Mark Hardin’s heart sank when he saw the bank account balance for Calhoun, Mo., volunteer fire department last month: $169. The firefighters, using gear from the 1980s, desperately needed new equipment. “It was pretty discouraging — we’d already been paying for stuff out of our own pockets to keep things going,” said Hardin, a retired firefighter from Arkansas. He is now the volunteer fire chief for Calhoun, a town of about 500 people.

“I probably shouldn’t tell how much of our own money we’ve spent,” he added with a chuckle. “My wife would divorce me.” Hardin and about two dozen other volunteer firefighters didn’t know how they would get through the rest of the year. Most of their $4,800 annual budget had been spent on repairs to keep two firetrucks running. Three other trucks hadn’t worked in years.

Hardin, who took over as chief in 2021, expanded the department from one volunteer firefighter (the former chief) to its current 28. The department’s oldest fire engine is from 1979, and their protective gear is as old as Hardin himself — 40 years. “It’s too expensive to buy new equipment,” Hardin explained.

We’re lucky when we can get things donated from other [fire] departments.”

But a few months ago, Hardin anticipated digging into his own pockets again when his phone rang. The call was from Sam Sloan, 91, a resident who lived about two miles from the fire department. “I’d never met Sam, but he invited me to breakfast,” Hardin recalled. “He wanted to ask me a bunch of general questions about the fire department.”

Mark Hardin had a fire helmet made for Sam Sloan, proclaiming him an honorary fire chief. Photo courtesy of Heather Hardin

After their meeting, Sloan invited Hardin to breakfast again the following week, and then again the week after that. During the third breakfast, Sloan asked Hardin to drop by his house. “I walked in the door and Sam said, ‘What do you think about this?’” Hardin said. Sloan was holding a check made out to the Calhoun Volunteer Fire Department for $500,000. “I’ve never seen a check with so many zeros,” Hardin said. “I was at a loss for words.”

Sloan wasn’t aware of the fire department’s meager bank balance but knew that firefighters had struggled for decades. Sloan told Hardin he had made a good living in the cattle and seed processing business and had decided years ago to make a large donation to the fire department once he retired and sold most of his farmland and businesses.

“When I went out on my own, I was pretty big in the cattle business and had a couple thousand head of cows,” Sloan said.

I was never one to go around bragging about my money. Nobody knew how much I’d saved, and I always saved what I could.”

His luxury today is eating breakfast every morning at the Square 109 café in Clinton, where he met with Hardin. “I wouldn’t say I’ve lived a frugal life — I’ve made money, I’ve invested it, and I’ve spent it,” Sloan said. “All my life, if I tried something that didn’t make money, I’d just move on to something else.”

Calhoun’s volunteer fire chief Mark Hardin presented Sam Sloan with an honorary fire chief helmet in appreciation of his donation last month. Photo courtesy of Justin Jones

Sloan decided to donate because he had always admired volunteer firefighters. “I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, and I knew at this point in my life, I could help,” he said. “It’s important to have a good fire department, especially with all the grass we have around here.”

The kind Sloan only had three requests. First, they buy all the new equipment and gear they needed. Secondly, Sloane said, “I’d like to have a barbecue for the community at my place so [firefighters] can show off their new uniforms.”

And lastly, “And I hope this doesn’t happen any time soon, but someday, I’d like a firetruck to ride in front of my hearse on the way to my funeral.” Hardin said he’s in no hurry to grant that final wish. “We had a helmet made for Sam, appointing him as honorary fire chief,” he said. “I hope he’ll be getting a whole lot of wear out of it.” Watch below for a look at this wonderful man and the local fire department.

Source: Washington Post