Tinley Park in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Tinley Park Volunteer Fire Department

100 Years of Service; 1901 – 2001

— We Serve Others Not Ourselves —

Tinley Park Volunteer Fire Department Memorial image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 28, 2024

1. Tinley Park Volunteer Fire Department Memorial

Inscription. [Front panel at base of monument:]
Original Chartered Members
November 13, 1901
August Hentsch • Fred Hentsch • Christian Andres Jr. • John C. Andres • William Funk • Henry Hopmann • Herman Stoeckmann • Henry Glogwortz • Richard Scharf • Fred Schmeideknecht • William Nielsen • George Boldt • William Rix • Philip Mager • John C. Funk • William Hollstein • Dan Rogers • F. Fulton • Ernst E. Rice • Dick Bruening

[Right side panel of the monument:]
Fire Department Chiefs Henry Hopmann, 2 Yrs. • Ernst E. Rice, 3 Yrs. • George Bolot, 1 Yr. • John Rieber, 1 Yr. • Christian Andres Jr., 7 Yrs. • Henry Brueggemann, 15 Yrs. • Richard Scharf, 3 Yrs. • Charles Nielsen, 9 Yrs. • Fred Hick, 3 Yrs. • William Mancke Sr., 1 Yr. • Edmund Moss, 12 Yrs. • James English Sr., 2 Yrs. • Milfred Bettenhausen, 6 Yrs. • Robert Bettenhausen, 27 Yrs. • Ronald A. Winterstein, 3 Yrs. • Kenneth Dunn

Fire Department Assistant Chiefs August Hentsch, 3 Yrs. • William Funk, 1 Yr. • Richard Scharf, 5 Yrs. • John Muff, 1 Yr. • John Andres, 6 Yrs. • George Boldt, 1 Yr. • Edward Goesel, 3 Yrs. • Henry Brueggemann, 9 Yrs. • Ernst E. Rice, 9 Yrs. •

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William Mancke Sr., 2 Yrs. • James English Sr., 17 Yrs. • Milfred Bettenhausen, 2 Yrs. • Robert Bridge, 3 Yrs. • Robert Bettenhausen, 3 Yrs. • Charles E. Johnson, 10 Yrs. • Ronald A. Winterstein, 19 Yrs. • James Patton, 8 Yrs. • Kenneth Dunn, 12 Yrs. • Thomas Slepski • Mark Bettenhausen • Henry A. Bettenhausen, 2 Yrs.

A Fireman's Prayer When I am called to duty, God, wherever flames may rage
Give me the strength to save some life, whatever be it's age.
Help me embrace a little child before it is too late.
Or save an older person from the horror of that fate.
Enable me to be alert and hear the weakest shout.
And quickly and efficiently to put the fire out.
I want to fill my calling and to give the best in me.
To guard my every neighbor and protect their property.
And if, according to my fate. I am to lose my life
Please Bless with your protecting hand.
My children and my wife.

Erected 2001.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical date for this entry is November 13, 1901.

Location. 41° 34.551′ N, 87° 47.055′ W. Marker is in

Tinley Park Volunteer Fire Department memorial front panel image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 28, 2024

2. Tinley Park Volunteer Fire Department memorial front panel

Tinley Park, Illinois, in Cook County. It is on Oak Park Avenue near 173rd Court. The memorial is in Zabrocki Plaza in downtown Tinley Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Tinley Park IL 60477, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago.

It is also in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Andres Block (a few steps from this marker); Columbia Hotel/Funk's Tavern (within shouting distance of this marker); J.W. Hollstein's (within shouting distance of this marker); World Trade Center Beam (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Tinley Park 9/11 Memorial (about 400 feet away); The Carl Vogt Building (about 400 feet away); Andres/Rice/Funk Residence (about 400 feet away); Vogt Visual Arts Center (about

Tinley Park Volunteer Fire Department Memorial: List of fire chiefs image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 28, 2024

3. Tinley Park Volunteer Fire Department Memorial: List of fire chiefs

600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tinley Park.

More about this marker. The statue at the top depicts a fireman rushing to the scene of a fire. The four panels at the very base of the monument appear to name all firefighters who had served in Tinley Park in the department's first 100 years.

Also see . . .
1. Family's Value. This 2000 article in the Chicago Tribune features the Bettenhausen family, whose name was attached to the hardware store that sat across Oak Park Avenue from this plaza for several decades; two Bettenhausens served as long-time fire chiefs in this far south Chicago suburb. (Submitted on January 2, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. Tinley Park Fire Department official site. (Submitted on January 2, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Tinley Park Volunteer Fire Department Memorial: List of assistant fire chiefs image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 28, 2024

4. Tinley Park Volunteer Fire Department Memorial: List of assistant fire chiefs

Tinley Park Volunteer Fire Department Memorial: Fireman's Prayer image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 28, 2024

5. Tinley Park Volunteer Fire Department Memorial: Fireman's Prayer

The building in the background is the Andres Block, which was built by Christian Andres (his son is listed on this memorial) and which was the long-time home of Bettenhausen Hardware, whose owning family includes several names listed on this memorial.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 2, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 2, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 223 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on January 2, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.