TOWN LINE

Every fireman needs steady nerves, considerable strength, and enough stamina to enable him to maintain an intense degree of effort. Ervin “Mike” Weber came to the Town Line Volunteer Fire Department with the feeling that he could live up to those qualifications. Mike became Chief in 1935, an office he held until 1949. Elected as director of the fire department from 1951-1954, Mike was again destined for the office of chief as he was elected to that post in 1958 and served through 1963.

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In 1964, Mike set aside his white helmet, but not his willingness to serve, as he was again elected to directorship. He held that office through 1975 and served as Chairman of the board of directors.

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Besides his dedication to the Town Line Volunteer Fire Department, Mike was one of the founding members of the Lancaster Fire Council and the Town Line Volunteer Firemen’s Benevolent Association, serving as President of the latter. He was a life member of the Erie County Firemen’s Mutual Aid Organization and the Erie County Volunteer Firemen’s Association and a past director of the Mutual Aid Organization as well as the Lancaster Fire Council. In 1973, Mike was presented with the Alden Kiwanis Club’s Community Service Award for his many years as a leader of the community’s firefighters.

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Among the unique events in Mike’s history was the 1.25 mile, seven engine relay set up in 1943. All the area fire departments, including the City of Buffalo Fire Department, were involved as this was an extraordinary feat without the use of radio communication. In 1947, Chief Weber along with several Town Line firemen, built the tank truck in a barn near Broadway and Town Line Road.

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Mike’s interest in the fire service deeply influenced his family. His wife, Margaret, was an active member of the Town Line Ladies Auxiliary until her passing. Their son, Norman, was a past chief with the department and fellow 50-year member. Their daughter, Shirley, was married to Robert McCubbin, a former chief of the Jamison Road Fire Company. Additionally, two of Mike’s grandsons, Norman and Michael, went on to become career firefighters in Georgia.

Mike had a host of friends in the fire service throughout the area and it is certain that many have felt his influence at one time or another. The members of the Town Line Volunteer Fire Department, together with many friends from the area, fire departments, and firematic organizations, took pride in honoring Mike on November 16, 1974 at the Millgrove Fire Hall for his outstanding dedication to the fire service.

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Past Chief Weber passed away in August 1986. He was 86 years old. The department moved to retire badge #1 in his honor.

For a community or organization to grow professionally and develop, it needs people who are creative and can generate enthusiasm and leadership. Paul Stephan was a man who possessed those qualities.

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Paul joined the fire department in December 1930 and showed his leadership by holding both firematic and executive positions. He was chief during 1953 and 1954, assistant chief for one year, lieutenant for nine years, master mechanic for 16 years, captain, and a member of the board of directors for 14 years. He helped establish the Town Line Volunteer Firemen’s Benevolent Association and served as a member of the board of directors.

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During Paul’s 50 plus years of service, he served on every building committee and most of the truck committees. One memorable truck committee is the committee that built the 1947 Chevy Tank Truck. Paul also had the honor of attending the first Chief’s School at Old Forge, New York.

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Besides Paul’s dedication to the fire department, he was a member of the Lancaster Fire Council, New York State Chief’s Association, Erie County Fire Association, Fire Chief’s Mutual Aid Association, Lancaster Rural Cemetery Association, Alden Chamber of Commerce, and the Masonic Lodge of Alden. Paul was also a member of the Town Line Lutheran Church and served as both a director and an active member of various committees.

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Lancaster was always home to Paul. He was born, raised, and resided at 6355 Broadway his entire life. Paul’s father started an excavating and grading company which he ran from his home. Paul grew up working with and for his father, and upon the death of his father, carried on the business. Some of the local youth were hired by Paul and taught the construction business from the ground up.

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Although his business and the fire department took most of Paul’s time, he also made time for pleasure, first being his family and home. He had a wife, three children, several grandchildren, and a sister. Big fancy cars were always another pleasure along with traveling, good music, dancing, and eating out—especially good German food.

