By Don Rush
For nearly half a century one of the men who was on the look out for the safety and well being of Oxford lives and property was Dale Erwin Spiker. Last Wednesday night (Feb. 9, 2022) the 1955 Oxford High School graduate and 47-year Oxford firefighter passed away in his Pearl Street home. He was 85-years-old.
“He loved Oxford, he would have never lived anywhere else. Dale lived for the fire department,” said his step-son Todd Jacob.
Spiker joined the fire department in December of 1960. By 1964, according to an Oxford Leader article from June 29 of that year, he was Assistant Fire Chief. And, just into his 30’s, by 1970, he was elected Fire Chief by members of the department.
As chief from 1970 through 1991, he oversaw much growth of the department. When he was first elected chief in 1970, the department was an all-volunteer department. Up until 1981, members of the department voted for their chief. According to a Feb. 11, 1981 Leader article, the Oxford Fire Chief became an appointed appointed position and 13 firefighters turned in their equipment.

“The firemen quit because of a recent village council decision that denys them the right to elect their own chief yearly and have their choice appointed by the village manager. February 3, the (Oxford Village) council gave Manager Brian Arrowsmith the authority to appoint a permanent fire chief at this discretion, without an election by the firemen,” The Leader reported.
Minus a month stint he was off after heart surgery in 1985-86, Spiker worked with the department until 2007, when at 70-years-old, he retired. In a June 27, 2007 Leader article, Spiker admitted he still enjoyed being a part of the department, however, “I was gettin’ past the age I should be up there working, so I thougth I’d better get out before something happened … enjoy life a little more,” he said.
During his tenure he was instrumental in the department obtaining EMTs and full time firefighters.
Former Oxford Fire Chief Jack LeRoy remembers Spiker as a “real go-getter.”
“I remember Dale from when I was a teenager of about 14-years-old in 1963 and became interested in the service,” he said. “Dale was one of the young men on the department . . . was always one of the first men on the hose line and in the thick of it all. As a young man he proved very inspirational to us younger guys.”
LeRoy said as chief, Spiker “ran a very tight ship for an all volunteer group at that time. He made sure everyone did their job and overall the organization ran very effectively.”
LeRoy said, even after retiring as chief Spiker was “one of our most dependable paid-on-call members. You could count on him to show up in the worst of weather conditions — no matter what time of day or night. If he was available, he was there.”
In the 2007 article, Spiker said fighting fires was the favorite part of the job, “It’s sorta crazy, people going into burning buildings, but it was always worth it to see the look on people’s faces” when he’d save their personal belongings, especially those with great sentimental value. “It was really gratifying. Everybody was always so appreciative.”

In that article he also said, “When I took over as chief, all we had was a pumper and a tanker. We didn’t have much else.”
Today, according to soon-to-retire after 46 years with the department, Fire Cheif Pete Scholz, the department has two stations equippped with 17 emergency vehicles including pumpers, tankers, grass fire unites, command vehicles, ambulances and an aerial platform. The department is staff by 23 fulltime and 23 part time/paid-on-call volunteers.
“Dale was the one who hired me in 1976,” Scholz said. “He was the ultimate firefighte’s chief. A great mentor and great chief. Dale was a very caring person and the first to do anything for anyone in the community. He was an awesome softball player and bowler. A very active athlete up until a few years ago. I spoke with him on Sunday (Feb. 6) and his mind was still on until the end. His body was just tired. He loved the fire service.”
Spiker was also an avid hunter and he loved travel with his wife. According to Jacob, the night Spiker passed was the 49th anniversary of his marraige to Suzanne.
He was born on July 21, 1936 in Oxford to the late Dwight and Mildred (Fisher) Spiker.
He was preceded in death by his brother Dwight (Joanne) Spiker, sisters Eileen (Jay) Whittacker, Glenna (Jim) Foster, Marilyn (Robert) Rumohr and step-daughter Wendy (Loren) Cowell.
He is survived by his wife Suzanne (Valenteine) Spiker, sons Brian (Alice) Spiker of Grand Blanc and Scott Spiker of Gladwin, step-sons Jon Jacob of Illinois and Todd (Cheri) Jacob of Grand Blanc, 11 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, 1 great-great-granddaughter with 2 more on the way, sisters Luella Moshier and Mildred Macco, as well as by many nieces and nephews.
Lynch & Sons Funeral Directors, Oxford handled arrangements. A memorial service was at Immanuel Congregational United Church on Tuesday.
“Dale was a man who gave so much of himself to the community, often without the expectation of public acknowledgement –and like most volunteers — often at the peril of disrupting his own home life. Yes, I will continue to remember Dale Spiker and will miss him very much,” LeRoy said.