Gaston Rural Fire District

For “retired” Gaston Fire Chief Roger Mesenbrink, serving the town he loves is a full-time job. Gaston is saying thank you by honoring him as Grand Marshal of this year's Good Ol' Days Parade.

Each year, parade organizers select as grand marshal someone who has contributed much to the community. This year's honoree fits that bill.

Roger spent his career as a firefighter with the Hillsboro Fire Department and Washington County Fire District 2. For eight of those years, he also served as an elected board member of the Gaston Fire district.

He retired as a battalion chief for the Hillsboro Fire Department to spend more time with his wife Debbie.

His retirement didn't last very long, however, because in 2004 his fellow members of the Gaston Fire board asked him to come out of retirement to serve as part-time chief.

During his tenure, Gaston Fire has hired a full-time training lieutenant for the almost all volunteer department, added a Hagg Lake Water Patrol Program and upgraded its aging fleet of equipment.

In his spare time, the Chief also served on the Budget Committee for the Gaston School District until he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the school board in 2008. Later that year voters elected him to a full term on the board.

Roger still finds time to pursue his hobbies of horseback camping trips in the backcountry and restoring old trucks. In fact, last year's Good Ol' Days grand marshal, former Chief Ron Hoodenpyl, rode in the parade on the back of Mesenbrink's painstakingly restored 1949 fire engine.

The Chief lives on a farm just outside Gaston. His nearest neighbors are his sons Andy and Justin, a full-time firefighter for Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue and a volunteer with Gaston Fire.