Jack Phillips, 90, is 'privileged' to serve

WHO: Irving Jack Phillips, who at age 90 is said to be the oldest elected officer of a fire department in the United States. Born Jan. 2, 1920, at Point Peninsula, Jack Phillips is treasurer of the Three Mile Bay Volunteer Fire Department.

So, are you thinking of retiring?

"I'll just keep going as long as they want me. It's great to be able to do what I do. I feel privileged. Nobody wants the job because there's work to it. I work on the books every day. I really don't want to give it up; it keeps my mind active, keeps me busy."

How long have you been treasurer?

"I became treasurer in 1973. I'm all the time hollering about money. I'm pretty stingy about spending. I don't want to spend unless necessary. Our trucks are fairly late model, and are all bought and paid for.

"I also handle the bingo and pull tab accounts. Between those and the department's funds, I probably control between $55,000 and $60,000."

Are you a charter member of the fire department?

"I joined in April 1947, their first year, but I'm not considered a charter member because I wasn't at their first meeting. I was at the second meeting.

"Our first fire station was a vacant former gas station, and our first truck was a chemical truck donated by the Chaumont fire department. Then we bought a cab and chassis, built a rack on the back of it, and mounted a pump.

"We were the first fire department in Jefferson County to have an ambulance. We bought a hearse in Syracuse. Later we converted a 1958 Ford station wagon, removing the front passenger seat to make room for the stretcher."

"I was fire chief one year, in 1953. I became an EMT in 1976, stayed with active firefighting until about 1985, but continued as an EMT until 1996."

You must have some special memories from your years as a volunteer firefighter?

"There was a house fire while we were having our firemen's field days in July 1968. I was the first one on the scene, and we didn't know if anybody was inside. Nobody else would go in, and I had my dress uniform on, but I went in. They weren't there. They were at the firemen's field days.

"And there was a house fire in Chaumont. I was told that a woman was inside, so I went in and found her. She wouldn't leave because she couldn't find her purse. I got her out, but not until after she found the purse.

"It hurts most when children are involved. There was a boating accident in a storm. The boat was washed ashore and smashed, and all the occupants were thrown into the water. One of them was a little girl, about the same age as my daughter Cindy, maybe eight years old. It was about 1952. Somebody got her out of the water. I'm in the ambulance, and we tried working on her, but she didn't make it."

You mentioned Cindy. Tell us about your family.

"My parents were Robert and Fannie Graves Phillips. My mother died at 38, when I was 11. I had three sisters, and one, Florence Weiler, lives in Ogdensburg.

"I entered the Army Air Corps in 1942 and became an aerial engineer. While I was in the service, I married Elnora J. Benney of Chaumont, on June 19, 1943. She died in 2007.

"I have four daughters, Cynthia Schreiber of Three Mile Bay; Pamela R. Heasley of Watertown; Darla Taylor of Chaumont, and Jackie Crandall in Victor. And I have nine grandchildren and six great grandchildren."

You have spent most of your life in Three Mile Bay?

"Yes. I was discharged from the service in 1946, and then I operated an Esso gas station in Three Mile Bay for about 15 years. I trusted too many customers, and when I got a chance to go to the state Department of Transportation, I closed the station in 1968. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I worked there 15 years, and retired in 1983.

"I went to work for Guilfoyle Ambulance as an EMT and coach driver, and retired from there when I was 76."

How do you stay in good health?

"Well, I quit smoking 53 years ago, but I've had some close calls. I had a heart attack in December 2006, and in April 1976, I almost died from a reaction to medication. But I figure I'm doing pretty well for an old fart. I walk three and a half miles a day, just in over an hour. I get up and out early to avoid the heat of the day. I time myself, so I don't want to be interrupted. I always take the same route, out in the country, and it's not all level ground."

"I used to be 6-foot-5, but I've lost a couple inches. I keep my weight right around 163 pounds."

Any hobbies?

"I'm a self-taught carpenter. It's something I love to do. I do the best that I can.

"The fire department bought a building for a teen center five years ago, and they named it the Jack Phillips Building. Then they started the bingo hall, a 70-by-30- foot structure. I refurbished both, alone.

"They asked me to do it, and I told them if I'm going to do it, leave me alone."

If you want to suggest somebody for a Watertown Daily Times Q&A, drop a note to Dave Shampine at dshampine@wdt.net.