567 Carnegie Ave, Peterborough, Ontario, K9L 1N1

705-745-4404

Peterborough Firefighter

Don Willcock

I first came across references to Thomas Rutherford during my research into the Peterborough Fire Brigade. He joined the Brigade in 1866, became its Chief in 1881, and held that post until 30 June 1908 when the volunteer brigade was disbanded to be replaced by the permanent Peterborough Fire Department. No one else held the position of Fire Brigade Chief for a longer period -- a great tribute to his capabilities and popularity in an era when the firemen themselves elected their officers annually.

As I did some digging into Thomas Rutherford, I encountered a most capable and interesting local historical figure. He was born in Peterborough in 1849, and was a life-long resident. His father was Robinson Rutherford, who served on Peterborough's first town council (1850) and for many years afterwards. Thomas, as a young man, was a cricketer renowned throughout Ontario for long drives that "are still talked about by the old residents [of Peterborough]" (Examiner, 23 August 1915). He was an equally adept curler who led the Peterborough rink in Tankard competitions. Thomas Rutherford seems to have developed his sense of civic responsibility early in life: the same year (1866) he became a fireman he also enlisted in the local militia to meet the Fenian threat -- despite being under age. He also was a member of the Fire Brigade Band.

Thomas and his only brother Christopher, also a long-serving firefighter, were contractors by profession. Their family company built many hotels, stores, and other buildings in Peterborough. They also had a hand in erecting some of this community's more significant structures: the Customs House (demolished), the old Post Office (demolished), Market Hall & Clock Tower, the old Public Library (now the Carnegie Wing of City Hall), King Edward School, Mount St Joseph Convent, and the Catholic House of Providence (demolished to build the present Marycrest Home for the Aged). It was perhaps this construction expertise that helped both Thomas and Christopher Rutherford to be such good firefighters.

Thomas Rutherford's firefighting career was not entirely without controversy. In 1879 and 1880, the Brigade members were at loggerheads with the Peterborough Council as to the future status of the town fire service, and its administration and command structures. From its inception in 1850, the Fire Brigade had been a volunteer force that elected its own officers, mostly governed and disciplined itself, and even raised money for some of its equipment (notably uniforms). However, in the late 1870s there was discussion about the state of firefighting in Peterborough - with more emphasis on the lack of equipment and funding than any question of the men's abilities or dedication. The Brigade was re-organised (a practice sometimes employed by the town leaders when a bigger municipal fire budget was suggested) in mid-1880. Thomas Rutherford was nominated by the men, and appointed Chief by Council, for 1881. Francis Hincks Dobbin comments that Chief Rutherford was a "capital example of homegrown man in the service. Possibly in a larger field and he might have attained provincial prominence as an experienced fire fighter." (History of the Peterborough Fire Department (1925) p. 41).

In 1908 the volunteer Fire Brigade was replaced by the permanent Peterborough Fire Department. It was not an amicable change-over. Mainly because Council did not ask Chief Rutherford to submit his application to be chief of the new force - even as a courtesy to this veteran firefighter - the entire Brigade resigned en masse, although they did continue to respond to fires. The grand parade of Peterborough firemen and citizens, on the evening of 30 June 1908, that marked the end of the volunteer Brigade was in part a tribute to Thomas Rutherford from his men and the community, and partly a protest against Council's hiring of an out-of-town chief. Chief Rutherford seems to have taken Council's snub more quietly than many of his colleagues.

On Sunday, 22 August 1915, Thomas Rutherford succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 66 years. He was survived by his wife, sons Walter (Peterborough) and Ernest (Milwaukee), daughters Mrs Roy Richardson (Milwaukee) and Mrs George Hardill (Orillia) and Mrs. H.P. Morgan (Peterborough), his brother Christopher, sisters Mrs James Kendry and Mrs J.D. Craig and Mrs Sharpe and Miss Sarah Rutherford (all of Peterborough).

The funeral was held on 24 August at the Rutherford home on Union Street, with a final procession to Little Lake Cemetery. It was most fitting that six members of the old volunteer Peterborough Fire Brigade served as pall bearers for their last chief.

Don Willcock