HARRY S. CREE 1868 to 1942

CREE, WEBSTER, CHRISTENSEN, BROWN

Posted By: James Mincks (email)
Date: 10/28/2010 at 18:48:55

Harry S. Cree, 74, of 515 College Ave., known as the grand old man of the fire department, died at his home Tuesday afternoon.

Cree served on the department for 43 years -- 23 years as secretary. A heart ailment forced his retirement in 1939.

Brought home from Mercy hospital last Thursday after suffering a heart attack a week ago, the veteran fireman was showing improvement until he began to sink Tuesday morning.

The department's emergency crew worked for two hours with a respirator in a vain attempt to save his life. He was conscious until the last.

Cree, who answered his first fire bell behind the horses at the old No. 10 fire station at Sixth and Clinton avenues Jan. 1, 1896, was one of the most efficient and best liked firemen in the department's history.

Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 1903, Cree was in charge of No. 10 station until he was promoted to Captain in 1908 and placed in charge of the station at Seventh st. and College ave.

On July 1, 1917, Cree was appointed secretary of the department under the late Chief Will Burnett. His retirement on Jan. 1, 1939, was the occasion for a dinner at which the entire department honored his "years of faithful service".

There were 59 men on the fire fighting force when Cree went to work at a salary of $60 a month. When he retired on a $117.50 pension there were 198 men on the department.

Born at Osceola, IA., April 15, 1868, Cree came to Des Moines as a boy of 14, and worked as a carpenter in Highland Park for a dozen years before he began substituting at the fire station there.

Known for the care with which he kept his neatly-penned records, Cree, it was said, could call every fireman by his first name. He was the purchasing agent for the department and won a reputation as a "shrewd bargainer."

Besides his widow, Mrs. Bell Cree, he is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Ethel E. Webster and Mrs. Edith Christensen, both of Des Moines; a son, Harold J. Cree, of Moline, IL.; a brother, Ed Cree, of Altoona, IA., who was for many years Polk county courthouse custodian; a sister, Mrs. Edith Brown, of Grand Junction, CO., and three grandchildren.

An active worker in the Knights of Pythias lodge, Cree was a member of the Trinity Methodist church, Eighth st. and College ave. Funeral arrangements had not been completed Tuesday night, pending word from distant members of the family.

taken from the Des Moines Register; Wednesday, August 12, 1942; page 5, columns 5 & 6