TO THE EDITOR:

Ryan Pridgeon has been our Fire Chief for six years and has been with the Department for 26 years. THANK YOU for his service time. Mike Keller has agreed to become our new fire chief. ALL members of the Fire Dept. are very dedicated and deserve recognition. Presently they are averaging one call a day - 365 calls a year plus their time for meetings, drills etc. Their daily plans are continually being challenged. When we call 911 they are the first unit within our area to arrive. Clearwater’s first organized fire department was in 1948. Their equipment consisted of a new white fire truck, later termed “Granny,” which could be used only within the village. In 1953 the second truck, a 1947 red truck with wooden-spoke wheels, could be used for community and rural calls. Their location in 1948 was on Maple Street. In the 1970s the first rescue van had a home-made back board of plywood for a stretcher.  Today, 73 years later, we have the necessary modern equipment and professional fire department members. THANK YOU! 

Elaine Paumen

Clearwater, MN