Iconoclast view

After attending the Oct. 12 Bluffton council meeting I learned that Larry Core is retiring from the Bluffton fire department. Someone at the meeting asked how long Larry was a member of the department.

Chief Bowden's reply was: "Our records don't go back that far."

Indeed. Larry Core was probably a member of the fire department at his own birth. I can't recall a fire involving the department where Larry was not present. After consulting local sagas (Sam Diller, et al) the consensus was that Larry was on the department from its inception and his inception, and therefore, is not allowed to retire.

None-the-less, he's retiring.

Once upon a time lightening struck the town hall clock tower. The fire department responded quickly to the old lady, using the original Marion, Indiana, hook and ladder. It may have been the only time that piece of equipment was ever used in a serious manner...no, there was another Main Street blaze where it came in handy.

I asked Larry after the town hall fire what was racing through his mind when he learned that the town hall was potentially ablaze. (Please note: at the time of the fire Larry was village administrator.)

In his matter-of-fact conversational style, he remarked that he wasn't certain if he ought to race into his office on the first floor and rescue the village files, or go after the fire on the roof.

Translation: He really thought it might be the end of the town hall. It wasn't and he didn't go after his files. He fought the blaze.

Anyway, Larry says he's retiring from the force. The sound of it on the national level might be similar to Joe Paterno deciding no longer to coach at Penn State.

You get the idea.

Thanks, Larry. Thank for your lifetime work on the fire deparment and everything else you've done for the village. Bluffton would never have been the same without you.