By Kevin Bottrell
Goodland Star News – August 2, 2013
Submitted by Newz Group Clipping Service – August 27, 2013
As a new chapter begins for the Wolak Emergency Services Building, it’s a good time to reflect on the storied history of the building with the help of the Sherman County Historical Society, old issues of the Goodland Daily News and The Goodland Star-News.
The building was named after Goodland Public Works Director Edward J. Wolak, who died at age 48 on November 29, 2003. Wolak was a life-long Goodland resident and had worked for the city for 28 years. He was born here in 1955, the son of Janie (Mawek) and Stanley J. Wolak. He graduated from Goodland High School in 1974. In 1976 he married Kathy Racette in Grinnell.
At the time of his death, then city manager Ron Pickman said, “He was a valuable member of the staff and an exemplary employee, the kind every boss begs to have. You wish you could have a 100 like him and feel lucky you got one.”
He was survived by his wife; two sons, Lukas and Shandon; two daughters, Janelle and Andrea; his father; two sisters, Beverly Wolak and Helen Wood; and a brother, Steve Wolak.
Wolak had been instrumental in getting the building renovated for the Aircraft Seal and Gasket Corp., a California company that was setting up an airplane parts factory. About a week after his death, the city commission voted unanimously to dedicate the building in his memory.
There have been a lot of different buildings and businesses on the site of the present day Wolak Building, the first being the Old Opera House, built in 1888 and burned down in 1936. During the 1920s, the opera house building along with several others on the block housed garages, radiator shops and grocery stores.
In 1942, Ed’s Produce—owned by Ed Lathrop—was at 207 West 10th. In 1946, the Gold Coin Cremery moved in on West 10th next to the Rowe Blacksmith Shop. A 1948 directory listed McClung’s Repair Shop at 211 West 10th.
The modern Wolak Building began life as an IGA supermarket in 1969, going by several names including Gene’s IGA and Mosburg’s IGA. The supermarket closed in 1998 and the building stood empty.
On April 30, 1999, a devastating fire swept through the building, causing heavy flame and smoke damage. The fire was spotted by a police officer and put out by the Goodland Fire Department, who had to shut off a transformer at the back of the building and cut out sections of the back wall and roof to get at the fire.
At the time, former Fire Chief Dean Jensen told the Goodland Daily News, “This was a mighty, mighty hot fire and these guys were in a possible life-threatening situation. I have never seen such hard work from a group of guys. I am extremely proud of them.”
The fire was investigated by the Kansas Fire Marshal’s Office. A preliminary estimate put the damage at $300,000.
The fire-damaged building continued to stand empty for several years until the city purchased it from Bankwest. Even then the idea was floated to turn it into a fire station and community building, but no definite decisions were made.
The building was eventually renovated for the Aircraft Seal and Gasket Corp., which never got off the ground. After that, the building housed the Adronics/Elrob Manufacturing Corp., which built vehicle antennas for several years before closing down in 2009. After that, the owner of Bella’s Market in St. Francis leased the building with the intention of setting up a new supermarket. That deal fell through and the city had to revoke the lease.
In 2012, Sherman County took over the ambulance service from Goodland Regional Medical Center. One of the goals of the county commission was to find a new and better home for the service and perhaps build a new station for the rural fire department at the same time. Many ideas were floated, including using the Wolak building, but the commissioners were deep into planning for a new building—to be built on the west end of Eighth Street—when serious negotiations began for a joint city-county project to turn the Wolak building into an emergency services building. The building is now open and houses Northwest Kansas Emergency Medical Services, the Goodland Fire Department and the Sherman Rural Fire Department.
Construction began in January of this year under local contractor Miller Construction. The city furnished the building, while the county handled much of the renovation. The west end of the building was closed off to house the ambulance service with a bay large enough for four ambulances—the newest of which arrived just last week—as well as equipment rooms and living quarters for on-duty emergency medical technicians.
The rest of the building houses the fire departments. Included are offices for the fire chief as well as the ambulance director and ambulance billing director. The building also has a training room which pulls triple duty as the county’s Emergency Operations Center and a community room that can be rented by the public for events.
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