Farmer Repurposes Retired Fire Engines

WAITSBURG - A true piece of Waitsburg history, the recently retired 1962 Ford Westland fire engine, will stay in the Waitsburg area.

Waitsburg farmer Jerry Baker, age 58, purchased the old engine from the city recently for $500. The en- gine was made surplus and put up for sale by the City of Waitsburg after it purchased a newer 1986 Pierce fire engine for the department.

For Baker, who farms wheat, peas and has cattle on his Wilson Hollow property, this is not his first fire engine - it's his third.

His first engine was an old Mack from the 1950s or 1960s that he purchased years ago. It originally was used by the Jasper Mountain Fire Department, Baker said. He used to drive it down Waitsburg's Main Street in annual parades.

The second engine was purchased by Baker from the Prescott Fire Department. It was a 1972 International, he said.

His newest engine, the 1962 Ford Westland, is still sitting in storage at the city's yard for Baker to take back to his farm.

Baker's engines aren't just collector's items - they're workhorses.

Baker buys the engines and removes some of the fire fighting apparatus and adds a tank so he can use the trucks to water and fertilize the fields on his farm.

"Nobody wants them," Baker said. "It's just kind of a waste. It works good for something like I do."

City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe said he wasn't surprised Baker wanted the old engine because he knew Baker had owned others pre- viously.

"He is probably a good person to have it," Hinchliffe said.

Baker said old fire engines are perfect for the farm be- cause he doesn't need to drive them long distances and are great vehicles for water and fertilizer in the spring and fall. He adds the fire depart- ment has kept the 1962 Ford in great condition. His choice also makes sense knowing Baker is a fire commissioner for Walla Walla County Fire District 2.

Another fire commissioner for the district, Jake Long, also had a fire engine of his own at one time. Long said it was a 1961 Dodge fire engine that he purchased a number of years ago. Long recently sold his "toy" to a collector on the coast.

"Somebody else wanted it more than I did," Long said.

Baker's old Mack fire engine was actually sold to a man in Lewiston, Idaho, who collected fire engines. Unfor- tunately, the building where the collector's engines were stored burned down, includ- ing the old Mack.

He said the Mack was his favorite because of the Bulldog on the hood and the original siren and lights were still intact.

"It was a pretty nice little truck," Baker said. "You don't see them around anymore."

Baker needed the Ford Westland because the engine recently blew up in his Inter- national, he said. And once he gets the Ford to his farm, he plans to start converting the engine into a farm vehicle this winter. He doesn't need any help converting the old truck. Growing up on the farm he's familiar with machines, he said.

"I figure it out", Baker said. "I've been around ma- chinery most my life. Fabrica- tion is kind of fun."

He takes the tanks and accessories for watering and fertilizing from the previous fire truck and puts them on the newer truck. He said it won't take more than a couple of weeks to totally convert the engine to his needs - if he keeps on it.

The old truck will go to the junk yard and be scrapped for parts. And that's OK. Paying just $500 for the 1962 Ford is a good investment, he said.

"I don't think you can go wrong for $500," Baker said.