I’m not sure how common this was in the late 1960s or early 1970s, but my parents took a lot of photos and had them developed as 35mm slides, rather than prints. Since many of my childhood photos were in that format, I didn’t really see them or have access to them as they were stored at my parents’ house in tray after tray of 35mm slides. However, there came a time when we finally got the 35mm slides scanned and saved as digital files, and getting thousands of pictures now in digital format, it allowed me to see images and memories of my childhood that had been hidden away in those slide trays for decades.
I happened up this photo today, and the size of this vehicle struck me as gigantic! Of course I’m a little guy in this shot, maybe 4 years old, at most. The vehicle looks like something much older than what might have been used by anyone in the early 1970s (when this photo was taken), and I don’t have any context of where it was taken. A little research suggests that it’s a vintage fire truck, specifically a “pumper.” If you look closely, on the side of the truck behind the passenger/driver area, there are two circular openings (one large one near the bottom and a smaller white one above it). These are connections for fire hoses, specifically the “suction intake” used to draw water from a hydrant or pond.
Another observation is the fact that there’s no roof – the open cab design was common for fire engines from the 1920s through the 1950s.
My best guess is that it might have been some sort of permanent display (rather than an active firetruck), but I find it quite interesting–and probably more accurate– to follow the lead of an A.I. suggestion that “in the rural midwest during the 1970s, it was quite common to see retired fire engines like this one parked in fields or on farms. Farmers frequently bought retired fire trucks at surplus auctions because they were cheap, heavy-duty, and had powerful pumps, which they could use to haul water for livestock or irrigation during dry spells. The large water tank and pumps made them ready-to-work farm equipment without needing much modification.” Another suggestion was: “It may have been kept loosely running for the local 4th of July parade or town events before being parked back in the pasture.” Both of these ideas make total sense, considering my family’s midwestern rural and farming history.
I wish I could get my parents to help identify all of these old family pictures, so that I can have real stories (as opposed to A.I. suggestions) to pass on to my kids about my “Gen X childhood.” I’m very intrigued by family history, especially since I gained access to all these images just a couple years ago.