Introduction
Joseph Dowhy Sr.
JOSEPH DOWHY SR. was born in Pennsylvania on December 22, 1921 to Max and Agnes Dowhyj. His birth certificate reads “Dowhyj.” By 1929 his family had moved to 53 State Street in Camden, New Jersey, and the name had been shortened to Dowhy. Their next door neighbors were the Kelly family, who lived at 55 State Street. Max Dowhy worked as a stationary engineer in Philadelphia. Camden firefighter Harrison Pike lived two doors away at 69 State Street.
After serving in the armed forces during World War II, Joseph Dowhy returned to Camden. The 1947 Camden City Directory shows that Joseph Dowhy and his wife, the former Etta Pearl Jamerson, then lived at 636 State Street in North Camden. He was then working as a printer. The family later moved to 866 Beideman Avenue in Cramer Hill.
On May 30, 1958 Joseph Dowhy secured an appointment to the Camden Fire Department. He reported for duty the following day, and graduated from the Fire School in 1959. On May 1, 1969 Joseph Dowhy Sr. was promoted to the rank of Captain. He retired from the Fire Department on January 1, 1984, having served the City of Camden for over 25 years.
Last a resident of Pine Hill, New Jersey, Joseph Dowhy Sr. passed away on June 12, 2003.
Joseph and Pearl Dowhy had four sons. All served the city of Camden—Joseph Jr., Dennis and Robert with the Fire Department, Edward with the Camden Police Department. As of May, 2008 Joseph Dowhy Jr. and Dennis Dowhy had retired from the Fire Department, and Edward Dowhy had retired from the police. Robert Dowhy is still active as a Captain with the Fire Department. Pearl Dowhy also served the public, as a crossing guard first in Camden and later in Clementon NJ.
Joseph Dowhy Sr. and Family
Graduation of Probationary Fireman, 1959
Graduation of Probationary Fireman (from left) Chief John Graham, Captain Anthony Dzinski, Assistant Training Officer Nicholas George, Firemen Herman Reed, Bertram Dahl, Joseph Dowhy, Joseph Simpson, Edward Morgenweck, Charles Christensen, Joseph Wolfinger, George Dixon, Edward Ulrich, Reginald Laws, Grant Keller, and Chief Edward MacDowell.
Out of Frying Pan, Into Fire
Camden Courier-Post — 1963
Firemen-Cooks Vital
Out of Frying Pan, Into Fire Firemen-Cooks Vital
By KATHLEEN ROWLEY
It’s out of the frying pan and into the fire at least some of the time for Camden fireman Theodore Orbaczewski.
That’s one reason Orbaczewski doesn’t wear an apron while serving as cook for his shift at Engine Co. 11, 27th st. and Hayes ave.
He has to be ready to leave the minute the fire alarm rings. “But you have to remember to turn the flame under the food or else another fire company would be over here putting the fire out,” Orbaczewski quipped.
THE ONLY casualty from a fireman’s lapse of memory to date has been some burned coffee, the fire fighter said.
Far worse was the mysterious disappearance of two apple pies.
“One evening Joe Dowhy and I were baking apple pies,” Orbaczewski recalled. “One was finished and the other was ready to go in the oven when we answered a fire alarm. The pies were missing when we came back.”
The 41-year-old Dowhy became interested in cooking while working for the Curtis Publishing Co. in Pennsylvania.
“I brought home the ‘Ladies Home Journal’ and tried a different cake every time I saw a recipe that was unusual,” he said.
* * *
ORBACZEWSKI, 42, started cooking in the Navy. “I started in the commissary department and worked myself up to cook,” he said.
Do the firemen like his cooking? “Well, nobody’s complained yet,” he replied. “Everyone’s walking around here with a pot belly now.”
What does Orbaczewski cook? “We chip in sometimes and have crab dinners and shrimp,” he answered. Other popular menus include meat loaf, and spaghetti with meat balls and sausage. Last year he and Dowhy “put up” 31 jars of tomatoes, peppers and onions.
But potato pancakes top the list of fireman favorites of No. 2 group.
“There’s no exact recipe for it,” explained Orbaczewski, who likes a free hand in cooking.
* * *
PRESSED for the recipe, he came up with the following:
POTATO PANCAKES
5 lbs. potatoes
½ lb. onions
3 eggs
¼ lb. flour
1 tsp. salt
butter or grease for frying
Peel potatoes and grate with onions. Add salt and eggs, beating eggs in. Add flour and mix in bowl. Using spoon, dip mixture into frying pan containing butter or grease for frying. Flatten into pancakes and fry until golden brown. Serve hot or cold.
