Hi Donna, Your blog speaks of Chief F. A. McCorkle as being the Fire Chief in Tuscumbia in 1941. My uncle, Ed Byrd, was Fire Chief in the late 1940s. Did he succeed Chief F. A. McCorkle? I remember very well the Fire Department then was built into a hill on S. Dickson Street where the Fire Station is now. The Chief’s home was a stone house which sat on top of the hill and fire station. There was a fire pole in the closet and my brother, Bob, and I used to love to slide down it.
In front of the home, above the entrance to the fire station, there was a large concrete patio. When I was about 10 years old, I was on that patio with Chief Byrd’s wife, my aunt Ola Byrd. And her granddaughter, my cousin, Brenda Kay Hardin Hall, was in her stroller. A young boy came running up and told Aunt Ola that her nephew, Benny Byrd, had been hit by a bus and killed while riding his bicycle. I believe it happened further south on Woodmont Drive. Benny came down a hill onto Woodmont on his bicycle and was hit by the bus.
I recall so clearly that when Aunt Ola got the message, she left me to babysit Brenda Kay and she went to comfort the family. And, I vividly recall the feeling I had at that time. I had never heard of or experienced anyone being killed – and when Aunt Ola suddenly left me there with the baby, Brenda, my vivid imagination took over and had me looking all around for ghosts.
Funny how vivid those memory are and I am 79 years old. I suppose it is because that time was when Uncle Ed was Fire Chief and I got to visit all the time. But, then, God has blessed me with a strong memory – for I still recall much of my childhood in Tuscumbia and Sheffield.
By the way, before Uncle Ed became Fire Chief, he was also a member of the Tuscumbia Police Department. I have a photo of him in his police uniform. Thanks for giving me a chance to take a walk down memory lane. God bless, Bill Gray
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Hi Donna, Your blog speaks of Chief F. A. McCorkle as being the Fire Chief in Tuscumbia in 1941. My uncle, Ed Byrd, was Fire Chief in the late 1940s. Did he succeed Chief F. A. McCorkle? I remember very well the Fire Department then was built into a hill on S. Dickson Street where the Fire Station is now. The Chief’s home was a stone house which sat on top of the hill and fire station. There was a fire pole in the closet and my brother, Bob, and I used to love to slide down it.
In front of the home, above the entrance to the fire station, there was a large concrete patio. When I was about 10 years old, I was on that patio with Chief Byrd’s wife, my aunt Ola Byrd. And her granddaughter, my cousin, Brenda Kay Hardin Hall, was in her stroller. A young boy came running up and told Aunt Ola that her nephew, Benny Byrd, had been hit by a bus and killed while riding his bicycle. I believe it happened further south on Woodmont Drive. Benny came down a hill onto Woodmont on his bicycle and was hit by the bus.
I recall so clearly that when Aunt Ola got the message, she left me to babysit Brenda Kay and she went to comfort the family. And, I vividly recall the feeling I had at that time. I had never heard of or experienced anyone being killed – and when Aunt Ola suddenly left me there with the baby, Brenda, my vivid imagination took over and had me looking all around for ghosts.
Funny how vivid those memory are and I am 79 years old. I suppose it is because that time was when Uncle Ed was Fire Chief and I got to visit all the time. But, then, God has blessed me with a strong memory – for I still recall much of my childhood in Tuscumbia and Sheffield.
By the way, before Uncle Ed became Fire Chief, he was also a member of the Tuscumbia Police Department. I have a photo of him in his police uniform. Thanks for giving me a chance to take a walk down memory lane. God bless, Bill Gray
I didn’t know the fire chief made toys.