About Larry Suttman
When I went
to the University of Dayton we used slide rules—we didn’t have calculators (they
hadn’t been invented yet) and the abacus was being phased out. Yes, that was
eons ago. I graduated and after a stint with Dictaphone Corporation I ended up
at Good Samaritan Hospital here in Dayton. The first interesting position I had
there was as office manager in the Emergency Room—lots of excitement, esp. in
the evening. Within several years that led to the title of Credit Manager. That
was when it cost only $350 to have a baby.
It
was during that time that I was interested in old cars. I bought a Model T Ford doctor’s coupe. It was
cantankerous, hard to start, and just as hard to keep running. It was also
ugly. One day it was running too hot as usual. This time though the exhaust
manifold got so hot it set the floor boards on fire, filling the interior with
smoke. There were tears streaming down my face as I pulled over, looking for a
house with an outside water spigot. I decided then and there to sell the Model
T. Speaking of Model T’s, I got married during this time and had two lovely
daughters—both almost forty now. Wow! One high point at Good Sam was that I was
instrumental in organizing a chapter of the Hospital Credit Manager’s
Organization—and I wrote the newsletter for the group (prepping me for my Nozzle Notes fame). From there it was to
Good Samaritan (Methodist) Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky where I was
Assistant Controller. Two years at the post proved too boring, plus I was too
far from Dayton.
Back in
Dayton I eventually became the manager of the Barclay Office Building in
downtown, on the corner of First and
Main. This was a really interesting position and I enjoyed it. I was a big fish
in a little puddle, so to speak. About this time I met a girl, she was younger
than I, and she was sparkling, delicate, and ravishing. We married in October
1997, up in Amish country. A bit later we bought a fun little car: a
Metropolitan convertible.
These were designed by American Motors (Nash) and
built in the UK by the same company that made the Morris and MG. It was the
“funnest” car we’ve owned in our lives. Even teenagers would come over and ask
what this cute little car was!
I continued on with the Barclay Building for
32 years—during which I was the manager for both the Barclay and Sonin
(formerly IBM) buildings after several ownership changes. I would have stayed
longer with the latest owner, the Gem Real Estate Group, but I had so many
other things I wanted to do. So I finally retired, hoping to take on the
hundreds of books I had collected for this momentous period. I even built an
impressive 12-foot long bookcase to house part of them preparing for all the
free time I anticipated. Not to be I must admit. In fact I’ve been busier now
than I ever was when I working full-time. It must be because I do more now and
there are a few reasons why my retirement is so active and enjoyable.
First and
most importantly, I had married that wonderful girl, who is not only
breathtakingly delightful, but cute and fun too. Needless to say, she also has
this uncanny ability to make loooong Honey-Do-Lists which keeps me busy. 
Secondly, I am a volunteer at the Miamisburg
Historical Society twice a week (I’m originally from Miamisburg). The many
projects there are endless as they are equally underfunded, undermanned, and
absolutely challenging. For example, just last year our group acquired a very
prized possession: a Hatfield high-wheeler.
In 1907 a
company in Miamisburg built the Hatfield high-wheeler automobile. They are
extremely rare. Only two were known to exist: one in the State Historical
Museum in Columbus, the other in a private collection. We found a third. We
also were able to convince the owner sell it to us—enabling us to bring it back
to its birthplace—at a reduced price. I tried lighting the proverbial fire
under the Society’s members to raise the money. We raised $14,000! Now
Miamisburg has its very own Hatfield high-wheeler in magnificent condition (95%
of it is of original parts)! 
There are many other accomplishments, all of them
interesting and fun. By the way, if you want to volunteer give me a call.
Third,
there have always been fire engines—you know that! Even when I was a little boy
I wanted a fire engine—not a toy but the real thing. Though a hundred reasons
prevented me from owning one for a long time I did what everyone does in the
meantime: I collected red lights, sirens, bells, exhaust whistles,
extinguishers, and such. Our little shed in the backyard was so chock full the
kids in the neighborhood called it Suttman’s Museum. Then there was a major
turning point in my life!
We
purchased a bigger house with a really long driveway and a much larger garage.
A-hah! Of course, I must say that I
didn’t tell my darling wifelet my motives for having a house with these
amenities. Wow! Yes! Now I can get my
very own fire truck! And I did find THE one. Maria and I went to Wheelersburg
to see it. She loved it. She whispered to me, “Let’s buy it.” So we were the
proud parents of a 1937 open-cab, 500 GPM, Seagrave pumper. The body was
rust-free, in beautiful condition! Of course, as with many aged machines it was
not without a few problems: it burned oil, the wiring needed an upgrade, and
the transmission had some bearing problems. Obviously this provided me with a
challenge of sorts. Understand that I’m
at a lost when it comes to mechanical acumen, that’s just a fact of my
life. I thought “double-clutching” had something to do with sex and that
“throw-out bearing” described something that wasn’t worth keeping. Were it not
for the unselfish help of some very kind and good friends, this Seagrave would
not in the great, parade-ready shape that it is in today. I can now get in it
and drive to Columbus or Louisville if I wish (actually my friend Steven McKee
proved it’s worth and sound mechanics last year when we went to Indy for a
muster). By the way, it has a 1952 Buick straight-eight engine. How cool is that?!
I joined
the MVAFAA back in ’82 (1982 that is). I remember it was the same year Jack
Selvey joined. Of course back then I didn’t have a fire truck (a bummer for
me). Without one I grew depressed and out-of-place so I left the group after
two years or so. Fortunately about 20 years later, in 2003, I returned to the
club—but still without a truck of my own. I thought that maybe I could find out
more about what to look for in a fire truck, where to find one, and so forth. I
received invaluable help in this direction. I found the club to be a lot of fun
and interesting. Bob McLain asked me to write some articles for the newsletter
which led to me taking the reins of Nozzle
Notes. Now look what we have: own very own website!
Since 2004 Bob has graciously allowed me to write our newsletter. A real privilege! I get to come up with the ideas, build the stories, conduct the interviews, take the photos, find the old pictures, report the news items, even write the jokes and make the grammatical errors—all of this is I offer to our membership. I was also allowed to make up the original and printed copies (until the March 2010 issue) and send them out. To make that task easier Bob McLain provided stamped, addressed envelopes—good, old reliable Bob! I must confess that whenever I got stuck I always called Bob and he helped me out (which was quite often). Really though, I have fun writing the newsletter. In some ways I am a disgruntled author in search of appreciation. Writing the newsletter is like talking to my wife: I can look at her pretty face and talk forever. The same here, I enjoy it. Give me a particular subject and I’ll give you 1500 words with photos. This reminds me, I’m right at 1500 words.
Here are few more of my favorite pictures:
