The End of an Era
After 32 years, Rusk retires from the department he helped start
By Ryan Want
Colorado Hometown Newspapers
Joe Rusk milled around the back of the Erie Lions Club near a table covered by coolers of lemonade, iced tea and water last week.
When someone told him he needed to be up front in five minutes to start the awards presentations, Rusk seemed surprised and said: “Well, do what you need to do.”
On Friday, Sept. 21, the 64-year-old battalion chief with the Mountain View Fire Protection District was joined by more than 50 people as they celebrated his retirement.
Friends and family members filled the Erie Lions Club that was decorated with red, white and blue balloons and streamers to honor Rusk’s 32 years of service to the district.
Prior to the awards ceremony, members of the fire department helped serve chicken wings, pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, potato salad and slice the sheet cake that was decorated with a red fire engine, while Rusk spent time surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren.
During the ceremony, several firefighters shared stories of Rusk’s friendship and mentoring and presented him with gifts including a mounted fire badge, axe, bugle, matchbox, an old fire nozzle and a jointer for woodworking.
The beginning of Rusk’s fire career was unexpected and did not begin until his early 30s.
After being asked to help fight a fire near 119th Street and Jasper Road with the Niwot Volunteer Fire Department, Rusk realized there was a pressing need in the area to form a volunteer fire department.
He gathered 18 to 19 people and helped raise $7,000 to build a fire station. He then persuaded the fire district to buy a truck.
“It was a deal where it had to be done,” Rusk said. “The service to the people had to be there. When we started, it was all volunteer. We had six career firefighters who supplemented us, but the rest were strictly volunteer. If we didn’t go, nobody went.”
Firefighting soon became a family affair for the Rusks.
“Joe got involved and after so long of not seeing him I figured I should go see what it was he was doing — before I killed him,” said Judy, Rusk’s wife of more than 40 years.
Judy Rusk did more than just see what her husband was up to, she served as a volunteer firefighter for 23 years. Today, she serves on the board of directors for the fire protection district.
In addition to Judy Rusk’s involvement, the couple’s three children — 38-year-old Brian, 35-year-old Jeff and 29-year-old Chris — often visited the firehouse and were put to work helping clean and fix tanks.
In fact, children were such a consideration that the first engines purchased for the station had automatic transmissions so the youngsters couldn’t accidentally knock the trucks out of gear, Rusk said.
Last week, Rusk talked about the amount of time and dedication firefighting requires, especially volunteer firefighting.
On top of the long hours he put in at the fire station, Rusk also worked a full-time job at the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant. He retired from that post in 1995.
“It takes an awful, awful lot of time and they’re not being compensated for it,” Rusk said of volunteer firefighting. “Well, there is some compensation, about a buck, buck and a half per call, but when you stop to think that there were a lot of times we’re out on fire calls for 12, 16, 18 hours, I can remember one fire that lasted for six days.”
As expected with firefighting, Rusk had his fair share of scary moments which is why he always preached safety.
“Everyone I’ve worked with has heard me say that there’s no way you’re going to get me to go to your house and tell your wife, your husband, your kids that I hurt you or killed you,” Rusk remarked during his retirement party. “You’ve got to go ahead and get through the hard times or solid times or whatever times and take care of each other.”
Judy Rusk said she would rather not recall the scary moments.
But her husband remembered several such incidents. From being frozen to a roof during the winter, to going back into a fire to check for children and being blown out of the house from a backdraft, to falling through a roof, to having a roof fall in on him and be held up only by a refrigerator — there were more than a few moments that made him stop and think.
“When you look back on it you say: ‘Hey, I could’ve gotten killed,’” Joe Rusk said.
Rusk’s presence, dedication and knowledge will be missed by many volunteers in the district.
“Joe’s been a long-term mentor for all of the firefighters,” said Keith Serkes, a Mountain View lieutenant for Stations No. 5 and No. 6. “Joe did training and maintenance, basically a jack of all trades for many, many, many years around here. His presence was there hour after hour.”
The Rusks’ photo albums that circulated during the evening brought back many fond memories.
“There are too many stories,” Fire chief Mike Evans said. “There are 32 years of service there. Those years he averaged 400 calls per year. It’d be tough to sum that up.”
Besides being an integral part of establishing the fire department, Rusk also was key to the most recent Brownsville Fire Station addition where he put his master electrician and woodworking skills to good use.
