FRACKVILLE — William “Bill” McLaren is heading toward his 90th birthday in July, but his age hasn’t stopped him from being a valuable member of Frackville Community Ambulance Association.
A World War II Army veteran, McLaren, 89, spends most of his days at the ambulance building on Arch Street, working in the office doing the day-to-day administrative work, including the records for all ambulance calls. He also has training as a first responder and has gone out on emergency calls when a driver was needed.
A native of Mahanoy City and a resident of Frackville, McLaren mostly sat quietly and in a very relaxed manner in his desk chair, listening as trustee Arthur D. Kaplan and treasurer Leo Luciani spoke about his contributions to the ambulance association and in the community. McLaren is also a trustee.
“I just work behind the scenes,” McLaren said humbly.
“I think it’s important to recognize Bill’s contribution throughout his life,” Kaplan said. “He served in World War II. He was instrumental in things in uptown when he owned a shop in Frackville, including the Frackville Business Association. He was involved in the holiday lights every year, and for years he was the guy that did that stuff. He’s been giving to the community for a long, long time.”
McLaren was a local businessman, first opening McLaren’s Auto Supply in Mahanoy City, followed by a second store in Frackville. Both stores sold household appliances (washers, dryers, refrigerators, stoves) and televisions, along with having gasoline pumps in front of the stores. McLaren said his father and four uncles owned a Maxwell automobile franchise in Mahanoy City.
Kaplan said when someone needed an ambulance for a non-emergency, such as in a patient transfer, people would contact McLaren at his store for the arrangements as a local dispatcher while selling appliances and pumping gas.
“He would make arrangements with the guys, and when he called you, he didn’t ask you to go on an ambulance call. He said you’re going on the call and be there at this time. It was hard to say no to Bill,” Kaplan said. “It was the personal touch.”
Turning to McLaren, Kaplan asked, “Was that what it was, the personal touch?”
“It was easier to do it that way than to have them call you back that they couldn’t do it,” McLaren said.
McLaren became involved with the ambulance association through contacts at his store.
“I would have people from the ambulance coming into the store,” McLaren said. “I would get a call from a dispatcher at the courthouse and give me a heads-up on incoming calls that Frackville was going to get. So, I would see if I had people that day and if they could do this or that. I had a lot of loafers at the store who were drivers or EMTs who were off work.”
A volunteer for no pay, McLaren normally shows up at the ambulance building about 7 a.m. and leaves after 4 p.m.
“When I get here, I get to talk with the fellas of the overnight crew and have a few words on what happened last night, and they take off and I see the day crew, and that around 4 o’clock I get to see the evening crew. I get to see everybody from all three shifts.”
McLaren closed his Frackville store in 1992, with the Mahanoy City store closing in 2002. After all his years, McLaren does his best not to slow down.
“What amazes me most is that he’s going to be 90 on July 17, and the guy is here every single day during the week and most Saturdays,” Kaplan said. “He takes Sunday off to go to church. It’s just amazes me. I don’t know many 90-year-old people who are still giving back to the community the way Bill does. I’m sure there are people out there, but I don’t know who they are.”
Kaplan spoke of the importance of the contributions that those in McLaren’s generation did in serving the country in war and in peace.
“I don’t believe that the young people appreciate what they have today, what the freedoms they have, what they are allowed to do in this country because of what people like Bill and others did many, many years ago,” Kaplan said.
At the ambulance building, McLaren’s is one of the first people to go to for answers in different situations.
“When there is some issue, the first person people go to is Bill, and if Bill can’t solve the problem on the spot, then we confer about it. But he’s our first line of defense here in the office,” Kaplan said. “He maintains the books.”
About three years ago, McLaren had a hard fall on his way to the bank. He drove back to the ambulance building on his own, where personnel on duty looked him over and took him to the hospital, where it was discovered he damaged two cervical vertebrae. While he was wearing a cervical collar and was able to get around, McLaren came to the ambulance office to work.
“He’s a vital part of this organization and keeps it running day to day,” Kaplan said.
Luciani said McLaren is a perfect example of someone from “The Greatest Generation.”
“Tom Brokaw coined the phrase ‘The Greatest Generation.’ Bill personifies it when you think of his military service, runs his business, quietly pays his taxes, gives extra to every community project that comes along,” Luciani said. “He did it in such a nonchalant, rear echelon kind of manner. And when it comes to his work in this office, yes, it’s important to answer the emergencies, but if you don’t pay attention to the business end of it, you don’t have the lights on.”
Luciani also credited the volunteer work with the ambulance of McLaren’s late wife, Verna, who died in 2012. The couple were both instrumental in the success of association fundraisers and how the office runs.