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This 1931 Howe was created using a 1931 Ford Model AA, with a 1931 Boyer bed and a 1914 piston pump. It is believed the Howe Company acquired the pump as a trade-in to use in this new apparatus. As is the trademark with many Howe apparatus, the suction hose attached to the pump is draped across the front of the vehicle. This is called a “squirrel tail” suction hose.
The Converse, Indiana Volunteer Fire Department purchased this Ford/Howe as its first fire truck. It served the firefighters faithfully until 1950, when it was decommissioned and replaced with a new fire truck. After its retirement, the Howe pumper was used in local festivals and parades. The town of Converse purchased it for display in the Koorsen Fire Museum.
The Howe Fire Apparatus Company was an American fire apparatus manufacturer based in Anderson, Indiana. In 1904, Howe began experimenting with gasoline-powered pumpers – a revolutionary idea that would change the way fires were fought forever. One year later, Howe delivered their first automobile pumper to LaRue, Ohio, making the company one of the earliest producers of motorized apparatus in the U.S. Howe continued to experiment with and perfect its design throughout the 1900s.