“We did the framing. We did the electrical work. We did the drywall. We did the cabinets. We did the floors. We did it all,” Rusk said. “We finished the addition in 1995 for $37,000. If you looked at it, we maybe paid for 20 or 30 hours, the rest was strictly volunteer.”
“The Brownsville Station was probably 99 percent Joe’s doing,” Serkes said.
“It’s the end of era,” Deputy chief Mark Lawley said. “He had a big impact on my life and an impact on this organization.”
Perhaps the toughest adjustment to retirement for Rusk so far has been the sleep.
“Without my pager going off three or four times a night, I wake up and say something’s missing,” he said. “My subconscious tells me something is missing, but I guess I’ll get used to that.”
Not surprisingly, Rusk is finding ways to stay busy away from the fire department.
Later this year, he is planning at trip to San Antonio for a ship’s reunion to see old friends from his days in the Navy.
After that, Rusk is planning a trip to the University of Wyoming for this year’s homecoming and his 40th-anniversary reunion.
As well as earning a degree in electrical engineering while there, Rusk met his future wife during an 8 a.m. math class.
Also, Rusk is once again putting his construction expertise to use, and probably his new jointer, having taken on several projects in helping to build the new rectory at his church, the St. Scholastica Catholic Church.
“We see people at their best and we see people at their worst, but if we weren’t there and we weren’t doing it, then, it’d probably be worse than that,” Rusk said as he neared the end of his speech. “One thing I’d like you to remember if at all, approach every day with compassion for your fellow man and the people you work with. Treat those people just the way you want to be treated, I think that’s what really makes a difference.”
1/9/2008
Cheer Champs
Squad to compete in national competition in February
By Ryan Want
Colorado Hometown Newspapers
When they’re not cheering for athletic events throughout all three sports seasons, the Erie High School cheerleaders also compete — and do quite well.
In November, the cheer squad won the Patriot League title at Erie High School and last month at the Denver Coliseum, the Erie’s cheer squad won the co-ed division for 1A-3A schools at the 2007 CHSAA State Championships.
“They're incredible, they're 20 very dedicated, hardworking teenagers,” said head cheer coach Erin Brueggeman. “State was incredible, they worked so hard for it.”
Tryouts for the team occur in April and the season continues until mid-March with various camps throughout the summer and practices four or five days per week, in addition to the gymnastics and tumbling classes that most of the girls take.
“It's definitely not old-school cheerleading,” Brueggeman said.
Last year, the team competed in the girls division and placed seventh at state, though Brueggeman said they could have done much better.
“It was the first time they competed last year,” Brueggeman said. “With that disappointment, they went in wholeheartedly this year and nailed it — it was incredible.
Brueggeman, who is also the consumer and family studies teacher at Erie High School, said that the girls are the reason she gets up and comes to school in the morning.
“They're a strong, cohesive team. They really do get along really well. You always have your squabbles, but that happens with any team,” Brueggeman said. “They've really defied the myth of the cheerleader. They have so much fun together it's ridiculous — sometimes too much fun.”
The Erie cheer team is gearing up for the UCA National Cheer Competition on Feb. 7-11, where they’ll compete against teams from all over the country.
“We're going to go ahead and win nationals,” said senior captain Katie Ludwig said. “And we're going to come back tan.”
Brueggeman’s goal for her team is slightly more modest.
“Our goal is to place top 20,” Brueggeman said. “If you can walk off that mat and look me in the eyes and tell me you've given it everything you had, that's all I can ask. We get two-and-a-half minutes for a routine, and it has to be perfect.”
But is cheerleading a sport?
“Yeah it is a sport, that pisses me off,” Ludwig said. “You can't go out and be ditzy and win a state title, you have to go out and work your ass off.”
Junior captain Juliana Grinel also said that cheering is about more than “football and basketball games and mini-skirts.”
To help cover the $20,000 cost to get to nationals, the cheer team will host several fundraisers in the coming weeks. During the Erie boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 15, there will be a silent auction. The cheer team will sponsor a spaghetti dinner at the boys basketball game on Friday, Jan. 18, and a Chik-Fil-A fund-raiser night on Wednesday, Jan. 23.
“We’re the first cheer team at Erie to win state,” said fellow junior captain Sarah Roberts, “and it won't be the last — we're coming back next year.”
