It began service on June 16, 1932 and was used until March 4, 1940. It was a 1932 Nash-Miller that cost $2,495.
At the March 9, 1932 meeting of the Clearfield Fire Company No. 1, J. Bruce Smith made a motion to start an ambulance service.
Smith, a long-time fireman, had watched an ambulance in action in Lewistown in 1931. It was the depths of The Great Depression, and the company treasury contained $3.64, per treasurer Orville Shugarts.
The motion carried and on June 16, the fire company picked up its first unit. And Clearfield’s first ambulance service was born. Numerous fundraisers netted $1,200 and Clearfield Bank & Trust agreed to lend the balance.
On Wednesday, June 16, 1932, President Jack Norris, Secretary S. Boyd Smith, P.L. Brion, Howard Brown and Bruce Smith drove the ambulance in from Harrisburg.
The ambulance was on display in Harrisburg at a convention of undertakers. They were met in Clearfield by an escort of fire equipment, and the motorcade staged an impromptu parade about town.
The beautiful lines of the new ambulance and the glistening red color scheme attracted enthusiastic attention. It was editorialized as one of the finest pieces of motor equipment ever brought into this community, and is as thoroughly equipped for ambulance service as any apparatus in the state.
Later that evening, it was pressed into emergency service. At about 11 p.m., they transported Mrs. Milo Lawhead from Bailey Settlement to the hospital with a broken hip. The driver for the first call was T. Jack Norris.
The ambulance was equipped by the hospital and dedicated Thursday evening followed by an open house for all to see, hosted at No. 1 Hose House.
