February 12, 1980

In the wake of a year’s coverage on the issue by the alternative campus newspaper, Unscrewed, he college bought a fire truck for $10,000 from the Arlington Fire Department to replace its old engine, a 1954 Ford that had difficulty starting, pumping and carrying water. “The old truck,” reported The Miscellany News, “served mainly to give the volunteer force a ride to the scene of a fire.”

Vassar’s fire chief, John J. Phillips, and Robert Kluge, director of plant operations, credited Unscrewed for drawing attention to the need for a new truck, but they discouraged the notion that students or a student organization might purchase the old truck. “Kluge was skeptical,” said The Misc., “of the feasibility and legality of auctioning it on campus. He also said that for safety reasons the truck would not by installed as a monument on campus. Since the truck is a veritable antique, many people feel that the college and students could benefit from an imaginative and creative use for the old truck.”