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WARSAW, OH – On a beautiful fall Sunday afternoon, October 26, 2008, the Walhonding Valley Fire District honored one it’s own with a open house from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., for Ernie “Big E” Norris for his service of 50 years to the fire department.

Family, friends, and area firefighters, gathered together in the meeting room of the fire station to greet Ernie and to congratulate him on his accomplishment. All present let out a cheer as Ernie entered the room. Ernie was presented with a clock plaque, by Chet Beard, which was inscribed with words of appreciation for his 50 years of service. He was also presented with a gift certificate. The crowd yelled out for the typical speech and Ernie said he did not have a speech but he was “thankful to be there”.

Ernie joined the then called, Warsaw Volunteer Fire Department in 1958, when he was about 30 years old. He worked his way through the ranks of the department and became the Chief in 1966 and held that position for about 3 years.

Ernie has seen a lot of changes in the department throughout the 50 years. Most notable has been changes to the fire fighting equipment. He started out with basically a long black raincoat and an oil field hat. There were no air packs, so going into a burning building meant staying low, and not staying long in the structure. Most fires had to be fought from the outside.

Cake and punch were served to all of the well wishers as each took the opportunity to congratulate Ernie for his years of service to the department and the community.