Paul was known or knew just about everyone living in the Lancaster and Alden area and was well respected for his dedication to the community and his honesty in business. It was with pleasure that his brother firemen and friends gathered at the Knights of Columbus on December 5, 1980 to honor Paul for his years of dedicated service to the fire department and community.

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Paul passed away on January 28, 1988. He was 76 years old. The department retired badge #2 in his honor.

Robert Stoldt joined the fire department in the fall of 1935 and exhibited his leadership in holding many important positions both in the department and related organizations. He held the office of secretary for six years and in 1960 and 1961 he held the president’s office. He also helped erect our present truck room and worked to build the picnic grove on Town Line Road. In 1951, Bob took chairmanship of the dance committee. In this position, he was responsible for making sure a dance was held each week and was one of the big fundraisers at the time. Any legal matters were referred to Bob and he was appointed to the department Legal Committee and served on the Law Committee for the Lancaster Fire Council. Bob was one of the organizers and past director and vice president of the Town Line Volunteer Firemen’s Benevolent Association.

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Concerning outside organizations, Bob joined the Erie County Firemen’s Association in 1957 and was an active member of the Law and Legislative Committee. Bob was also a member of the Western New York Firemen’s Association, the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York, and the Erie County Fire Police Association. When the fire departments under Lancaster Fire Control decided to organize a group, Bob was there to help in this task as a charter member and past president of the Lancaster Fire Council. Bob also served his community as a leader in the Boy Scout group in the late 1930s

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The Town Line area was Bob’s home all his life where he raised two boys with his wife Beatrice in their home on Two Rod Road. Bob also enjoyed bowling and traveling. Bob was honored for his 50 years of service at a testimonial dinner on September 14, 1985 at the Millgrove Fire Hall.

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Bob passed away in June of 2001 at the age of 84 years old. Badge number 30 was retired in his honor.

Chester Zamiara was a very active firefighter holding many administrative offices, including treasurer in 1957, 1958, and 1959. He was also dance committee chairman in 1950 which besides a fundraiser was also a community get together.

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Chet helped the department with his mechanical ability as assistant mechanic in 1950 and did a lot of work on building the Chevy Tanker in the late 1940s. The Town Line Firemen’s Picnic Grove saw Chet help build and make it into one of the finest in Erie County. When something was broken or needed fixing, everyone knew Chet would do an excellent job. In fact, Chet was known to most of the Town Line firefighters as the best handyman in our department.

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Outside firematic organizations had the pleasure of Chet as a member including as a delegate to the Erie County Firemen’s Association and the Southwestern Firemen’s Association. Chet was a member of the fire police serving as lieutenant and was an active member of the Erie County Fire Police Association. Chet was also one of the organizers and a charter member of the Town Line Volunteer Firemen’s Benevolent Association  and held the position of sergeant at arms.

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Besides spending lots of time at the fire department, Chet found the time to raise a family of three daughters with his wife Barbara living just next door to our current Station #1. He enjoyed hobbies such as fishing and traveling. Chet was honored for his 50 years of service at a testimonial dinner on September 14, 1985 at the Millgrove Fire Hall.

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Chet passed away in 1991. He was  86 years old. Badge number 99 was retired in his honor.

Obligated as a member in 1939, Clayton served as Assistant Chief, Chief, and Director. Clayton was also a charter member of the Town Line Volunteer Firemen’s Benevolent Association where he held the position of Director.

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Clayton was very active in building the stations and served as chairman of the possible expansion to the fire hall at 6513 Broadway in 1955. His knowledge in the construction field helped tremendously when the final plans of these buildings were ready for construction.

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Clayton was very active in fundraising activities such as raffles, square dances, picnics, and bingo. He also served on many committees to help support these activities. He was also the fire inspector for the Town Of Alden.

Clayton, long with his wife Betty raised two daughters at their home on Town Line Road. He was honored for his 50 years of dedicated service at a dinner held on October 13, 1990.

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Clayton passed away in April 2011 at 92 years old. The department moved to retire badge number 7 in his honor.

Obligated as a member on May 1, 1941, Bob served as Vice President, Secretary, Sergeant at Arms, and Fire Police Sergeant. He also received the award for most calls in 1975. Bob was also very active in fundraising activities such as raffles, square dances, picnics, and bingo. He also served on many committees to help support these activities.

