To mark the 100th anniversary of Patagonia Volunteer Fire and Rescue’s founding, the PRT is presenting a history of the company. Here is the first installment in our series.
In the 1920s, fire was the scourge of Patagonia, as it was all over the West.
So, in 1924, a group of civic-minded people in Patagonia got together to form the Patagonia Fire Company.
“In the beginning the fire company was the only organization in town,” former Patagonia Fire Chief Ike Isakson said.
Meetings were held at members’ homes.
“There were probably quite a few people and a lot of the meetings were social gatherings held in members’ houses and patios,” former Fire Chief Lee Gordon said. “In the day, if you missed a meeting, you had to bring ‘firefighting beverages’ to the next meeting.”
In 1926 the Town of Patagonia voted to officially organize the Patagonia Volunteer Fire Department (PVFD), which then held meetings in an old garage owned by Frankie Lamma.
There was no firetruck yet. The only piece of PVFD firefighting equipment was a fire bell on a tall pole by the railroad station in the center of town which was rung to signal an emergency of some type. Able-bodied people of all ages would then turn out to assist in fighting structure and wildfires within the geographical confines of the community. Buckets of water were passed from person to person forming a long line from a water source to the fire.
Meanwhile in Sonoita, Elgin and Harshaw, there was no fire bell. People kept a loaded gun by the door of their homes, and when a fire broke out a person fired three gunshots, bringing neighbors to help with the emergency.
In 1926 Lamma and Bob Haverty organized a barbecue to raise money for PVFD equipment. The fundraiser was held on Labor Day, Sept. 6 at Northcraft Grove, also known as the Cottonwoods, and featured bronco or ladies bareback riding, boys’ sack race, girls’ foot race, men’s cigar race, broomstick race, and cow pony races. All prizes were donated by the merchants of Patagonia. A weiner roast was held at 5pm followed by dancing at 8pm. Music was provided by the Log Cabin Orchestra.
In 1924 Lee and Carl Zinsmeister bought a ranch they named the Circle Z. The ranch opened for business in 1926 and began running cattle and hosting dudes from back East. A year later, the Circle Z Ranch and the PVFD agreed to join forces for a mammoth rodeo and barbecue to raise funds for the fire department. The Circle Z offered the ranch as the venue for a rodeo and the fire department organized the barbecue. It was reported that 2,000 people attended the rodeo at the Circle Z, far greater than anticipated. The event broke all records for attendance at rodeos, not only in Santa Cruz County but in all of Southeast Arizona. There were around 400 automobiles lined up two deep around the 17-acre raked and scraped rodeo field on both sides of Sonoita Creek.
A barbecue at noon preceded the two main events of calf roping and riding. Following the rodeo, the crowds moved on to Patagonia where there was a weenie roast, boxing matches and a dance at the Opera House, with music provided by the 25th Infantry Band.
This partnership between the PVFD and the Circle Z would continue until 1938 when the rodeo moved to the Santa Cruz Rodeo and Fairgrounds.
The first PVFD station was an old adobe and wood stable on the northwest corner of the fire department’s property, directly behind, and facing, the hotel on Duquesne, which had been given to the department by R. R. Richardson, who had emigrated to the area from the East in the 1890s and subsequently acquired a large amount of property in the area. The stable had wooden doors and floors and faced the back of the stores and the hotel that were on Duquesne Avenue.
The firefighters acquired a hand-drawn rig for carrying hose which was donated to a museum in Phoenix in the 1930s or ’40s, according to former Chief Bill Bergier, widely respected as the pre-eminent fire department historian in Patagonia.
During the Depression years of 1931 and 1932, Patagonia firemen installed a corn mill in the Richardson barn and ground corn for the poor. Corn, beans and beef were donated by the neighboring ranchers. In 1931 the cattlemen had a good year, thanks to plenty of rain. They donated a lot of beef to the town of Patagonia which the firemen distributed.
Sadly, in 1932 the rodeo and barbecue were cancelled because there was no available beef due to drought.
In March 1938, Patagonia FD purchased a 20-year-old firetruck—a 1914 La France—from the Nogales Fire Department for $500. Nogales firemen had bought a new truck for $11,500 and held an auction to sell the old truck.
This La France was a little difficult to start: the firemen had to back it into the stable and up onto blocks, then run it forward by hand, pop the clutch and go.
In 1943, PVFD purchased a very rare 1943 La France truck—rare because during the War years of the ’40s very few firetrucks were built.
World War II took many of the men from Santa Cruz County away to fight, so women joined the remaining men at PVFD to keep the company going.
“The cowgirls replaced the cowboys,” Isakson said. “Women have always been a part of the Patagonia Fire Department.”