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Box 13 Associates was formed on May 1, 1933, by a group of businesspeople and
professionals who were interested in the operation, welfare, and public relations
of the Cincinnati Fire Department. That spirit continues on
today.
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| In case you missed it, Hyde Park Living Magazine April 2008
edition, has an article about Station 46 in Hyde Park and an
article about Box 13.
Here
is a link to that article. |
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Grant Gillespie, Former Chief of
Box 13 and member for 62 years Dies
GRANT F. GILLESPIE Box 13 Member, December
8, 1915 – January 4, 2008. Grant was born in Middletown, OH.
moving to Cincinnati early on. A life long fire buff and a
member of BOX 13 since 1945; he served as Deputy Chief for many
years. Grant, being the most tenured member of BOX 13, was by
far our most familiar and recognized member. Grant was a Withrow High School Alum, a Miami University graduate, where he
was a member of Beta Theta Pi and affectionately referred to as
“Bone Crusher”. He was a veteran of WWII. Grant
had the
distinction of being accepted into BOX 13 while still on active
military duty in France with the U.S. Army Armored Division
where he had attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. After the war
Grant served as a manufacturer’s representative for many years
for the Ferdinand Dieckmann Co., as he put it, “selling
elbows”. He was widely traveled due to his professional
obligations and never passed up an opportunity to catch an out
of town fire or fire station.
In addition to his BOX 13
activities Grant was a member of the Hyde Park Masonic Lodge,
Syrian Temple Shrine of Cincinnati, Scottish Rite and the
Cincinnati Club where he served on the board and as
Vice-president. You may have seen him scooting about in one of
the many local parades he participated in driving his Mustang
go-cart with the Shriners. Grant lived with his wife Marie in
Kenwood where he was a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.
Grant had three children, two step children, eight grandchildren
and three great grandchildren. Grant’s son John is a retired
Cincinnati Fire Lieutenant.
Memorials may be made to Good Shepherd
Lutheran Church or Shriners' Crippled Children’s Home in
Lexington, KY. |
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click on photo to see full size
Sunday, 11 FEBRUARY 2007 18:42HRS
2610 STANTON AVE BTN WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT AND OAK (WALNUT HILLS)
About 20 minutes after
photographer was on scene fire starts to blow out Side C attic area.
Click Here to
see 20 photos of the scene.
photo by Bill Strite member Box 13 |

click on photo to see full size
SATURDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2007
17:06HRS*
4140 KIRBY AVE BTN
HANFIELD & CHASE (NORTHSIDE)
BOX 3447 - Engines 20,12
Trucks 20,19 RATT 32,
Districts 2, 3 Rescue 38
Squad 9.
Click Here to see
additional photos of the scene.
Photo by David Jones member Box 13 |
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click on photo to see full size |

click on photo to see full size |
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Box 13 on display at Cincinnati Fire
Museum.
photo by Steve Hagy member Box 13 |
Cincinnati Firefighters at work.
photo by Steve Hagy member Box 13 |
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Mission
Box 13 Associates is an organization of professionals,
executives, and business owners that supports the Cincinnati Fire
Department in promoting and improving fire safety protection, in
promoting effective medical response, and in promoting
state-of-the-art hazmat and terrorism response, by assisting
the department, the fire administration, and the men and women of
the department in any capacity as is appropriate. Box 13 interacts
with the Greater Cincinnati community, business, and the city
administration to promote the mission and needs of the Cincinnati
Fire Department and the welfare and safety of the department's
members. Box 13 provides financial support, scholarships, and
awards, and assists with public awareness, fund raising, special
projects, and other activities that promote and support the
effectiveness of the Cincinnati Fire Department.
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Here is how one member describes the
organization:
I would like to tell you about the most exciting organization
I’ve ever been associated with.
Well, not just exciting, it’s more!
It’s rewarding and offers a great deal of personal
satisfaction. You
can have fun and make a real contribution to one of our
community’s most valuable and respected resources!
What am I talking about?
Well it’s an organization that has been in existence
now for 70 years! Not
a headline grabbing, publicity seeking, flag waving bunch.
No, just a group of concerned people with a desire to
contribute in some way to the wonderful tradition of the
nation’s first professional fire fighting force.
Sound
interesting? Well
think about this. Could
you enjoy a meal or a visit to one of Cincinnati’s fire
stations? Could you
stand a complete change from that hum-drum daily routine?
Well, Box 13 Associates of the Cincinnati Fire Department
could be the answer. A
true service organization where you can make a solid
contribution to the remarkable men and women that comprise the
Cincinnati Fire Department.
We take dinner to a different fire station each month, we ride
along on emergency runs, (if you so desire) we recognize the
firefighters for their achievements.
We participate in their activities.
We supply little things like shift calendars, we’ve
even been known to help drag a hose line or assist in changing
an air bottle at a fire! There’s
nothing else in the city, no nothing in the rest of the country,
that compares to Box 13!
Howard
Kuhnell, member and former Box 13 Chief
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From:
JOSEPH MERCURIO [mailto:josephcmerc@msn.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May
06, 2003 9:20 AM
To: webmaster@box13.org
Subject: Fire
Department
To
Box 13 Being retired for 21 years, and a
member of the Cincinnati Department for 31 years I want
to thank you for all you have done. There was always a
member from Box 13 when we had an extra alarm fire, they would
HELP us out anyway they could. I remember when I was a rookie, at
a three alarm, their was this man working right with us, I didn't
know who he was. later on they told me that he was a member of Box
13.
Thank
You and keep up the good work.
J.
C. Mercurio
(Joe Mercurio joined CFD 1-5-53, under fire chief Barney Houston.
He spent time in the 3rd district on Ladder 2, Engine 13,
then went to Engine 43 for about 10 years, R. Spelman was the
Marshall. Joe transferred to Engine 12 for a few years,
then got promoted to Aerial Truck Operator, traveled in the 4th
district. He then made regular on Ladder 14, from which he
retired, March 5, 1982. During his time with CFD he
traveled on a lot of Companies: L2, E14, E29, E5, E13, E12, E43,
E21, L13, L5, L8, E20, and E34. He says that there
might be companies he missed. Joe was a cook in the
Military, and also cooked when he was in the department.
He says that believe it or not he still cooks today, because he
enjoys it. He watches the cooking channel all the time
Emeril LaGasse is his favorite.)

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Last updated
05/01/2008 |
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