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Bob was a charter member of the Town Line Volunteer Firemen’s Benevolent Association and a charter member of the Erie County Fire Police Association. Bob was one of the first five men to be appointed to the department’s fire police squad upon its formation in 1950.

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Bob, along with his wife Dorothea, lived on Broadway near Station 1 and raised two sons. One son, Robert L. Mueller, is also a member of the department and recently celebrated 56 years of service holding many firematic and administrative positions. Bob’s 50 years of service was celebrated at a dinner on October 13, 1990.

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Bob passed away in April 2003 at the age of 94. The department moved to retire badge number 96 in his honor.

Raymond Paschke joined the Town Line Volunteer Fire Department in April 1950. Ray was an active firefighter from the start; participating in all fundraising activities throughout his time with the fire department including the annual picnic, helping to setup and cleanup as well as doing his part at during the event.

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Besides his participation in fundraising, Ray was also involved in many offices of the fire department and benevolent association. Ray was sergeant at arms from 1984 to 1988, joint board member from 1994-1996 and returned from 2001 to 2005. Ray served on the Service Awards Committee from 1993 to 1995.

  

Ray was also a charter member of the Town Line Firemen’s Benevolent Association where he served as a joint board trustee from 1997 to 2000 and from 2006 to 2009.

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​Ray served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps from 1952-1954, including 15 months in Korea. He was attached to the 507th Signal Service Company and was honorably discharged on July 2, 1954 with the rank of corporal. For his Korean War Service, Mr. Paschke was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with Two Service Stars, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, and the United Nations Service Medal.  Ray was recognized for his service by Buffalo Niagara Honor Flight with a trip to Washington DC to view the war memorials shortly before his passing.

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​Together with his wife Beatrice, Ray raised two daughters and lived in Lancaster. Ray was honored for his 50 years of dedicated service at a picnic held at the station in the summer of 2000.

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Ray passed away in November 2017 at the age of 88. Badge number 72 was retired in his honor.

John (Jack) Wild joined the Town Line Volunteer Fire Department in August of 1950. During this time, Jack held the positions of president and director and was the financial secretary for over 10 years. Jack was awarded the Firefighter of the Year Award in 1969 for his exemplary service.

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​Jack was a charter member of the Town Line Firemen’s Benevolent Association where he served as a trustee and financial Secretary. Jack also built the trophy case at the Station 1 when the new building addition was completed in 1999.

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​Jack and his wife, Claire, raised four children in their home on Town Line Road. Jack also had 14 grandchildren and many great grandchildren. Two of Jack's grandsons, Wilson and Paul, followed in their grandfather's footsteps joining the Town Line Explorer Post and later becoming firefighters. Wilson then went on to become the Chief of the Cowelsville Fire Department where he is still a member.

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Jack was honored at a picnic held at the station in the summer of 2000 for his 50 years of dedicated service.

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Jack passed away in January 2020 at the age of 97. Badge number 55 was retired in his honor.

Originally from Arcade, Joe Tryzbinski joined the Town Line Volunteer Fire Department in January 1954. Joe was around long enough to reminisce about major calls like the 1965 Lancaster Country Club Fire, the 1969 Weil Barn Fire, the 1972 Town Line Hotel Fire, and the infamous Blizzard of 1977. Of course, he could tell his own brand of tales about our long-forgotten bingo games and our much celebrated annual picnics, parades, and anniversaries. Some believed if properly prodded, Joe might even reveal the ingredients of the legendary clam chowder.

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Joe remembered all of those things fondly, but what he cherished most was the camaraderie with all the firefighters. He considered each and every member to be his family. In addition to being a firefighter, Joe was a special heavy equipment operator with Pine Hill Concrete where he retired from in 1987. Joe was also a constituent of the few and the proud, the United States Marines, and served in the pacific theater Hawaii Guam occupation in Japan of 1944-45 in the rank of PFC. The Marines are known for “getting the job done” and Joe was the epitome of this analogy.

