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| The Courier. December 31, 1919 |
The Courier printed this picture of the Waterloo Laundry Company and apartments that was scheduled to open on February 1, 1920. The building at Jefferson Street and Park Avenue was three stories high. The Waterloo Laundry Company was on the bottom floor. The top two floors housed 34 apartments - 10 two room units, and 24 one room units. Each unit included a kitchenette, bath, dressing room, and closet.
Frank C. Kee of Waterloo, Iowa, traveled the United States
in 1909 and 1910, putting together the fat men’s baseball club. When he
finished, the team had a combined weight of 4,487 pounds (about twice the
weight of a Clydesdale horse).
Although the team members
were big, the Des Moines Register told its readers, there was nothing
funny about the way they played baseball. “Their lining up at the lunch counter
when out on the road,” said the paper, “is the immediate signal for the
proprietor to send out for additional supplies.”
“Baby” Bliss, the first baseman, weighed in at 650 pounds and was thought to be the heaviest man in the world. E. Holm, the pitcher, weighed 350 pounds. J. A. Brownwell, the second baseman, weighed 400 pounds; outfielder Harry Vorwold weighed 325 pounds; shortstop Ed J. Sheean weighed 390 pounds, and W. B. Hinds, the third baseman, tipped the scale at 400 pounds. And strange as it may seem, Oliver Kimball, the umpire, was a teensy guy who stood 4 feet tall and weighed 138 pounds.
They said, "The Hope Boys, a company of juvenile boys was organized in 1879." C. E. Hollister built a small hand pump known as the Water Lily (pictured above). The firefighters pictured left to right are: Charles Newton, Bert Hitt, Elmer Cobb, Henry Williams, E. Newton, Dell Chapin, William Ewald, Lew Johnson, George Beck, Jr., Frank Miller, and Dan Cobb.
The Seagrave fire truck pictured below was one of the motorized vehicles that replaced the horse drawn vehicle.
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| New Waterloo fire truck - an American-La France model |
1919 was a year of big changes for the Waterloo
Fire Department. Longtime chief A. A. Dunham retired in early August, citing
health problems. Assistant Chief Martin Burke filled in as chief for a few months
until Captain Ray Tiller was appointed chief in early October.
Shortly after that, the city council approved the
purchase of a new American-La France fire truck at a cost of nearly $12,000.
The new truck had a complete hose and chemical system and a booster pump. It could
pump 300 gallons per minute.
