Ding dong bell! Ding dong bell! List to the call of the old fire bell. Heed it well! Heed it well! Joe’s off to the fire in mad pell-mell. –Joseph Schneider – Fireman Extraordinary
This short poem appeared in the January 5, 1921, issue of the Riverside Daily Press, calling attention to Riverside Fire Chief Joseph Schneider, who served the city fire department for 46 years, the longest tenure in the history of the Riverside Fire Department.
Joseph Schneider was born on March 7, 1863, in Sainte Marie, a small village in southeastern Illinois. At the age of 13, he left school and went to work in trades such as farming and railroading. In 1886, young Joseph came West, settling in Riverside with one year in Perris. He worked in various grocery stores, including the Blue Front, J. R. Newberry, and Witherspoon Grocery. On Nov. 4, 1890, he married Nettie Jackson, who had moved to Riverside from Canada. The couple had two daughters – Rena and Muriel…