Journal & Topics Media Group | Serving Chicago's Great Northwest Suburbs

By Anne Lunde | on May 25, 2022

Ralph R. Bishop poses by the Lil’ Pirsch pumper truck along Talcott in the days when he drove it in the Memorial Day parades himself.

The late Ralph R. Bishop spent many years in the Park Ridge Memorial Day parades, driving a red fire truck which had served the city since before 1920. This year’s parade will recognize Bishop’s service to the community by naming him as grand marshal, and entering the same fire truck in its return to Park Ridge and the parade.

The Lil’ Pirsch had first come to Park Ridge under a different label, but within a few years its original pumping mechanism was out of date. The new “modern” system was installed in 1921 by the Pirsch company in Kenosha, WI, a firm that produced firefighting equipment until 1980.

Bishop grew up with the pumper truck. His father, Ralph E. Bishop, joined the volunteer department when he moved to Park Ridge in 1910, and two uncles were also in the department. Ralph E. served in all the ranks, eventually serving as chief 1937-1941 and retiring in 1962 after 52 years of service.

Ralph R. Bishop served in the Army in 1945-46 and in the Illinois National Guard for three years. In 1950 he became the department’s sixth paid firefighter. He was also a proud member of American Legion Post 257, which sponsors the Memorial Day parade.

Bishop’s interest in fire engines and fire equipment and history kept him keeping track of equipment in Park Ridge and surrounding departments.

He had helped to repair and drive the truck even after it was sold to Drake Funeral Home, which used it in local parades. Drake sold it to the Memphis, TN, fire department, and the Park Ridge Historical Society made retrieving the Lil’ Pirsch and returning it to Park Ridge a priority. It took many years and Bishop’s meticulous records for the historical society to get it back home. Bishop was able to see the truck when it first arrived. He died in December 2020 at the age of 93.

The Historical Society will also pay tribute to Ralph’s brother. Emmett T. Bishop served in World War II in the 33rd Division, 108th Combat Engineer Battalion from 1942 to the end of the war in 1945 in the South Pacific. He earned a Bronze Star for meritorious service in Northern Luzon, Philippines, and a number of other medals for his service.

Emmett returned to be appointed a captain in the volunteer fire department until that unit was dissolved in 1968. His medals will be carried in the parade by Nathan Lazzaro, a Troop 50 Boy Scout, who will march behind the fire truck.

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