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Designer Times
Page 2 of 2

Ward had this hot ragtime band, The Firehouse Five Plus Two, and drove to some of their gigs with the fire engine. Dan assured Ward that I was certainly qualified to drive this big antique rig. As Dan sent me over to Ward's, he said Ward would show me how to drive it, but told Ward I already knew all about driving a 1916 American La France. When I got to Ward's, I learned too late that I was to be a victim of the joke.

Now this fire engine is pretty big and heavy, with a right hand drive and a "crash box" transmission. This deal was a big brass lever hanging out the right side of the driver's seat. You swung it fore and aft as well as slide in and out to change gears while using a big old grabby clutch. Ward stepped up on the running board and told me to start it up and take him down to the corner gas station to fill up the leaky radiator...NO INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN!

Somehow I instantaneously figured out which is what and where first gear is located. I fired her up, and away we went. At the gas station, Ward hooked up his horse drawn fire engine to the back of American La France for me to tow it in the parade. He then took off in the Maxwell with me following. We had to go down some hills. With only two-wheel mechanical brakes, the pedal force to stop was more than I weighed! I had to yank up on the steering wheel to get enough pedal force.

After getting down to the parade area, Ward loaded about twenty kids on the fire engine. Now I really had extra pedal push to do. (The next couple of days I was in utter agony with muscle pain). I did find the fire engine to be a blast to drive. I could shift smoothly without the clutch by feeling the gear teeth vibrations up thru the big shift lever. I think this experience led me to talk Walt into adding a Main Street Fire Engine to Disneyland in 1958. Ward helped me with the "styling" and even donated a hand cranked siren to put on it.

I never has to guts to fess up to Ward that I did not know how to drive his fire engine, and that Dan Post had tricked us both. But at a gathering at WDI during the mid 1990s, I just had to confess. Ward got quite a chuckle out of the situation. But I got the impression that, without experience, he would never have let me drive his baby loaded with all those kids in a public parade. And maybe I would have never picked up a bit of "Ward Disease" and insisted that Walt make one for me to drive years later on Main Street at Disneyland.

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-- Bob Gurr