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During his more than fifty year relationship with the fire department, Joe served as chief in 1981, a joint board member and director on the board of directors as well as pump operator, master mechanic, assistant mechanic, communications officer, assistant chief, and the honorable position of chaplain. He was named Firefighter of the Year in 1987. Joe was known  for his quiet and observational demeanor and was valued for being the “Go to Guy.” Joe was the true spirit of volunteerism, never needing to be in the forefront, but preferring to perform silently in the shadows. Joe personified the quotation “It’s amazing what can be accomplished when nobody cares about who gets the credit.”

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Joe was married to his wife Elizabeth, whom he met at a dance at the Town Line Fire Hall. In 1959, Betty and Joe settled in Alden and built a home on Cary Road and had one son, Joe Jr., whom they were very proud of. Betty is a member of the Town Line Ladies Auxiliary. Betty and Joe were diligent stewards in upholding the reputation of the Town Line Fire Department.

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Even though Joe was a man of few words, he was treasured for his subtle ability to influence people to think outside the box. In his spare time, Joe could be found enjoying good German and Polish music, dancing the polka, and succumbing to the tantalizing taste of German and Polish food. Joe was instrumental in bringing the Schwalbach Fire Department band from Schwalbach, West Germany, who were touring the United States, to perform for the department.

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Joe was well liked and respected in the department. In honor of his 50 years of devoted service and his unselfish giving of time and talent, the department held a celebration in October 2004 to bestow their appreciation on him in a heartfelt thank you.

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Joe passed away in May 2012 at the age of 85. Badge number 21 was retired in his honor.

Norman Weber was from the founding families of the Town Line Volunteer Fire Department. The Webers were to Town Line Fire Department, what smoke is to fire. Where there was one, there was the other.  The Weber name is synonymous with TLFD and goes back to 1935 when Ervin “Mike” Weber, Norm’s father, served as chief for an unprecedented 26 years.  It is rumored that Norm’s crib was the front seat of a fire truck.

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Throughout his years in the fire department, Norm always chose to be proactive in his involvement. He was known for his innovative thinking, commitment to safety, and endless dedication towards providing effective training. He was an advisor to the Explorer Post and instrumental in developing the current Out of District Program as well as our Active Restricted Program for 16 and 17 year-olds. Norm also participated in or headed countless committees including the purchase of two “twin” fire engines, the large building expansion project at Station 1 in 1998, the expansion of Station 2 in 2004, and the purchase of the Metz Aerial from Germany in 2003.  His contributions are far too great to list.

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Most notably, however, were Norm’s years served in the position of chief beginning in 1970 and 1971 and then again from 2002 to 2005.  He also served in the offices of deputy chief and assistant chief from 1994 to 2001.  Chief Weber even celebrated his 50th and 51st year of service in the office of Chief.  Norm also served as a captain, lieutenant, and vice president.

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Norm was a founding member of the Western New York Burn Treatment Association, a student in one of the first MET (Medical Emergency Technician) classes in the early 1970s, and a member of the Town Line Sabres Hockey Team in the late 1970s.

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Norm is known for many things, but most notably for always having a story to fit any and every occasion. If you had the good fortune to meet Norm, you knew that while you would be in for a very, very long story, you would learn something fascinating each time and leave the conversation wiser because of it. The knowledge he imparted on others throughout his years is priceless.

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To know Norm was to know a man that was determined, driven, and downright stubborn at times. But to know him was to also know that he gave our department his entire heart. Norm was honored for his 50 years of service at a celebration with family, friends, and fellow firefighters in October 2004.

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Norm lived on Town Line Road with his wife Susanne whom he met in Germany. Together they raised two sons, Norm Jr. and Michael, and a daughter, Heidi. Norm Jr. and Michael were both Explorers and Michael became a firefighter with the department. Both became career firefighters in Georgia.

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Norm passed away in January 2019 at the age of 84. Badge number 63 was retired in his honor.

Robert joined the fire department on July 2, 1965 and served as an active member until his last day on earth on December 25, 2024. As Treasurer, Bobby was at the fire station almost daily gathering the mail, working in his office to ensure the bills were paid and the books were tight, and making us smile with his bright personality, kindness, and humor.

