By Nico Roesler
Bonner Springs Chieftain – November 27, 2013
Submitted by Newz Group Clipping Service – December 4, 2013
Stuart Sweeney struggled to hold back tears Saturday as he stood outside the newly named Stuart W. Sweeney building at the Sherman Township Volunteer Fire Department.
Sweeney, celebrating his retirement after 32 years of service, held his grandson in his arms and stood next to his 18-year-old son Jacob Sweeney, who recently joined the fire department. Stuart Sweeney and his fellow retiree Rob Leach, who is leaving the department after 35 years, celebrated in a joint retirement ceremony among family and friends.
“The most important thing I take away from all of this is the friendships,” Sweeney said after being handed a commemorative plaque and a silver ax.
Sherman Township Fire Department Chief Dan Tallman said goodbye to the men in an emotional ceremony after a final farewell call broadcast throughout Leavenworth County via radio.
The dispatcher was heard over Tallman’s radio saying, “You will be missed,” for both Sweeney and Leach.
“These men are part of the reason why we’ve come so far,” Tallman said.
Sweeney, who works for Union Pacific in Bonner Springs, was also a 20-year member of the Sherman Township Board of Trustees and played a key role in building Station 1 off 174th Street. And Saturday, he was able to see the unveiling of his name on the front of the building.
Sweeney said that he was just one of several people who made the new building a reality. Sweeney not only pushed to expand the department but also pushed the department to emphasize medical training so volunteers could be better equipped to save a life when they arrive at a scene.
“That’s one thing I am very proud of, to see how everyone here has taken that on,” Sweeney said.
Leach said his medical training changed his life forever.
“When I started out, I just wanted to help my friends and neighbors, but it turned into so much more,” Leach said. “It’s the single most significant thing I’ve ever done.”
Leach, who joined the department in 1978, was able to pursue a career in firefighting and will continue to do so at the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical Department. Leach has worked there for 15 years.
Leach recalled his early days at Sherman Township Fire Department. He said the department back then would fight a brush fire with 50-gallon buckets and sacks and volunteers drove to fires in their own pickups, or a 1950s-era Jeep Willys they had as a department.
“We used to think that was the coolest thing back then,” Leach laughed.
The township fire department, with the departure of Sweeney and Leach, now has 18 volunteers. Tallman is consoled about Stuart Sweeney’s departure by the arrival of his son.
“At least Stuart gave us a son–I won’t say in place of him, but we’ll take him,” Tallman said. “It takes young people to keep this place going.”
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