Dear Park Ridge Friends:
Thank you for your donation to the Pirsch Project to help us save and restore the original 1934 Park Ridge fire truck. This “Lil’ Pirsch” was originally made from a 1921 Park Ridge fire truck, so parts of the Lil’ Pirsch will soon be 100 years old! With your help, we will be able to make repairs and other safety improvements so that the fire truck will be ready for the upcoming Memorial Day Parade — this is our goal! Following mechanical and safety improvements, funds will then be used to restore the paint job to its original ‘fire engine red’ color and put ‘Park Ridge’ in gold leaf on the hood where it once was. We couldn’t do this without your help. Every single child, family, individual or business will have their name included on this Donor page. We will also enter the names of donors in a permanent register/log, which will be kept on board the fire truck forever in order to preserve those who helped restore this historic rescue vehicle. This is your fire truck! We invite you to join us in this exciting project.
– The Park Ridge Historical Society
Donor Levels
Fire Commissioner (Top Donors)
Fire Chief
($1,000+ Donation)
Battalion Chief
($500+ Donation)
Captain
($250+ Donation)
Lieutenant
($100+ Donation)
Driver/Engineer
($50+ Donation)
Firefighter/Paramedic ($25+ Donation)
Firefighter in Training (5¢ - $25 Donation)
Our Donors
Fire Commissioner (Top Donors)
Anonymous – Dedicated to all past and current Park Ridge firefighters
The Balzano Family
Bradley Skaja
Park Ridge Heritage Committee
Park Ridge Living Magazine
Park Ridge Professional Firefighters
The Ralph Bishop Family
Rick Biagi – Neal & McDevitt, LLC
Steve & Maria Mazza – Print Management Group, Inc.
Fire Chief ($1,000+ Donation)
Mrs. Ramona Bishop
Diane Bishop Hussey
Debbie Bishop
Brandon Hussey
Devin & Misty Hussey
The Brian Lazzaro Family
David & Elaine Loomis – Pickwick Theater
Jack McCloskey
Bryan Mercado of RE/MAX Properties Northwest – Park Ridge
Home Resources Restoration
Larry & Jan Skaja
Tara & Jon Taylor
Battalion Chief ($500+ Donation)
Paul and Pat Adlaf
The John Murphy Family
Matthew Palmer
Captain ($250+ Donation)
Jill Crocker
The Van De Carr Family
Cheryl Williams
Lieutenant ($100+ Donation)
Patty Brennan
Jeffrey & Donna Caudill
Randall & Conni Derifeld
John & Elizabeth Dorow
M.D. Eldridge
Nancy and Jim Frugoli
The Gentile Family
Raffia Gifts
The Krause Family
Jeffrey Lazzaro
Randi Lazzaro
Ryan Lazzaro
William Lazzaro
John & Bonnie Morell
The David O'Connor Family
In Memory of Warren Wade
Driver/Engineer ($50+ Donation)
Barbara Avery
Cynthia Bennett
Richard & Judith Dokmo
Margaret Holler
Scott Holst
Richard Kampwirth
Kathleen Koepke
Nathan Lazzaro
Emily Lazzaro
John Nommensen
Ken Mylander and Nancy Pytel
John Piltaver
Lori Russo
Benjamin Ryles
Sarah Ryles
Roger Shubert
Kathleen Sullivan
Firefighter/Paramedic ($25+ Donation)
Patty Beato
Carly Biggins
Hallie Gillespie
Logan Gillespie
Thomas & Barbara Kase
The Maurer Family
Everett McKinnis-Moscowitz
Elaine Pytel
James Pytel
Evan Sanchez
The Schmidt Family
Firefighter in Training (5¢ - $25 Donation)
Anonymous Faithful PRHS Member
Gary Banser Jr.
Margaret Bechtel
Debby Bryniarski
Thomas & William Burns
The Cesario Family
The Clark Family
Patricia Crisafulli
Delaney and Reese Dolezal
Mary Fitzgerald
Char Foss-Eggermann
Kevin Frede – Classic Cut's Owner
Brian Gentile
Mike Grant
Dan Hrab – Classic Cut's
Jeff Jensen Family
Reese Laborne
Barbara Lazzaro
The David Lazzaro Family
Angela Margaris
The Marino Family
Jack & Isla McNamara
Sam Mercado & Ben Mercado
Tim Merchant
Jack Murphy
Lance Northcutt
James O'Donnell
Maddie Parrino
Mackenzie Sebby
The Sniezek Family
Jim Sullivan (Dedicated to my grandparents)
The Wawczak Family
L. Werner
Mason Yan
Anonymous
In-kind Donations
AlphaGraphics
Fire Service, Inc. Naperville
Ed Zamora – Union Home Mortgage
Lin-Mar Towing & Recovery
MTL Upholstery – Matteo & Toni
Rob Kukla
Sir Speedy of Park Ridge
Dino & Sophia Vlahakis – Pickwick Theater
News & Updates
The First Ceremonial Fire Truck Donation
After 40 years in Memphis, TN, the 1934 Pirsch/Darley Pumper has finally returned home to Park Ridge!
Video Credit: Ellie Compton
Photo Gallery
Video Gallery
Lil' Pirsch getting towed to the fire truck mechanic.
