Lennox Ambulance celebrates 50 years of answering the call
- Lennox Independent Staff
- Aug 13
- 3 min read
On Saturday, April 12, 1975, at 9 a.m. the Lennox Area Ambulance opened its doors with 17 charter members willing to risk their lives to save those in the community. Now, 50 years later, members of past and present, along with the public, are invited to an open house Saturday, August 23 to reminisce about the past.
The Lennox Area Ambulance still has six of the original 17 members since opening day in 1975.
“Marg Miller, Harold Timmerman, Albert Iken, Carolyn Randel, Carole Musch, and Sharon Bossman are all charter members who started the service answering 112 calls from those in need their first year of service and have continued all these years later,” said Director of EMS, Alan Perry.
Perry got his start in the middle of South Dakota where emergencies arrive fast, and training is abundant.
“I worked for two years on the Rosebud Reservation as a paramedic as well as part time in Lennox and Canton prior to becoming the director. In Rosebud, I saw and worked a lot of different types of calls giving me experience with all sides of emergency medical calls,” he said.
Since 2015, Perry and his team of 18 including seven paramedics, two AEMT’s, seven EMT’s, one nurse, and one EMR have been working together to find the latest in lifesaving technology and staying up to date on life saving protocols.
“Everything about EMS has changed over the last 50 years, and it has changed drastically. Everything from the ambulances, as initially they used a hearse to transport patients, to the amount of education that it takes to work on the ambulance. Initially, EMT training was 81 hours and paramedics needed 400 hours, now EMT’s are required 100 to 120 hours and paramedics need to complete 1,200 to 1,800 hours,” Perry said.
To show off all the new improvements, crew members new and old, along with all members of the public are invited to stop down to the ambulance garage on August 23 from 2 to 5 p.m. where a program will be held at 3 p.m. to honor current and former members.
“We want this open house to be a place for community members to join together and reminisce about the past years while enjoying refreshments together,” he said.
Perry and staff are planning tours of the facility to give a behind the scenes look at the life saving equipment.
“Giving tours of the trucks and facilities helps give the public a chance to see what an ambulance looks like on the inside and the equipment they have. Our trucks function as a rolling emergency room and are filled with equipment and supplies the general public may not know about,” he said.
The open house is a time to learn about the equipment, the ambulance, and the men and women who show up in the life-threatening situations.
“We all joined the ambulance knowing that no matter what patient you have, what their needs are, or the circumstances of their emergency, you are there to make a difference. We get to share in the grief with families on their worst day, hold the hand of the dying, bring new life into the world, stabilize medical treatment, and transport, as well as comforting all involved no matter what,” Perry said.