There were no fancy trucks in the beginning.

No turnout gear. No formal training. Just five-gallon buckets, burlap sacks and neighbors who showed up. Chief Claude Stanke remembers it well.

“Take the five gallon bucket, put water in it so far,” he said. “We’d drive it to the nearest road and wet our toe sacks.”

That was firefighting in Schulter. And for decades, that mindset never changed: use what you have and do what needs to be done.

— Learning the Job in the Fire

Many of Schulter’s firefighters didn’t “train” into the job. They were thrown into it.

“We had 45 mile an hour winds, grass about that tall … fire rolling over the top,” one member said of his first major call.

Another added, “It was just … instant grit.” No long orientation. No easing in. You learned by standing in smoke and heat and figuring it out.

And once you did, most never left. — Generations, Not Rotations Some members joined at 15 or 18 and stayed for 30, 40, even 50 years.

Others returned after military service, pipeline work, or years on the road.

They are bus drivers. Maintenance workers. Coaches. Retirees.

And when the pager goes off, they become firefighters.

“When people need help, just help,” one member said.

No slogan. No speech. Just fact. — What the Job Really Looks Like

In 2025, the department responded to 81 calls across a wide rural district.

They fight grass fires. Pull people from wrecks. Respond to medical emergencies. Assist nearby towns.

“We help Wilson, Weleetka, Henryetta – anywhere they need,” one firefighter said.

Sometimes that means long days hauling water. Sometimes it means dangerous scenes. Sometimes it means rescuing an injured dog wrapped so tightly in a clothesline “it plumbed down to the bone.”

“It just kind of felt good,” the firefighter said after helping free it.

Not dramatic. Not sentimental. Just relief. — The Fires That Don’t Leave You Ask any of them about “memorable calls” and they hesitate.

Not because there aren’t any. Because there are too many. Massive wildfires. Homes burning. Highway wrecks. Rescues in freezing water. “I remember it like it was yesterday,” one said.

They all do. — A Place Where Firefighters Are Made Several former Schulter volunteers now work full-time in departments across Oklahoma.

“They started here,” one member said. “Now they’re captains. EMTs.”

Volunteer departments, they say, are where you learn what the job really is.

Not just equipment. Responsibility. — No Spotlight Required

Toward the end of the interview, I thanked them.

“Volunteer fire departments are unsung heroes,”I continued.

They brushed it off. No speeches. No posing. One firefighter summed it up simply: “It’s just what you do.” And for Schulter, it always has been. — Who’s Behind the Pager

The department’s strength lies in the people who answer the call. The department history stretches back to the 1950s, when Fire Chief Claude Stanke helped establish Schulter’s first organized firefighting operations. Under his leadership, the department acquired its first major fire truck in 1958 and expanded service across the district.

Members say Stanke’s leadership laid the foundation for everything that followed. His family, including Phyllis Walker Stanke, who has served on the department’s board since 2005. A former Red Cross volunteer and retired educator with 30 years of teaching experience in Texas and Beggs, Stanke has helped coordinate community support during major emergencies and remains one of the department’s longest-serving leaders.

She is also a longtime blood donor and encourages new volunteers to get involved.

“Take the basic course and get started,” she said.

Today’s department reflects that same spirit of service.

John Viloria, 32, joined at 18 and also served as fire chief in Nuyaka for three years.

Wayne Licht has been with the department since age 15 and is a Vietnam veteran who later served as a board member for several years and coaches softball during the season.

Micky Stanton returned home after years on the road and now balances firefighting with school maintenance work.

Merle Hoover brings four decades of EMS experience and has served 15 years on the fire department and board. He served in Okmulgee County EMS for 35 years and was a member of the Texoma Volunteer Fire Department.

Roger Ennis, an Okmulgee High School graduate, has volunteered for more than 30 years, a longstanding board member and currently serves as assistant chief.

Chris Hoover has served for two decades while working as an over-theroad truck driver.

Together, they represent more than a century of combined service to Schulter and surrounding communities.