Lewes dedicates Louis A. Rickards Museum
More than 100 firefighters and guests gathered at the Lewes Fire Department firehouse Saturday, June 18, to dedicate the department’s Louis A. Rickards Museum.
Although the late morning heat was blistering, it wasn’t hot enough to deter those who knew Rickards and worked with him as a firefighter.
Rickards was killed Feb. 3, 2002, in an auto accident while traveling with his wife, Naomi, to a Delmarva Firefighter’s Convention in Virginia.
He served the department for 39 years and was fire chief for seven years. Rickards was in his 13th year as department president when he died.
“Lou could stand in front of a crowd of 400 people and not miss a word of a speech during a special event. But if the fire siren was blowing, sometimes he could barely speak a complete sentence,” Gordon Davis, Lewes Fire Department president, said at the dedication.
During Rickards’ tenure as president, two new fire stations were built, and the department purchased 15 pieces of apparatus.
“Lou’s work with fundraising was unmatchable. He could justify funding or a need for a donation from nearly anyone. His passion for making the Lewes Fire Department an exception to the rule is still easy to see today by the beautiful facilities and state-of-the-art apparatus we operate,” Davis said.
Rickards was a memorabilia buff, Davis said, and in 1998 he mentioned an idea about creating a place to display the department’s 1924 American LaFrance fire engine.
“It was his dream to have this fire truck on display,” Davis said of the fully restored vehicle in the museum behind him. Sadly, Rickards died before he could see his dream come true.
“Lou would have been proud of what we’ve done,” Davis said.
The museum, completed in 2007, also houses a 1901 Holloway hose cart and other items chronicling the department’s 215-year history.
A bronze plaque bearing Rickards’ likeness in fire fighting gear has been affixed on the wall outside the museum.
Leonard Tylecki, a past Lewes Fire Department chief who is now Rehoboth Beach Fire Department’s chief engineer, presented Lewes with an ornate plaque honoring Rickards.
Rickards’ son, William “Hank” Rickards, is a U.S. Marine serving in Afghanistan. To honor his father, he sent a framed American flag that had flown over Camp Ramadi, Al Anbar, Iraq, during operation Iraqi Freedom.
Lewes Mayor Jim Ford acknowledged Rickards’ numerous contributions to the fire department and thanked department members for their service.
“Today, Lewes faces many challenges to continue to provide the quality of life we all treasure. There is no larger challenge than the protection of human life,” Ford said.
He said one item he has received and values most as mayor is the book documenting the fire department’s 200-year history.
“I leave you with these words taken from the introduction of the book. ‘Christmas Day, 1983. Again, with 50-mile-per-hour winds and a temperature of 9 degrees, the department is in service at Pilot Point at Lewes Beach. Wind-chill factors were at 30 below as firemen and apparatus from 15 communities raced to assist us in conditions that were not fit for man or beast. What type of person leaves their family on Christmas Day to go out in 30 degree below wind-chill, to get wet, to climb a ladder with 2 inches of ice on it. To become so cold they no longer have any feeling and are well into the danger zone. To hold a nozzle spraying water that encases it like an ice cube. To pass up Christmas dinner for a cold cup of coffee - or even colder ham sandwich. The answer is simple: The men and women who comprise the membership of this and every other volunteer fire department since the days of Ben Franklin. Since 1796, citizens in Lewes have stepped forward to join the ranks of the town’s volunteer fire service.’ The author is Louis A. Rickards,” Ford said.
