Throughout its existence, the Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department has been funded by both the City of Mt. Pleasant and the Titus County Commissioner's Court. These two organizations provide most of the funds needed to purchase equipment and operate the department, for which the department has always been grateful. The Department has an annual budget allotted by both the county and city.
As most jointly funded projects go, there a many fine details to the City-County funding of the fire department that change from year to year and are much too complex to go into here. However, the fire department is generally funded roughly as follows:
The City of Mt. Pleasant provides the salary for the Chief and paid engineers, as well as all cost of operating the fire stations, purchasing trucks and equipment used in the city, providing and cleaning uniforms and bunker equipment, and other things necessary to operate the department.
The Titus County Commissioner's Court contracts with the City of Mt. Pleasant to provide manpower and some equipment used to fight fires in the county. The Commissioners' Court also purchases and pays for all maintenance and fuel for trucks which are housed at the Mt. Pleasant Fire Department, but are used to fight fires in the county.
The City and County provide each firefighter with hospitalization insurance while they are en-route to or on the scene of a fire. They also provide each firefighter with liability insurance to protect them from liability in case of a vehicle accident while en-route to a fire. However, each firefighter is responsible for the cost of repairing any damage to their private vehicle resulting from an accident.
Through the years the Volunteer Fire Department has always raised its own separate funds, which are used to purchase things not provided for in the city and county budgets, as well as to purchase special items that were very expensive but badly needed. Volunteer Fire Department funds were managed by their secretary-treasurer and were kept in a separate account from city and county funds. Spending of Volunteer Fire Department funds required a discussion of the expenditure and a majority vote by department members in favor of spending the funds.
DONATIONS
From time to time, members of the general public would make cash donations to the fire department. Most of the donations were small, but all were appreciated and put to use to purchase items that the department needed that were not possible through the regular budget.
Two of the department's largest benefactors were Mr. Billy Daniel and Mr. Bill Cullen, who helped the fire department purchase several pieces of equipment as well as making donations to their general fund.
ENTERTAINMENT SHOWS
Another way that the Volunteer Fire Department raised funds was by sponsoring circuses or musical shows to perform in Mt. Pleasant.
The first record we find of this fund raising method being used was on March 25, 1938. The Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department presented the original Stamps Quartette in concert at 8 p.m. at the Methodist Church. The Stamps had already obtained national prominence in the field of religious and specialty music through their radio appearances.
The event was well-advertised, and an unusually large crowd attended the concert. A small admission was charged, with the profits used to help buy new bunker equipment (called "slickers" in the article) for the firemen. The fire department took in between $125 - $130 ($1,780 - $1,850 in 2007 dollars) in gross gate receipts. There is no mention of the cost to hire the Stamps, but the event was successful for everyone involved. Years later, the Stamps became one of Elvis Presley's regular backup groups and had a long career with him.
The Stamps show went well, but later that year, In December, 1938, the fire department was taken in by a tent show promoter. A man approached Fire Chief Fritz Knechtel and proposed to donate $150 to the fire department if they would sponsor a tent show, and the firemen agreed. They contracted for a week's engagement in Mt. Pleasant. Ten local businesses were convinced to purchase a quantity of matinee tickets to give away with purchases, and the show's representative collected $25 from them.
However, when the agreed date arrived, the traveling tent show was no where to be found. Because they had promoted the show and since local businesses had bought tickets to help the fire department, the Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department refunded the merchant's advance ticket payments.
Before nationally-known entertainment acts moved into Branson, Missouri, the musical shows there were primarily family owned and operated shows put on by people who lived in the Branson area year-round. Once their tourist season closed, the acts would book shows in other parts of the country. After the Titus County Civic Center was built, the fire department booked Branson acts there several times to raise funds.
Several of the shows were underwritten by Mr. Billy Daniel of Pleasant Oil Company, who guaranteed payment for the acts if admissions were below cost for some reason. To my knowledge he never had to pay to cover expenses, but acted to assure the shows could be brought to Mt. Pleasant for the fire department's benefit.
TURKEY SHOOT
A Volunteer Fire Department fund-raising staple for many years was its annual fall turkey shoot. When Titus County was more rural and hunting and shooting was much more popular that it is today, not to say it isn't popular today, the turkey shoot always drew a large crowd and the competition was intense.
