VENICE – Old Betsy, the city of Venice’s 99-year-old fire engine, got its new home on the on the Venice Cultural Campus last week, with history buffs, firefighters and former City Council members turning out for the occasion for the 1926 American LaFrance fire engine.
About six years ago, Earl Midlam and his wife Karen – two primary caretakers of Old Betsy, which served as the city’s only fire engine from 1926 to 1947 – started the effort to build what turned out to be a $550,000 garage and showplace for the iconic vehicle that is still the highlight of any city parade down West Venice Avenue.
As the city prepares for its 18-month centennial celebration, which kicks off with the Venice Holiday Parade on Nov. 29, local officials used the ceremony, which included a ribbon-cutting, push-in and bell ringing, to start expressing their feelings about the milestone.
More than a garage for a fire engine
“We think about this building and it’s a bunch of brick and mortar, we think about this vehicle and it’s a bunch of metal,” said Venice Mayor Nick Pachota, who worked as a first-responder and teaches courses to new emergency medical services providers. “But there’s so much more to this day than metal and brick-and-mortar.
“There’s an entire institution of courageous men and women that go out every single day and they risk their lives for us,” he added. “That’s what this means; this is our community’s dedication to those people that we will not forget the service that they provide us.”
He cited the local public’s community service, saying, “We’re all here because we love our community.”
City Manager Ed Lavallee, who is retiring later this summer, said the event represented a broader legacy that defines what residents consider to be important.
“Old Betsy is an icon for a critically important service – the Venice Fire Department,” Lavallee said. “Old Betsy was critically important when she responded to the Woodmere lumber mill fire in 1929, currently important today to represent our commitment to our legacy and will be very important in 2026, when we start a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of the city and Old Betsy.”
On his turn at the podium, Earl Midlam drew attention to former mayor Dean Calamaras, Korwek, the Venice Lions Club and philanthropist Dr. William H. Jervey Jr.
Karen Midlam highlighted architect Mark Beebe, as well as Venice Area Beautification Inc, and Keep Venice Beautiful – which planted the city flower, hibiscus, around the museum grounds.
A journey to Venice, by way of Moore Haven
Old Betsy was first delivered to Moore Haven on Sept. 9, 1926 and may have remained there, if not for the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926, a Category 4 storm.
The mud dike around Lake Okeechobee broke on Sept. 18, 1926, flooding Moore Haven with 15 feet of water.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers purchased the vehicle and moved her to Venice later that year.
Even back then, Old Betsy was a bit of a celebrity, with Thomas Edison sitting in the truck in January 1927, on one of his several visits to Venice from his winter home in Fort Myers.
According to a 2011 history of the Venice Fire Department written by Jack Mersereau in 2011, the city bought Old Betsy from the Brotherhood in February 1927 for $13,000.
Old Betsy remained in service until 1959.
Affection mixed with humor
Thursday’s ceremony at times bordered on being a jocular roast for Earl Midlam, the popular 75-year-old member of Venice High School’s Class of 1970 (Karen graduated in 1978).
Assistant City Manager James Clinch joked that it was not unusual to hear from Midlam at least once a day and occasionally 10 times, which made him part of Midlam’s inner circle.
Venice Historical Resources Manager Harry Klinkhamer followed up by saying, “If 10 phone calls a day gets you into the inner circle, 20 phone calls a day gets you into the inner sanctum – which is where historical resources fall within Earl’s heart.”
Klinkhamer confessed to having trouble when Midlam allowed him to drive the truck which has no power steering and no brakes and taking it “off roading” and then having to polish the tires afterwards.
He later joked, “I hope you all enjoy Earl’s He-shed,” then added the city could save money on making historical displays by giving Midlam a red velvet recliner, where he could relax and entertain visitors with an oral history of Old Betsy.
In 2011, Midlam and Dorothy Korwek, another longtime history buff who spent 11 years as the director of the city’s historical archives, spearheaded an effort to restore Old Betsy in time for the city’s 85th anniversary in 2012.
A new home with historical touches
Until this month, Old Betsy was stored in a warehouse in the Seaboard District. Clinch noted that more than 130 individual donors had raised more than $218,000 in private donations to build the Old Betsy Museum to a design created by Beebe Design Studio Architects.
Willis Smith Construction did most of the work on the facility.
Still the city’s public works staff – just as they did in converting the old Venice Police Station into a new public works facility – did a lot of work themselves on the Old Betsy museum, including landscaping, installing the flag pole and salvaging, then restoring lights from Fire Station One, which was replaced in October 2021 for use on the new museum.
Midlam, the primary driver of Old Betsy and his wife Karen have become almost synonymous with the engine.
“Earl’s passion for Old Betsy is unmatched,” Clinch said. “But it’s really rooted in the fact that he has a passion for this community and he wants to share this amazing historical asset with future generations – not only us but our children’s children’s children.”
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Venice celebrates new museum home for historic 99-year-old fire engine, Old Betsy
Reporting by Earle Kimel, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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