Manistique’s rare 1914 Dodge Brother’s fire truck and the 1880s hook-and-ladder truck provide us with a present-day link to our pioneer past. The hook-and-ladder truck responded to almost all of Manistique’s historic fires, including the great fire of 1893. It was rushed to the scene of these early blazes by a team of galloping horses. Finally, in 1929, Manistique’s fire department became fully motorized when the Dodge Chemical Truck was converted to a ladder truck. Manistique city employees began the work of conversion in September of 1929 under the supervision of Manistique’s Fire Chief, Charles Underwood.
The converted vehicle was outfitted with five new ladders including thirty, thirty- five and forty-five foot, trussed extension ladders with stay poles, and sixteen and twenty foot, slide ladders equipped with roof hooks.
More colorful photos of the hook-and-ladder truck are available for purchase at the Schoolcraft County Historical Society’s online Shop.
The 1914 Dodge Brothers Chemical Truck is pictured here in front of the Manistique Garage Company building. Standing next to the truck is Chief Charles Underwood and Nels Johnson, owner of the Manistique Garage. The truck had been purchased by the city in 1919 and was converted to a ladder truck in 1929. The Manistique Garage Company was formerly the site of the Star Opera House.