The Fire Department would set up a temporary shotgun range on land borrowed for the occasion and hold the turkey shoot for several weekends just before and just after Thanksgiving. They would purchase several dozen frozen turkeys from local grocery stores, and would arrange for cold storage either from the store where they purchased them or elsewhere if the store didn't have room to keep them. Sometimes a local grocer would donate quite a few turkeys free of charge and the fire department would purchase the rest.
City or county workers would build a high and wide earth berm, which was simply a large mound of dirt with sloping sides, for the fire department to use as a back stop for the shot. Firemen would then erect a target range in front of the berm by setting wooden fence posts several feet apart and nailing 1x4 lumber between them so paper targets could be stapled to the 1x4s.
The turkey shoot location changed from time to time, both because land use around a site changed, or sometimes because of noise complaints from neighbors. The fire department always tried to be respectful of people in the area and tried not hold the turkey shoot too close to residences or businesses, but sometimes noise from one volley of shots after the other for several weekends carried in unexpected directions. A range officer was always present and in sole charge of the range to insure that everyone handled their weapon safely.
In the 1960s and 70s, I know of the turkey shoot being held at Town Lake on U.S. Highway 271 Business, on Tankersly dam, on vacant land on the east side of Industrial Road, and on the corner of Farm Road 1734 and U.S. Highway 271 South. At the time, each of these locations was rather remote, unlike today. Each of these locations was used for several years until businesses or residences moved too close to the vacant land.
Targets were $1.00 each, and a group of 10 sportsmen would shoot against each other to see who could put a shot nearest the center of the bullseye. The contest involved a mixture of both skill and luck, since by nature shot scatters after leaving the barrel and whose shot actually hit nearest the center could not be exactly controlled like a rifle. Often, one or more shoot-offs had to be held between to break ties when two or more men's shot hit near the center. The winner was issued a ticket to pick up his turkey either at the fire station or at the storage facility that kept the turkeys for the fire department.
After many requests, the turkey shoot was later opened to pistols in addition to shotguns. Pistol shooting requires a shorter range, but is a contest of absolute skill as you have only one bullet which is in the complete control of the person firing the gun.
The fire department also raffled a shotgun in conjunction with the turkey shoot. The department would purchase a very nice shotgun from a local merchant to be raffled, then would sell tickets for $5.00 each toward the shotgun.
Over the years, public response to the turkey shoot fell off. It also became harder to staff and to find unpopulated land where the turkey shoot could be held that was still convenient for contestants to reach. Therefore, the tradition of the annual turkey shoot was discontinued.
PUBLIC STEWS AND CHILI SUPPERS
Another steady fund-raiser was the stew or chili supper. The fire department had several very large pots with gas burners and would cook either chicken stew or home-made chili during the winter months. The events were held in the truck bays of the Washington Street fire station, and were open to the public. Donations were accepted rather than setting a firm price for a bowl of stew or chili. Rex Mars, Hubert Hardy, Sam Roper, and Johnny Thomas always made delicious stew and chicken and the events were usually well attended.
WHERE DID THE FUNDS GO?
Funds raised from the above activities were used to supplement funds budgeted by the city and county government. The fire department budget is no different from your own home budget. Regardless of what you have, you always need "just a little bit more."
Some of the things purchased with funds that the volunteers raised from the community were Mt. Pleasant's first rescue unit and a resuscitator to go into it, two more rescue units purchased over later years, the first Hurst Jaws of Life used to extricate accident victims, smoke ejectors used to remove smoke from a building following a fire, extra bunker equipment that was needed but not provided for in a given year's budget, two-way radios for vehicles that weren't covered in the budget, and other specialized equipment used to improve the department and the services it provided. This is by no means a complete list and only covers things I can remember from about 1970 to 1980. There were many more worthwhile purchases made both before and after that time.
Some of the funds, but only a small portion and only those donated or raised for the general fund that were not ear-marked for a particular purpose, were also used for the annual firemen's barbecue held each summer in Dellwood Park and to assemble fruit baskets for the children at the annual Fire Department Christmas Party.