Actually, Orbaczewski likes to cook anything. “When we have a lot of left overs we put them all together and make up something,” he said. “Like this afternoon—for a snack we have little crackers, a little salad dressing and some lettuce. I’ll make little lettuce sandwiches. They’re not fattening and they’re good.”
* * *
WHEN IT’S CLOSE to pay day and firemen’s funds are low, Hungarian goulash often appears on the menu. It’s made of peppers, tomatoes, onions, ground beef, celery, and anything else the firemen happen to bring in.
Have there been any failures? The only fiasco the two cooking firemen could recall occurred when they made pierugi—a kind of dumpling. After eating some, they wrapped others in paper. The dumplings fell apart when they tried to take them out.
Neither Orbaczewski nor Dowhy confine their cooking to the fire house. Both carry it over into the kitchen at home. Home for Orbaczewski is at 1066 Martin st. where he lives with his wife, Lucy, and their daughters, Sandra, 18, and Theresa, 15. Dowhy lives at 866 Beideman ave. with his wife, Pearl, and four sons, Joseph, 18, Dennis, 17, Robert, 12, and Edward, 8.
By KATHLEEN ROWLEY
It’s out of the frying pan and into the fire at least some of the time for Camden fireman Theodore Orbaczewski.
That’s one reason Orbaczewski doesn’t wear an apron while serving as cook for his shift at Engine Co. 11, 27th st. and Hayes ave.
He has to be ready to leave the minute the fire alarm rings. “But you have to remember to turn the flame under the food or else another fire company would be over here putting the fire out,” Orbaczewski quipped.
THE ONLY casualty from a fireman’s lapse of memory to date has been some burned coffee, the fire fighter said.
Far worse was the mysterious disappearance of two apple pies.
“One evening Joe Dowhy and I were baking apple pies,” Orbaczewski recalled. “One was finished and the other was ready to go in the oven when we answered a fire alarm. The pies were missing when we came back.”
The 41-year-old Dowhy became interested in cooking while working for the Curtis Publishing Co. in Pennsylvania.
“I brought home the ’Ladies Home Journal’ and tried a different cake every time I saw a recipe that was unusual,” he said.
* * *
ORBACZEWSKI, 42, started cooking in the Navy. “I started in the commissary department and worked myself up to cook,” he said.
Do the firemen like his cooking? “Well, nobody’s complained yet,” he replied. “Everyone’s walking around here with a pot belly now.”
What does Orbaczewski cook? “We chip in sometimes and have crab dinners and shrimp,” he answered. Other popular menus include meat loaf, and spaghetti with meat balls and sausage. Last year he and Dowhy “put up” 31 jars of tomatoes, peppers and onions.
But potato pancakes top the list of fireman favorites of No. 2 group.
“There’s no exact recipe for it,” explained Orbaczewski, who likes a free hand in cooking.
* * *
PRESSED for the recipe, he came up with the following:
POTATO PANCAKES 5 lbs. potatoes ½ lb. onions 3 eggs ¼ lb. flour 1 tsp. salt butter or grease for frying
Peel potatoes and grate with onions. Add salt and eggs, beating eggs in. Add flour and mix in bowl. Using spoon, dip mixture into frying pan containing butter or grease for frying. Flatten into pancakes and fry until golden brown. Serve hot or cold.
Actually, Orbaczewski likes to cook anything. “When we have a lot of left overs we put them all together and make up something,” he said. “Like this afternoon—for a snack we have little crackers, a little salad dressing and some lettuce. I’ll make little lettuce sandwiches. They’re not fattening and they’re good.”
* * *
WHEN IT’S CLOSE to pay day and firemen’s funds are low, Hungarian goulash often appears on the menu. It’s made of peppers, tomatoes, onions, ground beef, celery, and anything else the firemen happen to bring in.
Have there been any failures? The only fiasco the two cooking firemen could recall occurred when they made pierugi—a kind of dumpling. After eating some, they wrapped others in paper. The dumplings fell apart when they tried to take them out.
