Western Springs’ population was barely 4,000 in 1937. But, its volunteer firefighters managed to win national honors at a tournament held in Chicago’s Soldier Field.

Colorized photo of 1937 Champions

By 1937, the village’s fire department had been conducting training drills every Monday night for three or four years. So, when the City of Chicago announced a national tournament for fire departments, Chief Waldo Erickson didn’t hesitate to enter his volunteers, limited to six in number.

But, since they would be taking the town’s only fire engine to the tournament, they arranged with our neighboring villages to have one of their apparatus in Western Springs in case of a fire. Thirty-one departments from 9 states were represented, all competing for a $500 grand prize ($8,000 in 2013 dollars).

The Western Springs Team

An estimated 100,000 spectators watched the contests at Chicago’s Soldier Field. These events included wall scaling, raising ladders, lifeline rescue, alarm response, and hose layout. The latter event required the teams to lay 300 feet of 2½  inch hose from a hydrant, connect their pumper to the hydrant, and operate a stream of water through two different fourth-floor windows, all while maintaining engine water pressure below 150 pounds.

At the end of the day, the Western Springs team had achieved 15.9 of a possible 20 points, nearly a full point ahead of the next best team. In addition to the $500 grand prize, the participants were each awarded a medal and honored at a banquet held at the Congregational Church.

While congratulatory letters and telegrams poured in from numerous citizens, government officials, and fire departments, a letter from the village president, Howard Knowlton, probably said it best: “The whole town sleeps better, confident in the knowledge that we have a real fire department.”

Soldier Field Crowd Viewing Competition

Scaling a Ladder at Soldier Field

Invitation to Testimonial Dinner

Photo of entire Fire Department – 1937