During the past 59 years, Bob served the department in several offices including:

• 1973 – Lieutenant

• 1974 – Captain

• First Aid Captain - 1975 to 1976

• Fire Police Captain - 1983 to 2024

• Vice President - 1979 to 1980

• President - 1980 to 1985

• Director - 1986 to 1988

• Chaplain - 1987 to present

• Financial Secretary - 1994 to 2012

• Joint Board Director - 2006 to 2012

• Treasurer - 2012 to 2024

Bobby was awarded the Firefighter of the Year Award in 1978 and 2007 and has been an integral part of the Memorial Day Committee which organizes our annual Community Memorial Day Parade and Service for over 30 years. He was also a huge part of our public relations team and our lead presenter when teaching fire prevention to children at both the local elementary school and preschools and visits to our station. Bob was Bingo Team Leader for over five years, a Burn Center Representative for Erie County for many years, and Member of the Erie County Fire Advisory Board for over 10 years including 3 years as Chairman and 5 years as Secretary. Bob’s 50 years of accomplishments and contributions were celebrated at a testimonial dinner held at Ripa’s Restaurant on October 17, 2015.

For many years, Bob was our #1 Top Responder to alarms, responding to and actively participating in nearly 500 alarms per year and actually reaching 500 in 2019.

In December 2017, Bob received a proclamation from the Fireman’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) congratulating him on 52 years of service. He was inducted into the Erie County Wall of Honor in October 2021

To document all of the contributions that Bobby has made to both the department and community would require a ream of paper and be an impossible feat. He was not only a role model for our members setting both an example with his work ethic and pride for the department, but he was also a part of our family and we are honored to call him one of our own.

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Bob passed away on December 25, 2024. His badge #97 was retired in his honor.

Thomas Schlicht joined the Town Line Volunteer Fire Department on July 7, 1967 and still serves as an active member. Tom is continuously one of our Top 3 Responders to alarms. During the past 58 years, Tom has served in several offices. Some of his accomplishments are below.

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• 1969 to 1973 - Vice President/Membership Committee Chairman

• 1970 - Student in Erie County's 2nd EMT class and EMT for over 25 years.

• 1970s - Co-Chairman of the Town Line Fireman's 3-Day Fundraising Picnic

• 1975 to 1976 – Treasurer

• 1977 - Board of Directors – Director

• 1980s - Member of Bingo Committee

• 1998 - Co-Chairman of Station #1 Building Expansion Project

• 1994 to present - Board of Directors – Directors of Finance, Insurance, Building and Grounds. Also served as Chairman of the Board for several years.

• 2004 – President

• 2012 to present - Service Award Trustee and Chairman

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Tom was awarded the Firefighter of Award in 1999 and 2019, the Life Saving Award in 2013, served on countless committees including the committee for the firefighter memorial monument, Station 1 expansion in 1998, Station 2 original building in 1972, Station 2 Expansion in 2004, and others. Tom also played on the fire department hockey team in the 1970s. Additionally, Tom has been one of our top responders for the past several years and is a key member of our daytime response crew as well as a member of the fire prevention presentation team.  Tom also is the go-to finance expert and takes care of all things buildings and grounds related.

 

Tom was honored for his 50 years of service at a testimonial dinner held on July 15, 2017 at the Lancaster Country Club.  In December 2017, Tom was presented a proclamation from the Fireman’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) congratulating him on 50 years of service. Tom was inducted into the Erie County Wall of Honor in October 2021.

 

Together with his wife, Diana, Tom raised a son and daughter in their home in Alden and remained best friends until her untimely and sudden passing in 2021. His pride in his family is evident with stores he shares about his many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Tom is also a member of the National Ski Patrol and has been providing EMS services and training to the skiing public for over 40 years.

 

While it is impossible to list all of the accomplishments and contributions Tom has made throughout his many years of service with the department, it is without question that he is an integral part of both the operations and leadership. Tom is both a role model and inspiration to many and a true part of our family.