Neither Orbaczewski nor Dowhy confine their cooking to the fire house. Both carry it over into the kitchen at home. Home for Orbaczewski is at 1066 Martin st. where he lives with his wife, Lucy, and their daughters, Sandra, 18, and Theresa, 15. Dowhy lives at 866 Beideman ave. with his wife, Pearl, and four sons, Joseph, 18, Dennis, 17, Robert, 12, and Edward, 8.
Police, Fire Tests Take Heavy Toll
Camden Courier-Post —
Courier-Post Bureau
TRENTON — The high rate of failures on police and fire examinations was repeated yesterday in the Civil Service Department’s announcement of the results of tests for fire captain and patrolman in Camden City.
In the captain’s test, 23 passed, 64 failed and two did not show up for the test. In the test for patrolman, 10 passed, 32 failed and 14 failed to show. In the non-residents’ test for Camden patrolman, six passed, eight failed and five did not appear.
In the fire captain’s test, Kenneth M. Clark of 111 North 26th St., Camden, a veteran, qualified with a score of 92.6, highest for the seven veterans who qualified. Joseph R. Gfrorer of 3040 N. Constitution Road, Camden, was highest of applicants with a score of 96.5.
Others who passed the fire captain’s test were:
George D. Getty of 1111 N. 34 St., 95.4; John DiMaggio of 319 Beckett St., 94; Joseph J. Anderson of 2406 Denfield St., 92.96; Phillip A. Maycott of 2836 Lincoln Ave., 90.5; James McMaster of 402 N. 37th St., 90.2; William D. Hillman of 3071 Constitution Rd., 89.4; Joseph Arensberg of 1041 N. 32nd St., 88.3; Robert E. Briggs of 2861 Congress Road, veteran, 86.3; John S. Brzozowski of 371 N. 34th St., 86.2; Edmund F. Gorczynski of 272 N. 33rd St., veteran, 85.4; Anthony F. Orme of 3317 River Ave., veteran, 82.4; William J. Young of 1126 N. 33rd St., 80.5; William D. Ayers of 2846 Pierce Ave., veteran, 79.1; Joseph Dowhy Sr., of 866 Beideman Ave., veteran, 78.9; James O. Jones of 3214 Mitchell St., 78.3; Joseph Chelhowski of 1324 Sheridan St., veteran, 75.8; James T. Robinson of 504 Trenton Ave., 75.5; Anthony D. Moffa of 23 Leonard Ave., 73.3; Robert E. Davenport of 1026 Reeves Ave., 73; John F. Gaffney Jr., of 78 S. Dudley St., 72.8, and Albert E. Collum Jr., of 2409 Howell St., 72.6.
Patrolman (residents) who passed:
Joseph A. Fox of 2117 Mount Ephraim Ave., 77.1; Charles W. Cahilly 2d of 2015 Westminster Ave., 75.; Edward B. Bush of 3210 Mitchell St., 78.9; John F. Oppmann of 550 N. 30th St., 77.7; Gary E. Miller of 486-A Rand St., 77.4; Donald J. Tymusczuk of 2737 Concord Ave., 75.1; Joseph A. Broccoli of 1467 Pershing St., 74.2; Richard W. Merta of 1641 Pulaski St., 72.9, and Robert G. Gibson of 572 Clinton St., 72.6.
Patrolman (nonresidents) who passed:
Flem J. Hopkins Jr., 78; Elwood L. Ridge, 75.4; Joseph E. Benton, 74.7; David Vautier Jr., 74.1, and Frank R. Pedano, 73.8.
Camden Fire Department, circa 1975
Camden Fire Department photo, circa 1975
Fire Department Personnel Record
Camden Division of Fire Personnel Record — Joseph Dowhy Sr., Badge No. 385. Date of Appointment: May 30, 1958; to Captain 5/1/69; Pensioned 1-1-84; Deceased 6-12-03.
Death Notice
Camden Courier-Post —
DOWHY, CAPT. JOSEPH, SR.
On June 12, 2003, age 81, of Pine Hill.
Surviving are his wife Etta Pearl (nee Jamerson), 4 sons Joseph Jr. and wife Helen, Dennis and wife Cathy, Robert and wife Sonja, Edward and wife Diane, 8 grandchildren and a sister Stella Crowley.
He was a WW II Veteran and retired Capt. of the Camden Fire Dept. Member of Merchantville Lodge #119 F&AM.
Funeral services were private.
Contributions in his memory may be made to Camden County Hero Scholarship Fund, 191 W. White Horse Pike, Berlin, NJ 08009.
Arrangements by EICHEL FUNERAL HOME