#MIDDLEBURY
Standing by Middlebury’s first ambulance, a station wagon, are left to right, Fred Adamson, Harold Tucker and George Long. Readers of the July print issue kindly identified the men in the picture for us. (Middlebury Historical Society photo)
By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD
Stymied by manpower losses during World War II, the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD) nevertheless continued to flourish and grow after its formation in 1941. Melville Wallace Skiff (1895-1962) served as its first fire chief from June 1941 to November 1946. He also was Middlebury’s first selectman from 1944 to 1955.
Skiff originally was from New York but lived in Middlebury for more than 60 years, working as superintendent of the John H. and Julia (Spencer) Whittemore estate for many years. He was married to Marion Holmes Abbott (1896-1969). Together they performed invaluable service to the town.
Wallace Chamberlain Clark (1912-1997) succeeded Skiff as the department’s second fire chief and served from November 1946 to November 1950. Wallace was born in Middlebury and was an insurance salesman and real estate agent. He owned the Hearthstone Agency in town for more than 40 years. He was married to Gloria Nixon (1922-1998), a founder and president of the Middlebury Historical Society.
This couple also gave selflessly to their fellow townspeople.
Wallace’s brother, Russell Gould Clark Sr. (1909-1978), served for many years as the sole fire department dispatcher. Working out of his North Street home 24 hours a day, seven days a week, he doubled as the police department dispatcher.
Wallace was succeeded by Charles Elton Chapman. Chapman, a mechanic by trade, was born about 1911 in Cheshire and died in office in April 1955. He was married to Claire Abbott Judd (1915-2011), and his untimely death brought about a temporary, and then permanent replacement by Francis J. Lynch (1911-1984), a World War II Army veteran and husband of Edna M. Baker (1911-1994). Lynch served from 1955 until he was succeeded in 1963 by Cyril W. “Cy” Mellette Jr. (1925-2011), a decorated U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, husband of Elsie Northrop.
As you can imagine, calls for fire department assistance have grown through the years. They were somewhat predictable during the earlier years. For example, in 1943, 38 calls were recorded; 30 were for grass and brush fires; the remainder for house (one), barn (one), chimney (two), automobile (two), and gasoline or oil drum (two) fires.
Ten years later in 1953, 68 calls were made; 31 for grass or brush fires, nine for house or shed fires, three for chimney fires; the remainder were for oil burner (three), automobile (six), electrical (seven), dump (seven) and emergencies (two). Calls for grass and brush fires far outpaced others for most of the years through the 1960s. And in 1964, the department had to rescue three cats from trees.
During most of the early days, the department raised funds through the sale of fireworks (now illegal), but by 1954 this was discontinued, and the department instead substituted Bingo and a year-round scrap drive.
In 1953, the Middlebury Lions Club solicited funds from townspeople and, in May 1954, voted to give the town $5,400 for a new ambulance. This had a tremendous effect on the number of calls. Statistics show that, beginning in 1962, 189 ambulance calls were made; figures continued to rise and by 1976, the number had reached 396 calls per year, with no charge for Middlebury residents.
Vehicle fires ranged from two to eight per year through 1963; in December of that year, construction of Interstate 84 was completed through Middlebury, and vehicle fires and accidents continued to rise thereafter.
The department received one of its greatest challenges in August 1955 when flood waters inundated the Naugatuck River Valley. The department had 65 people on 24-hour duty for 10 days; they pumped out 320 cellars and buildings in Waterbury and responded to calls throughout Middlebury, Waterbury and Naugatuck. The relatively new MVFD Ladies Auxiliary was exemplary in its service to firefighters and citizens in this great time of need.
During its earliest years and throughout the decades, the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department has continued to be awarded highest honors and prizes in statewide competitions for its excellence in many areas.
This article will be continued. Readers are urged to contact the Middlebury Historical Society if they have news articles, photographs or other historical information to help us compile a complete history of the fire department.
Bob Rafford is the Middlebury Historical Society president and Middlebury’s municipal historian. To join or contact the society, visit MiddleburyHistoricalSociety.org or call Bob at 203-206-4717. Your membership would be a valuable addition.
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