Patch Portrait: Niles Scout Restores Firefighting History

This week's Patch Portraits was produced and edited by Pam DeFiglio, Jennifer Fisher and Andrea Hart. Check back on Mondays for the next installment.

Also showcased, a Wilmette pastor delivering his final Easter sermon and Northbrook's seven-year debate team dominators.

When John Kaczkowski was looking for a project to do to secure his Eagle Scout rank in the Boy Scouts of America, he didn't have to look far.

As a member of the Niles Fire Department Explorer post--a group of teens and young people interested in learning about firefighting--he knew the department had a small museum that housed an antique pumper, called Blue Boy, that the department bought from Evanston back in the early 1900s. 

One small but sun-filled room in the Niles Fire Department was devoted to Blue Boy and lots of other antiques and historical equipment. However, the room was dirty and unkempt, the windows were drafty, and the artifacts were jumbled and dusty.

Kaczkowski brought order to the chaos, cleaning up the mess, getting the windows refitted, and cataloging and labeling all the artifacts. In this video, he shows off some of the museum's treasures. And yes, he attained his Eagle Scout rank last year.