New Kensington, PA

[Steve Lichtman]

Some of you may have seen Dad's and my '57 DeSoto station wagon, which was a fire department utility wagon and part-time ambulance for the New Kensington Fire Department, Co. 3, in Pennsylvania. Here is a photo of it when it was nearly new, taken in 1963 in front of it's original firehouse.

The white vinyl lettering it wears today replaced original gold leaf in the mid-70's.

(Photos in this thread courtesy Ed Saliba, Jr., NKFD and FirePics.)

 

[Steve Lichtman]

Here's another period photo showing the DeSoto third in line in the Western PA Firemen's Association Convention parade in 1961. A '58 National Buick ambulance is in the front of the line, followed by a '56 Dodge wagon.

I will be taking the DeSoto back to New Kensington this weekend for the WPFA convention parade on Saturday. Perhaps we can re-create this shot and the previous one (the Mack pumper is, I think, also coming).

 

[Steve Lichtman]

Another photo, a fleet shot from 1963, shows the pair of ’58 National Buick ambulances NKFD operated from, along with the 2 Dodge wagons and the DeSoto wagon.

I can't help but wonder if the '58 National Buick ambulance that showed up at the '99 International Meet in Lancaster, PA (and again at the '05 International in Denver) is one of these...

 

[Steve Lichtman]

A photo of our DeSoto as it appears today. (my photo)

 

[Darren Bedford]

Steve

VERY COOL historical photos ! Even better when it is your car pictured !!!

LOVE the parade shot !

Thanks for sharing,
Darren

 

[Brendan Martin]

Very nice Steve, I love the old Mack, and the Desoto in front of the firehouse.

 

[John ED Renstrom]

pictures of the car in service are a good find. makes it come home

 

[Chris Mooney]

Nice shots Steve. I wish I still had the gold leaf. It must have been waxed off after all thoes years by the time the 70's rolled around.

 

[Steve Loftin]

I can't help but wonder if the '58 National Buick ambulance that showed up at the '99 International Meet in Lancaster, PA (and again at the '05 International in Denver) is one of these...

Definitely not:

Here, from my collection, is a fleet shot from New Kensington, PA in 1963. (Note their MoPar preference with the Plymouth, Dodge, and DeSoto [yes, that's Steve #2's car!] station wagons.)

The '58 Buicks are a mystery; they are definitely Nationals, but the bodywork is different from the one seen at the PA and CO meets (car originally from MN; see Lichtman photo below). The roofline on the NK cars appears to be slightly lower than the one from MN; each version has a different upper front door treatment; and the stretch between the side doors and wheel well is shorter on the NK cars.

 

[Tony Karsnia - Deceased - 1971-2020]

Excellent photos, Steve! Love seeing this old stuff that comes out of the files.

Well, unlike a major road trip with a certain Ambulet, at least you won't have so far to go bringing THIS 'ol girl back home!

 

[Steve Lichtman]

Something completely different

Here's a different vehicle, also from the New Kensington fleet. In fact, I don't know what it is. Both photos appear to be the same vehicle, taken several years apart. Obviously, pre-war but neither the front nor the coach body look familiar to me. Anyone?

I love the fender skirts and the "red cross" grill guard in the earlier photo.

 

[Dwayne Brooks]

It's definitely a 1936 Ford... looks similar to the one Atti recently discovered in a museum

 

[Dwayne Brooks]

1936 Ford Siebert coach...

 

[Steve Lichtman]

This past weekend, I returned with the '57 DeSoto to New Kensington, for the Western Pennsylvania Firemen's Association convention parade being held there. They had contacted me and asked me to bring the DeSoto back for the parade.

What a wonderful visit. Like when I took the Stude back to Minnesota, I met a lot of people who remembered the DeSoto when it was in service and had many stories to tell about it. I'll probably do an article about this visit similar to the one I did before. It was really great to see Chief Ed Saliba again. I bought the car from him, and he purchased it new in 1957. He had fond memories of the car. He's 81 years old now, and is the paid fire chief for the New Kensington Bureau of Fire.

One more treat. The '49 Mack pumper in the picture at the beginning of this thread is still owned by NKFD as a reserve rig! (It was actually in first-line service for a couple days in '08.) We were able to recreate that photo at the old #3 firehouse (now privately owned, with the owner's permission). See below. It's incredible to be able to recreate a 48 year old photo, with the same two vehicles and the same firehouse, in 2011.

Needless to say, I had a great weekend! You know what? These are really fun cars....

The 1963 photo:

The 2011 photo:

 

[Josh Noiles]

Love the reenactment shot. So cool! Congrats! And those '58 Buicks make great looking ambulances.