Mystery Foto #47 Solved: Willie K in his Vigilant Fire Company uniform at Deepdale (Circa 1905-1906)
Art Kleiner challenged to solve this weekend's Mystery Moustache.
Answers to the Mystery Foto questions:
Identify:
- The gentleman
William K. Vanderbilt Jr., who was a benefactor and member of the Vigilant Fire Department of Great Neck.
- The location
Willie K's Deepdale estate
- The uniform
The Vigilant Engine Hook & Ladder Company of Great Neck.
- The approximate date of the Mystery Foto. Provide a rationale.
Circa 1905-1906 based on the Willie's moustache. Maybe July 4, 1906, when Willie K. hosted the Vigilant firemen at Deepdale.
Comments (6)
Congrats to Greg O., Steve Lucas, George Philippides, Frank Femenias and Al Velocci for identifying Willie K.
Kudos to Steve Lucas and Al Velocci for estimain the phto date as 1905.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
From the Great NeckVigilant Engine and Hook & Ladder Company’s History 1904-2004
At the start of the 20th century, railroad tracks had crept eastward to what is now called Great Neck Plaza but was known then as Thomaston. On election day in November, 1904, a group of the peninsula’s citizens recognized the need for fire protection at the station. Discussions began inside a building on North Station Plaza which was owned by W.R. Grace, the steamship magnate responsible for developing much of Great Neck. This building would soon become the first firehouse of the Vigilant Fire Company.
About 12 men, including several from the Alert Fire Company which had its headquarters in the upper village, were granted a charter from the Town of North Hempstead for a fire company. Thus the first page in the history of the Vigilant Fire Company was written when the company was formally incorporated on November 21, 1904. In those days a fire bell sounded the alarm at the firehouse. Horses, used to pull the apparatus, borrowed from Robertson’s Bakery located down the street across from the station. The horses are long gone, but the bell stands in front of the “new” firehouse on Cuttermill Road. Today it is rung ceremoniously on Memorial Day and in honor of deceased members.
The Vigilants’ first alarm occurred in 1905, when they were summoned to extinguish a hayloft fire on the property of Captain Frederick Russell, situated at the corner of what is now Middle Neck Road and Northern Boulevard. The “Men” did such a good job at the blaze that Captain Russell presented them with an inscribed fire trumpet, which today rests in one of the company’s trophy cases and is occasionally carried by the Chief in parades.
Shortly after their organization, the Vigilants found a generous benefactor, William K. Vanderbilt, the Long Island millionaire who was in the habit of associating himself with the Great Neck Fire Companies. Mr. Vanderbilt had no sooner pocketed his checkbook after signing a $1,000 gift for the Alert firemen, when a group of the Vigilants solicited his aid. Their first major piece of equipment, a Waterous gasoline engine for pumping water was purchased with his loan of $1,500. When he received the first installment toward the loan, Vanderbilt marked the promissory note “PAID” so that funds could be used towards additional equipment.
Vanderbilt took an interest in the new company and through his aid and guidance the Vigilants grew. He was delighted in seeing the fire company in action and at one time he staged a fire drill at his Lake Success mansion. Calling the men and equipment of the fire company to his home one afternoon, Vanderbilt watched eagerly as the members placed ladders and dragged hoses according to the accepted standards of firefighting in those days. Mrs. Vanderbilt also joined in the fun, running into the house midway through the mock firefighting proceedings to scream for help. Reacting immediately, the firemen scaled the ladders in the best heroic fashion and hauled Mrs. Vanderbilt and an accomplice down from the “blazing inferno”.
But, in order to maintain their three pieces of equipment, a hook and ladder, a hose reel tender, and a pumper, the Vigilants were still forced to hustle for funds. Among their money-raising devices were public dances, fairs, minstrel shows and solicitation campaigns. On several occasions out-door plays were staged with the assistance of many show people who made their homes in Great Neck including Gene Buck and Joseph Santley. Other show business people who joined the ranks of the Vigilants included Ed Wynn, known for his advertisements for Texaco Fire Chief Gasoline.
The firehouse, a former barn sometimes used as a theatre and at other times a church, was employed frequently to present Edison Motion Pictures for the entertainment of the public and for the enrichments of the Vigilants’ coffers. The firehouse was the first movie theatre in Great Neck.
In 1913 the financial worries of the Vigilants were alleviated somewhat by the passage of the Maloney Act, a bill which gave towns the authority to contract with departments for fire protection. An agreement between the Vigilants and the Alerts provided that the company who arrived first to the scene was the one which would be paid for the fire. By 1914, the Vigilants were sporting a check for $1,500 from the Town of North Hempstead. In the ensuing years, with the organization of the peninsula’s incorporated villages, they received additional contracts.
Close-Ups
Big hint: Look carefully at the fireman's cap reads: "Vigilant E& H&L"
Great Neck Vigilant Fire Department
The Vigilants in front of tje 1905 Waterous Pump purchased with the assistance of William K. Vanderbilt , Jr.
Willie K's uniform matches the 1905 uniform worn by the Vigilants.
The current Vigilant headquarters on Cutter Mill Road Road in Great Neck. Note the 1904 date and the original fire bell.
Kleiner's Korner Documentation
The Mystery Foto with its caption
The New York Times, July 9, 1904
The New York Times, July 24, 1904
The New York Times, December 11, 1904
The Advance, July 27, 1905
The East Hampton Star, June 8, 1906
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 23, 1906
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 30, 1906
Comments
Great shot Art!
Had we not discussed this photo, you’re right, I would have recognized Willie K at Deepdale (my guess sometime around 1904ish)
Willie K knew to keep the fire departments around his estates well-stocked with the proper equipment. Below is a screen grab from the Centerport FD page describing the emergency vehicle he donated to the department down the road from Eagle’s Nest. They still have the vehicle and a small museum in the firehouse which can be seen by appointment.
Yes, now I see ‘Vigilant’ on the helmet!
That sure looks like Willie K. Jr. I think he’s standing in front of his Deepdale estate in Lake Success. The uniform looks like it’s from an auxiliary volunteer fire department; possibly from the Village of Lake Success. Or since he had the recent memory of his father’s estate in Oakdale burning down, he organized a V. F. D. unit on his own property. He looks quite young so I’m going with a date of around 1905.
William K Vanderbilt at Deepdale Estate Lake Success
The uniform and helmet look like those worn by firefighters back then. Willie was a volunteer firefighter for decades and supported the local fire department in Great Neck and Centerport. The last line on the helmet looks like it has FD at the end, so I am guessing this was his firefighter uniform/helmet.
Date, guessing sometime between 1905-1915 given Willies appearance, sporting the moustache.
Guessing it’s Willie K dressed in a Thomaston Fire Department suit with helmet, TFD
Art, The gentleman in uniform is William K. Vanderbilt Jr. in front of his country estate, Deepdale located at today’s Lake Success. In 1904 he sent word to the newly formed Vigilant Engine and Hook and Ladder Company of Thomaston that he was willing to pay for some of the necessary apparatus He paid for two engines which were delivered in early 1905. To show their appreciation of the gifts, Vanderbilt was made the first honorary member of the Company. He would prove be the Company’s biggest benefactor.