Fire chief retires: Jameson looks back on 40 years of service

Anyone working serving in an organization for many years goes through a process. As the new person, they learn from the veterans. Then they settle in as a worker well versed in the processes and procedures of the establishment. And finally, they are the veteran mentor, providing leadership and guidance from their years of experience on the job.

Mike Jameson has been through that process for more than 40 years as a member of the Lovell Volunteer Fire Department, learning from the veterans, then moving up through the ranks to serve as assistant chief and then chief while providing younger firemen with the benefit of his knowledge and leadership. 

Jameson is in his 41^st year as a member of the LVFD, or at least he was until announcing his retirement last week. He joined the department in 1985 after moving home upon completion of mortuary school in 1982.

He was working with his father, Kirk, at Haskell Funeral Home and also working for John Nickle and Lovell Cable TV when firemen approached him about joining the volunteer department. His uncle, Thales Haskell, was a fireman on the squad.

He served as a regular fireman for a few years, then became training officer with Randy Bowers and moved up to assistant chief when Rich Fink didn’t seek re-election as he looked to retirement around 15 years ago. When Chief Jim Minchow suffered a major medical incident in November of 2018, Jameson was named interim chief, and when Minchow retired, he became the chief in 2019.

When Jameson first joined the squad, he was mentored by the likes of Wes Meeker, Ferrell Mangus, Ed Doerr, Fink and Rich Hettinger, he said, though he hesitated naming names for fear of leaving someone out.

Jameson laughed as he told a story about being outfitted with his bunker gear as a rookie fireman. He got most of his gear, but there were no short boots to be found at the fire hall, just tall boots for weed fires. Well, Meeker took care of that. He simply got out his pocketknife and cut off the top part of the boots, and Jameson had proper boots.

“Those older guys took us under their wing, and you enjoyed being there,” he said. “It was like a family, you know? We got fire calls, and you went and put them out, and then a lot of times you’d hang around down there for an hour. A lot of guys would play liar’s poker, and it was a really close-knit group. That was back when we did the fireworks and the auction every year, and the food baskets. We spent a lot of time together during the year.”

When Minchow took over as chief, the department didn’t have a lot of money, and the equipment was aging. Minchow worked to obtain state grants, and over time, the department obtained numerous new trucks and upgraded equipment with the support of the fire district board for matching funds.

“The equipment was old, and we just did what we could with what we had,” Jameson said. “And then we started being able to get those state grants for new trucks and equipment. That made a huge difference as far as safety and then training. Training (also) improved over the years.”

Fire Protection District No. 1 was the first organized fire district in the state, but the tax money only provided enough funds for operations, and even then, the district had to hold the auction to raise funds. The mill levy didn’t meet the need for enough new equipment, Jameson said, noting that a truck the department purchased recently cost $480,000.

The goal now is to anticipate future needs and save up for the expense, he said.

Jameson said he has truly enjoyed his 40 years with the department.

“What I enjoyed the most was the camaraderie of the guys, like I said earlier. I started out with those older guys and then just evolved into where now I am one of the older guys.”

Jameson said he joined the department just after Minchow and Bob Mangus, and the trio served together for a long time, with Minchow retiring in 2019 and Mangus recently stepping down as station manager and assistant chief, though he remains on the department. Jameson said he hopes the example the trio set will carry on to the younger firemen.

“You know, one of our big things with at least our three guys was safety,” he said. “I mean, we wanted everybody to go home at night and nobody be hurt. Trying to keep everybody safe is our number one goal, I guess. And we’ve done that. We’ve had some minor stuff, but nothing (big). I guess I’m proud of where we are with the equipment we have, mostly because of Jimmy, but I’ve tried to carry that on since I’ve been in charge.”

At 64, Jameson was still an active member of the department until he tore his Achilles tendon a few months ago, an injury that put him in a walking boot for some eight weeks and unable to respond to fires. Even after he got the boot off, the tendon still hasn’t completely healed, he said, so he decided it was time to hang it up.

“I just got to the point where, at my age, I just didn’t want to go out on a call and pop that (tendon) in half and then go out that way,” he said. “Over the last two or three months, I don’t feel like I’ve been of benefit to them (fellow firemen), because I haven’t been able to respond. And so I just finally decided that maybe it’s time to step down and somebody else take over.”

When Minchow retired, Jameson and Mangus (captain) moved up to chief and assistant chief, and Lynn Hitz became the captain. Then when Mangus stepped out of a leadership role, Zach Blain was elected captain. He and Hitz remain as officers, and a department election will be held soon to name a chief and the other two positions.

As for Jameson, he’s still plenty busy running Haskell Funeral Home and serving as the Big Horn County coroner, as well as being a grandpa, he said.