Fire!

Tenney’s fire hall is cute. Just plain cute. Don't you agree? I would have to say, however, that each passing year requires a bit more imagination to see its "cuteness." It has such a wonderful history and, unfortunately, the city budget has not allowed its upkeep. Each time I cruise through Tenney I ponder this little building, its history, and wonder if it will be rescued before it suffers the same fate as most of Tenney’s other buildings. It always saddens me to see the door standing wide open to the elements and the building in a general state of disrepair and neglect; the same reaction I have to the church and other town buildings.

The fire hall once housed two hand-drawn fire engines. When I think now about how difficult it is to control a fire even with our modern firefighting equipment, I cannot help but imagine that in many cases the arrival of Tenney's hand-drawn fire engine to a fire scene probably served simply to make a larger audience to watch the fire. Then again, with a town the size of two city blocks, I'm sure there are many stories of these two trusty fire engines and their accompanying firefighters who arrived on the scene in time to save building, life, and limb.

I have also included photos of the Tenney fire engine and the hose cart on this page. The fire engine looks rather proud, sitting all shined up in the Traverse County Historical Society in Wheaton. The photo to the left is Engine Number One, purchased in early 1900. Engine Number Two was purchased in 1913. Each of the two fire engines consisted of a chemical engine on two wheels, which could be pulled by 6 to 10 people. According to the Wilkin County History book, each fire engine had “a large curbed well with a double stroked pump” which furnished several gallons of water per minute. The pump had handles on each side and, similar to the mechanism of the hand cars which the section men used on the railroad, four people on each side would operate the pump. A more “modern” chemical fire engine was purchased in 1916, though still hand-powered. The hose cart (pictured below) carried 200 feet of 3-inch hose. The hose cart is also displayed at the Traverse County Historical Society. The second fire engine apparently, and unfortunately, disappeared with one of the town’s residents upon his departure.

The fire hall was tended, in 1913 and 1914, by Village Marshall Henry Bendt, who also managed the hotel for a time. Henry was expected to tend the fire in the engine house, make sure the fire engines were in working order, and keep the fire hall and well area free of snow in the winter. In the years since, long-time Tenney resident Al Manthie, related through marriage to the Bendts, took care of the fire hall. The building is owned by the Village of Tenney.

The Tenney Fire Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It’s “period of significance,” according to the National Register’s website, was 1900 to 1924, the last year being the year the well went dry. One has to chuckle at the labeling of the fire hall as both a fire hall and a “correctional facility"; the rear of the 14 x 26 building housed the village’s jail in the early years.

The town pump stood for many years near the front of the fire hall building but is no longer functional. The town pump seems, to me, to be just as much of an icon of the Tenney that once was, as the school or the fire hall or the church. Just think of the water drawn from that pump throughout the years, the people that gathered around it to talk of Tenney things, and the sustenance it provided for so many people for so many years!

If reading about the Tenney Fire Hall has stirred up any Tenney fire stories, please post them or send me an email. Hope to hear from you!