The Warren Township Rescue Squad was founded on July 24, 1940, with 12 charter members, all men. Its first ambulance (pictured here) was a second-hand Meteor, a converted hearse complete with flower vases that cost all of $200. The squad’s first headquarters was in a garage near Bardy Farms. From 1947 to 1971 the squad used a donated building at the corner of Warrenville and Washington Valley Roads.

In its infancy the squad covered all of Warren, Martinsville, Watchung and North Plainfield, and an early member recalls that much of its work was “Scoop and Run” —- modern first aid training and the life-preserving skills for which the squad is now well-known came much later.

It was during World War II, when so many men were in service, that the squad began accepting women, one of the first in the state to do so. In those days the captain of the squad was also the radio dispatcher: State troopers who patrolled Warren would call an emergency in to the captain who would then activate a telephone chain to
summon squad members to headquarters. A short wave radio system speeded the process when it was installed in 1970.

In an interview with Carolann Garafola, Mrs. Buff Beckley recalled the squad’s early days. “Charlie Lewis, long considered an icon, is a name which still brings smiles to the faces of many of the old timers in town and those on the Warren Rescue Squad. Over four decades ago, he organized one of the first Warren Rescue Squad crews and was an active volunteer until he was 80 years of age. He organized the first fund-raisers to purchase and outfit his “funny” old ambulance and did this by getting his crew to literally walk from house to house asking for money for the squad. People were very generous with their money, but not their time.

“Charlie’s Rescue Squad Harem, not politically correct terminology for the 90s, was made up of such notables back in the 1960s as Esther Kingman, Liz Aulicky, Beverly Beverage, Buff Beckley, Blanche Womer and Hilda Post. He was committed to promoting his “crew,” training them to compete in state competitions. He funded and took them to such a competition in Atlantic City one year, entered them as the Warren Rescue Squad and proudly saw them take the top trophy as the first all-woman Rescue Squad to receive such recognition in the state of New Jersey. Blanche Womer acted as their coach and their names still remain on the trophy located in the Rescue Squad Building.

“During those early years, Warren had neither a police department nor a dispatcher, thus, the responsibility for manning the telephone rested with a volunteer, Nan Townley, who was available at home to answer the telephone seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. She would take the call and would then call those people who were part of the Warren Rescue Squad list. If the police were needed, Nan would make the decision to call out the State Police. Other times, Rescue Squad volunteers would make the decision to call the State Police. As Buff said, “The police never questioned our decisions, even when there was a crime scene.”

“During the 1960s, Ernie Gardner, another Warren resident, worked with the Warren Rescue Squad to draw up one of the first detailed street maps of the Township. The Rescue Squad knew every street and lane and a decision was made to use this information to develop a Warren Township map. The Warren Republican Club financially supported this first map and subsequently maps were distributed by the Rescue Squad when they registered people to vote as they went door to door raising money. Other times they directed people to the home of the Township Clerk, who also was a local school teacher.

The September 1971 dedication of the Rescue Squad building behind town hall was the culmination of 30 years worth of planning and fund-raising. Built on land donated by the township, the 4,000-sq.- ft. building had a price tag of $100,000, met by a $80,000 mortgage signed by squad members and the rest financed by the squad’s annual fund drive, building fund and contributions by civic groups. Symbolic of those many donations was a $75 gift received at the dedication ceremonies from Girl Scout Troop 17. Largely instrumental in bringing the dreams of a new headquarters to realization were John Lloyd and building committee members Roy S. Reichert,
squad president, Ken Whatley, Daniel Luna, Esther Kingman and Charles Lewis. Lloyd was mayor in 1967 when the one-acre site was donated to the Rescue Squad. Lewis, by the way, was typical of those early volunteers: He was 80 years old in 1972 when the squad feted him for 30 years of service as treasurer, vice president and president “off and on for many years.”

In 1976 the squad presented life memberships to seven long-time members: Harry Waldron, Thurston Marsh, Hilda Post, Blanche Womer, Esther Kingman, Charles Lewis and Chub Townley, whose combined years of service totaled 164. Esther Kingman, who died in 1995, became the squad’s first woman captain in 1972.

Dan Luna, who joined the squad in 1964 after moving here from South Plainfield, presently holds the record as the longest-serving volunteer, with 35 years under his belt. A professor at Raritan Valley Community College and chairman of the township’s Zoning Board, Luna has been secretary, vice president and president of the squad.

(Thanks to Mayor Garafola, Mrs. Beckley and Mr. Luna for their help with this article.)