Finally got the scanner working properly

Russell Street

Russell Street

My buddy stopped by earlier and helped me get the scanner working (finally). Here are some of my ambulance photos taken over the years. I started a new thread because there are station wagons mixed with Cadillacs, Pontiacs, and Oldsmobiles and other things This just seemed much easier. Here goes...

http://www.professionalcarsociety.org/forums/picture.

[IMG]http://www.professionalcarsociety.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=100&pictureid=1098

picture.php
 
I couldn't get captions under the photos, so we'll do it this way. The top set is from Sandusky International Speedway, opening day 1974. My 1973 Pontiac Superior with the crew.

The second photo was taken later in the season after I picked up the 1960 Pontiac to keep the "big cars" off the race tracks. Also shown is the 1974 Ford wagon that I had converted by Automotive Conversions in Troy, Michigan.

The next set includes a photo taken on opening day 1976 at Fremont Speedway in Fremont, Ohio. Lurking behind the 1968 Cadillac is the 1974 Ford wagon. We picked the Cadillac up from the Union City, Pennsylvanis Fire Department in 1975 for $1,500. It was a vetry good car, just had a lot of "cancer" in the quarters.

Next is a photo of Perkins Twp. Fire Dpartment's 1970 Internationl Springfield taken on the day it was delivered, January 13, 1970. Before it was placed in service, they had the bottom painted in the Orange/Red color that they still use to this day. This was the first International Springfield delivered in this area. Following this one, Norwalk City Ambulance got one, Sandusky Fire Department got one, and Huron Fire Department got three before they wised up.

Next is a photo of the Hospital Ambulance Service of Akron, Ohio fleet taken on September 7, 1969. Nice mixed bag of treats here.

The bottom set is all Lorain, Ohio Fire Department stuff. The Ford was reasskigned to Sta. 3 as Rescue 23 when the Cadillac was purchased for Sta. 1 as Rescue 21. Much ado was made about the purchse of the Cadillac, as Lorain was home to a huge Ford Assembly Plant. Lots of folks thought it should have been another Ford.

There is also some "eye candy" in here for Steve. I know he has an extensive collection of fire apparatus photos also. In the group photo of Lorain is a 1958 Seagrave with flat fendrs and round headlights (pretty rare), behind that is a 1943(?) American LaFrance "snowplow" pumper. Behind the Rescue is a 1938(?) Seagrave "sweetheart" grille aerial ladder. The Ford C Snorkel was the first elevating platform device delivered in Ohio, in 1962/63.
 
We're still trying to find pictures of the other 3 ambulance services in Akron that were taken the same day as H.A.S. was.

Physicians & Surgeons (P & S) ran a fleet of Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser Wagons with a Federal 175 Beacon and a "Q" in the front of the roof.

I've also got a picture of an A-1 Ambulance Suburban that has got so much stuff on the roof, I don't know how the hell it CARRIED it, let alone operated it. If I remember correctly it had 3 Beacons, a Twinsonic, maybe a Visi-Bar, a "Q", electronic siren speakers, 1 or 2 Mars lights, plus all the lights around the raised roof.

Dunn-Quigley ran a very nice fllet of Buick Flexettes.
 
I've been thinking about it, and there MIGHT be a right side picture of the '60 Pontiac with the other "missing" pictures. We're still looking. It takes an act of Congress (many promises by me) to get Barb to help me look through hundreds and hundreds of photos. We're lucky to have the ones she's found so far.

There is a picture in the "Classy Caddy's" thread...page 15, post 142 of a '65 that is configured almost exactly as the '68 above was when we bought it. Only exception is the '68 had bullets on all four corners. I swapped out the C for a Q, and replaced the front bullets with Beacons. It HAD a Twinsonic on it for about 2 days, but that looked like hell so I yanked it off!! I converted the two rear bullets to 4416R sealed beams and they worked well. The C still resides in my garage.
 
I just noticed an error in the narrative about the Lorain Fire Department group photo "......1958 Seagrave with flat fendrs and round headlights (pretty rare)," should read flat fenders and two headlights. Seagrave changed to a quad headlight system very early in the 1958 model year.

Also in reviewing all of these photos I was stunned by how many of the people in them are no longer with us. In the very top photo one person (2nd. from left) died a couple years ago. In the second photo 3 of those folks have passed on, and one is now confined to a wheelchair (wife caught him with another woman and shot him in the lower back). In the 1968 Cadiilac photo, my ex-wife has passed on, and the guy on the far right end died 20+ years ago. All very young people. Just amazed me that's all.
 
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