A ribbon cutting ceremony for the Kalona Memorial was held August 26. Photo by Sam McIntosh.

Kalona volunteer firefighters, relatives, and friends gathered at the Kalona Fire Department to celebrate the department’s 100th anniversary August 26.

Kalona Fire Chief Steve Yotty reflects on the event, “It was very well attended. I think that the adults enjoyed watching all the TV screens that we had going. One screen had actual video of the fire station being built in 1974. Then the other videos were pictures of firemen and pictures of fires and pictures of fire trucks.”

There was a bouncy house and a portable house structure for kids to spray water on during the event as well. Yotty has been the fire chief for 22 years, and he mentions how it felt to celebrate the fire department’s 100th anniversary, “My father was on the fire department before me so it was very good. I wish that a lot of these gentlemen were here to see all this, not possible of course, to watch and see the way we’ve grown over the years, from the Model-T truck to the pretty big six-man cab pumper that we have today. It’s quite amazing to see the difference from when they started to what we have today with modern technology.”

The Kalona Volunteer Fire Department was also recognized by the city during their annual celebration August 26. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the new Kalona Memorial which honors volunteer firefighters, volunteer EMS, and area veterans. Yotty says he thinks the memorial is a great thing for the City of Kalona, and he complimented Max-Cast on the helmet sculpture they casted.