His way of honoring local firemen

Dan "Peanuts" Kloos still has firemen's blood running through him. After all, he spent 27 years as a fireman in St. Leo, including his last 10 years as Fire Chief.
Because he wanted to give something back for all the years he spent as a volunteer firefighter, he purchased a 1948 GMC pumper truck from the City of Canby recently and has decorated it with decals of Peanuts comic strip characters that came from Action Design in Marshall to fit his nickname.
There is also a "Peanuts" license plate on each end of the truck, as well as a Snoopy character affixed to the front doors with the words "Peanuts Fire Brigade".
Top of the hood has a symbolic eagle emblem to honor all firemen for their efforts.
Kloos explained his reason for purchasing the old fire truck was for a show of respect and gratitude.
"This will be used for funerals of former firemen from the area," said Kloos. "Any town around here can use it if they want."
Kloos had the truck suspension lowered and the pump and tank removed from the back in order to slide a casket in the back with ease. The old cloth-type hoses were also removed because of the wear on them, but Kloos kept the heavy brass nozzles.
Because of his close association with the Canby Fire Department through his years with St. Leo, Kloos heard that the City of Canby, which owned the truck, had put it up for bid. Kloos offered a modest bid, and it was accepted this past January.
The truck was towed to Kloos' home, and he had the help of many others to get it torn apart and running again, including his son Austin.
"Ben Bossuyt did most of the mechanic work on it. A lot of people helped with various things, though. We went through a lot of beers," Kloos laughed.
The truck, which only has 6,400 miles on it, sits in Kloos' driveway on the east end of town and many people have stopped and inquired about it.
"It was originally green," he said. "And then the Canby Fire Department had it painted white when they were using it."
Kloos gave a demonstration on how easily the truck starts. Pulling the choke out, a simple step on the floor starter quickly has the engine "purring". Kloos turns on the siren as the red emergency light atop the cab flashes.
"It has a 248 engine, and it goes about 45 miles per hour," Kloos noted. "It even came with the original manual, which helped when we were taking things apart and hooking things up."
Still inside one of the outside compartments are two fire axes and a hose.
"I still have a few more things I want to put on the truck to restore it like it was," Kloos remarked. "But it's mainly going to be used for funerals and maybe a parade or two."
Kloos thought about selling the truck, but his wife Ali insisted they keep ownership of it.
"She loves it," Kloos said. "She wouldn't let me sell it. So, I decided to keep it and use it for funerals. I want to give something back to the communities and their fire departments."
And in the meantime, the truck has become a showpiece at the Kloos home as a way of honoring all volunteer firemen that volunteer their time and service to help others.