St. Cloud; Brenny and Murphy. While Jim Murphy was a loyal Miller-Meteor customer (with one '68 C/B Olds which he hated), Bob Brenny preferred Superior. He also had a '61 Rescuer and a station wagon conversion as a 3rd rig out.
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Tony, If you can e mail that pic to me, I would love to give a copy to Bob Brenny. I purchased his funeral homes about 10 years ago...I am SOOO happy that the ambulance service was gone by then. It may be of interest that the very last ambulance call that Bob Brenny ran was for his own father, Stanley Brenny, who had a fatal heart attack in the late 1970's. Stanley Brenny also ran the ambulance service in Holdingford Minnesota for many years.
 
I'll be happy to!

Bill,

I'll email you the '64 Cadillac photo and the '65 Olds wagon photo. If you go to the Northland Chapter site www.northlandpcs.com and look in the "Featured Monthly Vehicle" archives, you'll see a photo of the Brenny fleet ca. 1969.

When you see Bob, ask him if he still has his ambulance scrapbook. According to my dad, Bob kept a scrapbook with more photos and misc. items of interest from the ambulance service.

I would also be very interested to know descriptions of the ambulance(s) Stanley had in Holdingford.
 
The 1940 LaSalle that was owned by Albany Janisse & Sons Funeral Home in Windsor, Ontario posted by Dean was a product of the A.J. Miller Company in Bellefontaine, Ohio. However, I can't recall ever seeing a roof light like that seen on this car and what exactly is that on the side of the hood? Very interesing indeed.
 
Here is a picture of what I believe to be the same vehicle before Janisse owned it. When it was repainted, there must have been some custom metal fabrication done around the roof light.

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Just in case anyone thought I forgot about these photo threads, here's a teaser! I'll get back to scanning and posting some more of my collection when I get time:

Fairview Fire Co. (Shamokin, PA)
1960 Parkway

(SL collection)
 

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1965 Miller-Meteor Cadillac Classic Duplex, operated by the Anderson-Garrett Funeral Home, Joelton, Tennessee.
 

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Steve Loftin said:
Just in case anyone thought I forgot about these photo threads, here's a teaser! I'll get back to scanning and posting some more of my collection when I get time:

Fairview Fire Co. (Shamokin, PA)
1960 Parkway

(SL collection)
Click to expand...

I think I saw this car in an intro slide for show for my CPR instructor update.
 
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