The Walworthians: Ed Parkhurst

The Walworthians

A collection of telephone interviews published in the Wayne County STAR Newspaper and Wayne County MAIL Newspaper, 1994-209

by Kate Chamberlin

Ed Parkhurst, Fireman

April 02, 1997

Ed Parkhurst is one of the people in our neighborhood. He has recently been elected the Walworth Fire Department’s Fireman of the Year.

For more than half his life, Ed has been involved with one aspect or another dealing with fighting fires. When he and about 8 of his buddies were 15 years old, they joined the Jr. Firematics in Norwich, Connecticut. They learned how to handle the hoses, operate the breathing apparatus and other intricacies of what firemen do.

There were also several training courses by the State Forestry Department that taught them how to handle brush fires.

Ed joined the East Great Plain Fire Department when he was 16, through the Explorer Scout program. Right after high school, Ed joined the United States Air Force. He became part of the Military Police. He was also a volunteer fireman in the Rome Light Delta Fire Department. He was stationed in Rome for two years and then transferred to Europe for four years.

He attended Alfred College after his stint in the service. He lived in a mobile home and was involved in the Willings Volunteer Fire Department.

He relocated to Williamson and, of course, joined the Fire Department there until moving to Walworth in January, 1986.

He lives with his wife, Linda, and their 17 year old cat Betty Boo.

“Not Betty Boop, but Betty Boo!” Ed corrected me.

A mutual friend introduced Ed to Linda when he was stationed in Rome. They dated and, well, one thing led to another. They were married on November 12, 1977.

Ed is part of the New York State National Guard based in Niagara Falls, as well as an EMT-D, ambulance driver and Treasurer of the Walworth Fire Department.

Ed also has a “day job” as General Manager of the Taylor Rentals where you can rent just about any party item you might need from dance floors, tents and tables to wine glasses, napkins and flatware.    Linda is employed by the U. S. Postal Service in the Ontario Post Office.

“The toughest fire I fought was in Connecticut,” Ed said. “It was arson. The owner of a factory hired people to burn it. They had disabled the main water line, so we had no pressure. It was an old building probably 200 by 90 feet wide and four stories high with oil soaked wooden floors. The factory made plastic coated cables, so, there were toxic fumes to deal with. It was winter, too!”

“We called in suburban departments who had tankers and pumps. We pulled up river water to fight the blaze, he continued. “It took over 13 hours to get it under control.”

(Hm-m-m-m. Do Firemen tell fire tales the way fishermen tell fish tales?

Ed said that while there are no “good” fires, the easiest fires are chimney fires. They are relatively small and easy to put out.

I can personally say, though, that when I was home with my two toddlers in 1978 and had a chimney fire, I was never so happy as to welcome those men I didn’t know into my home.

They responded quickly to the fire call and were efficient and courteous. Someone even came back later when my husband was home, just to be sure everything was Okay.

Ed said he likes the Walworth community because the people are friendly and easy to get to know.

“I really hope the community will support the Volunteer Firemen’s Retirement Plan,” Ed said. “It is a way of rewarding the volunteers who keep up their training and provide a quality service to our community.”

Congratulations to Ed Parkhurst, the Walworth Fireman of the Year. You are a Walworthian with the accent on WORTH.

2018 Up-Date: If you have an up-date on Ed, give me a call. Let’s chat.