VIDEO: On display in Primghar at RAGBRAI will be the latest historic find for the town, an old fire engine. But how they found it is quite the journey for this unique find. This truck is a 1941 original fire engine, and it is believed that it was purchased by the Farmers Mutual Insurance Association of O’Brien County for Primghar back in the day.
Fire Chief Cory Crouch of the Primghar Fire Department pulled the fire truck out of the bay on Thursday morning. But the fire department says it doesn’t have records of when it left the department. One day in April this year, on Facebook Marketplace, this truck popped up for sale near Sioux Falls.
Crouch said, “A former member of our department who lives in Paulina found it and sent it to one of the other officers on a Sunday. We started chatting, and I think it was 9 or 10 in the morning, and by 7 Sunday night, we had it back here.” It was even advertised on Facebook Marketplace as a ‘piece of history’ from Primghar, and on the side of the hood, you can still see Primghar on the decals.
The town pitched in donations to purchase the truck and bring it back home to Primghar. Crouch said, “We have a great backing here in the community, and within 24 hours of it being back here, we’ve gotten enough donations to pay for it.” He continued, “We as officers were talking that once a truck leaves, you’ll almost never find it back.”
