In 1975, residents of the Town of Lyme were served by The South End Ambulance group of Old Lyme. Because of the lengthy response times, John Yeomans believed the Town of Lyme needed to have its own ambulance service. He recruited Jerry Ballek, who was associated with the local bank, to be the Treasurer. He also convinced lawyer, Chuck Jewett, to help with the legal matters of setting up a non-profit corporation on a “pro bono” basis. Lyme Ambulance Association was registered with the State of Connecticut on July 8, 1975.
Chuck Jewett enlisted the help of Phil Schwartz and together they visited Mrs. W. Roosevelt Thompson of Selden Rd. Her husband had died recently and she offered to provide an initial $25,000 for the establishment of a service. She asked that it be publicized as a memorial to him.
After the funding had been obtained, John and Phil went looking for a used ambulance and the found a 1971 Cadillac in Deep River, and purchased it for $7,500 and sent it to Park Superior for complete overhaul and refurbishing.
Next John Yeomans approached the Lyme Volunteer Fire Company to get permission to base the ambulance in the Hadlyme Station and to obtain some storage and work space. Initially, the Fire Co. was less than enthusiastic, but John persisted and obtained the needed cooperation.
Muriel Weed, Phyllis Worthington, Mildred Luther, Jane DeWolf and Mary Tisdale were the dispatchers for the Fire Co. and John asked them to take on the added task of handling the emergency calls for the ambulance, which they graciously agreed to do.
Now recruitment for crew members began in earnest. John knew many Hadlyme folks and by his own admission, targeted those he felt would not only be good crew members, but willing to serve their community in this new effort. In the first two years he recruited some 34 people to be radio operators, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), and drivers. Harold Hawthorn, the popular school bus driver and fire volunteer, was a radio operator. Louis Mildrum, Geoff Kinch and the then Barbara Kinch were the first to be certified as EMTs. Sid Winakor, who drove the State Police Ambulance in Colchester, Jim and Dot Orr, East Haddam neighbors who were certified to perform advanced first aid, Bud Lahm, Tom Maly, Carl Malachowski, Phil Bliss, who is now the Town Fire Marshall and John Yeomans himself were all drivers.
Certification was obtained and the Primary Service Area (PSA) was assigned in 1976.
The first run made by the new Lyme Ambulance Association was a response to a motorcycle accident in front of the Orr house on the Lyme/East Haddam border. Jim and Dot heard the crash and were the crew on this first run.
Today we are fueled by the same volunteer spirit that our early members deployed to start the service. Long standing members include Bill Firgelewski, a driver for more than 25 years, Linda Bireley, Carter Courtney, Betsy Morgan and Ron Rose, all EMTs with a combined total of more than 80 years with LAA. There are, of course, many newer members and we always welcome others who wish to serve our wonderful community.