| A sign at the intersection of Oak Street and Main reminds me of some interesting stories and memories of John J Coughlin. It is difficult to confirm the veracity of some of these stories surrounding him.. He was Chief of the Brewster Fire Department from 1960 to 1962. He was also County Car 2 in the Putnam County Fire service. When mutual aid was needed by a fire department. He coordinated the necessary assets requested.
He was the first one to report the crash of a four engine Constellation passenger plane on Hunt Mountain in North Salem. For more details about that incident, look at Incident News 10/06/21entitled Two Four Engine Passenger Planes Collide over Carmel.on this website.
"JJ Couglin Septic Tank Service" is mentioned on the sign. It was a great paint job since it is still legible in 2026. John died in 1987 (See picture #1). He also had a pig farm near Rt. 124
John drove a Big Cadillac whenever he was not driving his Septic truck, He always seemed to have a cigar in his mouth. He served in the Army in WW II and was captured. He escaped but was bayoneted during his escape. Two fellow American soldiers carried him to safety.
Ironically one time while fighting a fire at Rt. 22 and Rt. 312 (where a Dunkin Donuts is currently being built), he fell into a septic tank., He was not a happy camper!
Once his son hit the rear end of another car. John asked his son "How fast was that car backing up?
Another time he pulled a prank on another Chief. As the other Chief was laughing at a sexual toy found at the I 684 Rest Area, John stuck it into the other Chief's mouth! That Chief chased him with a fire axe through the firehouse and across the street. It was amazing how fast he could run when being chased with an ax.
One incident involved a John splashing someone with his wet fingers. That someone threw a pail pf soapy water at him. The response was a hose line then being used in the water fight. That resulted in an engine connecting to a hydrant. Just a water fight!
Barn fires were not unusual.. The problem with barn fires was that they contain hay and would constantly rekindle. One of the younger members got bored at barn fire hosing down the hay. After a couple of hours he turned the hose on John. John picked the firefighter up and put him in the folding tank that was full of water.
Frequently, John would drive head-on towards Joe Palmer who was driving a grader.down the road. This would force Joe on to the shoulder of the road. Joe did get the last laugh. One day he was driving a brand new grader. The new grader had an articulating rear-end. As John was taking his usual head-on approach to the grader. As usual Joe swerved to the shoulder as usual but swung his new articulating rearend into the road. This forced John to veer on to the opposite shoulder, over the embankment and into a field. |
