HONORING NAPERVILLE'S FIRST FIREMEN

One Hundred and Thirty Nine Years Ago!  
In 1874, a committee of three men, lawyer C.W. Richardson, Willard Scott, Jr., and Nicholas Yack, was commissioned by the village of Naperville to go shopping for our very first firefighting equipment.  They purchased one hand engine, one hose cart, 700 feet of hose, and other equipment totaling $1,752.00.

On November 21, 1874, Willard Scott, Jr. was appointed as Naperville's first Fire Marshall.  On February 13, 1875, Nicholas Yack was appointed as the First Assistant Foreman Engine Company No. 1 of the Joe Naper Pumper which is on display at Naper Settlement.  Shouldn't we celebrate this event?

From various undated newspaper clippings found in my Mom, Ruth Keroson's, scrapbooks, I recently discovered that Nicholas Yack was my great-great uncle!  To honor the 139th anniversary of his appointment as one of Naperville's first firefighters, I'd like to introduce him to you.

Nicholas Yack was born on May 3, 1839, in France.  He traveled to America in 1844 with his mother, his brothers, his half sister Josephine Doerr, and her financee, Francois Sebastien Ory.

Nicholas enlisted as a Private in the Union Army to fight in the Civil War and later became a Corporal in Company C, Illinois 105th Infantry Regiment.  His commanding officer was Willard Scott, Jr., the son and grandson of Naperville's most prestigious forefathers.  Nicholas served five terms and mustered out on June 7, 1865.

When they returned to Naperville, both Nicholas Yack and Willard Scott, Jr. operated grocery and dry good stores.  Willard's store was in the building owned by his family on the north side of Jefferson Street, later to become Broeker's Department Store.  Nicholas' store was on the corner of Washington and Jefferson Streets, later to become Souk-ups Hardware.

Nicholas went on to build what became known as the Clarion newspaper building at 208-210 South Washington Street.  Initially David Givler, another civil war veteran, occupied half the building and Dr. Daniel's drug store the other half.  Dr. Daniel's personal residence, a beautiful white house, is now at the Naper Settlement.

Nicholas Yack died on January 4, 1893, and is buried at SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery.  For more information and pictures, see Kathy Keroson's newly-released memoir, "My Hometown-Naperville," which can be purchased by emailing kathykeroson@gmail.com.  

References:  Genealogy of the Ory Family in Naperville, Illinois, printed by Minuteman Press, courtesy of Ronald R. Ory, Jane Burke, and James O'Brien, May 2001.  "All Military Results for Yack" at Ancestry.com viewed on November 8, 2013.  Undated Naperville Sun articles in Ruth Keroson's scrapbooks, "The Naperville Clarion," "Bill Scherer Remembers," and "But Not Forgotten."