Joe Schutz inherited a rusted-out mess when he agreed to restore a 1929 Ford fire truck to its original condition for the Marengo Fire Department.

It took Schutz and fellow Model A Ford restorer Ken Ehrenhofer of Woodstock more than five years, but they got the truck back up to firefighting trim, from the kerosene lamps on the side to the water tanks that in those days relied on baking soda to generate water pressure through carbonation. It made its restored debut in the Independence Day parade in Crystal Lake, and again at Settlers’ Days in Marengo.

Senior reporter Kevin Craver visited Schutz’s rural Woodstock home to get a look at the truck and talk about what prompted Schutz and his friends to put it back together. And the green 1930 Model A coupe occupying the other half of the two-car garage, Craver learned, has a story as well.