Donors come to the rescue of Vulcans’ firetruck Luverne

When you’re battling for control of an entire city and its climate, you can’t afford to be caught running around town in a borrowed shuttle bus.

But that’s what happened to Vulcanus Rex and his Krewe in the midst of their 2011 struggle to supplant Boreas, King of the Winds. Trusty old Luverne, the 1932 firetruck that’s transported the Krewe for about 60 years, broke down just a few days before the Vulcan Victory Torchlight Parade.

“A rod went right through the engine on Highway 36,” said Tony Mahmood, who was Duke of Klinker that year. “The driver was able to coast to a SuperAmerica by the highway.”

Luverne would need another engine. A replacement was found and installed in time for the parade, but Luverne was out of commission for days. Instead of leaping menacingly off rough-and-ready Luverne, for several days the Krewe had to step single-file off the Bennett’s Chop and Railhouse shuttle bus.

“We were made fun of quite a bit,” Mahmood said. “But you’ve got to go with the flow.”

That emergency engine lasted a couple of years. Luverne’s roar now comes from a 1974 Chevrolet straight-six.

She’s dependable, but Luverne needed a lot more work after 84 years of service. So last year, the Vulcans scratched together some cash and rolled Luverne into the shop.

If you saw Luverne in the Grande Day Parade on Saturday, you already know:

“She is absolutely gorgeous,” Mahmood said. “She’ll be good for a while now.”

David Breen headed the committee that raised the funds and organized the overhaul. He said they collected about $18,000 on Give to the Max Day last year plus an additional $6,000 from people connected to the Winter Carnival and other festivals.

It wasn’t quite the $30,000 they hoped to raise, but it was enough to pay for a fresh coat of paint and, more importantly, some serious structural and safety work. It had been almost 25 years since Luverne had that much work done.

“Ninety percent of it was based on the safety of the truck,” Breen said.

The lighting system was updated. The brake system was rebuilt. The rusted running boards were replaced, and the truck was secured to its chassis with new mounts.

The old motor and transmission got some maintenance, too, but Breen said there will be more to do the next time they get some money together.

“There’s always things you can do,” Breen said. “At this point, I feel secure that she’s running good. She’s definitely a lot better than she was.”

It’s not just Vulcan pride on the line. After transporting Vulcanus Rex and Krewe around St. Paul during the Winter Carnival, Luverne has a short rest and then hits the summer parade circuit. And she doesn’t let anybody pull her around. Luverne gets to all those parades under her own power, often at 55 mph.

“She does pretty much every parade in a 35-mile range and a lot of appearances in between,” Breen said. “I’d say from June through August there’s not a week she’s not out at something, almost every day.”

Luverne is named for the Minnesota city where she was built for the St. Paul Fire Department. After years of service, the city let the Vulcan Krewe start using her in the 1950s. The Vulcans officially took ownership in 1996, according to the organization’s history.

Breen said he was a kid when he first rode on Luverne after the Vulcans showed up at a family reunion. Years later, in 2007, he became a Vulcan himself and took a special interest in the truck.

“I thought it was time to look into what we could do to make sure this truck stays a part of the Winter Carnival tradition for many years to come,” Breen said. “Every year there’s a new Royal Family, a new set of Vulcans. But every year there’s always the same Luverne.”

Copyright 2016 Pioneer Press.