A Lobby Legend

William R. Berkley, Executive Chairman of the Board of W. R. Berkley Corporation—the company he started with a $2,500 investment and grew into one of the nation’s largest commercial lines property and casualty insurance providers—recalls a time when Berkley had its own fire mark: small, metal signage that clients displayed by their front door to indicate to fire companies that their home was protected against fire damage.

“Fire companies and insurance companies were closely related,” he says. So, when W. R. Berkley Corporation bought Tri-State Mutual Insurance Company in 1974 and built a team in Luverne, Minnesota, it was a fitting surprise when they discovered a bonus with the acquisition awaiting them: an original 1923 Luverne Fire Engine.

It would be just one of the coincidences surrounding the fire engine’s presence. Brothers Fenton and Ed Leicher founded Luverne Automobile Company in 1903, which evolved into Luverne Fire Apparatus when the company sought to specialize in an increasingly saturated market. Its creative origins are not unlike those of W. R. Berkley Corporation—and Mr. Berkley’s founding vision.

Berkley’s original fire mark: small, metal signage that clients displayed by their front door to indicate to fire companies that their home was protected against fire damage.

“I believe in the American Dream—that someone who starts an enterprise could find a way and a path forward,” he says, referencing the company’s early stages. “As I learned about insurance, I realized we had the opportunity to do things in a focused and specialized way.”

A commitment to excellence drove both companies. Tanya Light, Fenton Leicher’s great-granddaughter, experienced this firsthand at both enterprises (Light worked with the Berkley team for 20 years). Growing up with Luverne firetrucks—and receiving her first driving lessons on one—Light notes that while the company was small, attention to detail reigned supreme. “The philosophy was always, ‘If you build them well, they will sell themselves,’” she says. “The production was low, and it was all hand-built—quality was everything.”

Mr. Berkley still remembers the first time he saw the 1923 fire engine on an early visit to Luverne. “It brought back the beauty, talent, and art of what fire engines were.” In 2007, after years of showing the fire engine in several local parades, the Luverne team received a call from Mr. Berkley. That conversation would mark the beginning of a longer voyage for the vintage vehicle—one that would carry it through a restoration and across the country to the lobby of W. R. Berkley Corporation headquarters in Greenwich, Connecticut.

“We’re a young company, but we have old roots,” says Mr. Berkley. “There’s nothing that ties us to the community and the insurance business like a firetruck.”

Facility Maintenance Engineer Michael Rofshus and then Regional Manager Curt Bloemendaal played key roles in the efforts. “We knew how much the surrounding community loved the truck—we really liked the idea of the project,” says Bloemendaal. Rofshus started making phone calls that morning, noting that the team worked with several specialists for the six-month project. “There wasn’t a piece of the truck that was left untouched.” The frame was sandblasted and repainted, a specialty shop in Sioux Falls rebuilt the engine, and G&H Radiator fashioned a new radiator.

Left front side view of the fully restored 1923 fire engine sitting in the lobby of the W. R. Berkley Corporation Headquarters in Greenwich, CT.

The team also went to great lengths to perfect the truck’s original aesthetic. “We did extensive research and made many phone calls,” says Rofshus. “We wanted to ensure period-correct details throughout, from the hoses and tire sizes to part brands and markings.” Once the fire engine was complete, it was transported to Greenwich, where Rofshus backed it off the semi-truck and helped a team to move it indoors. “It was a tight fit—we had probably an inch on each side to work with—but once it was in there, it was a sight to behold.”

Before maneuvering the truck into the building, Rofshus met with Mr. Berkley, who joined him in the engine for a ride around the block. More than 15 years since the project, Rofshus looks back on the experience with appreciation.

“It was really gratifying to be a part of the process—and fitting for us to bring to headquarters this historical piece of Luverne, where so much of W. R. Berkley Corporation began.” Bloemendaal agrees. “It worked out very well— seeing it there after the restoration and the move. We were all really proud.”

The fire engine serves as a reminder of that foundation for Mr. Berkley, who, after growing W. R. Berkley Corporation to more than 60 insurance businesses nationwide since 1967, understands the necessity of evolution. It’s just a part of what he hopes visitors will see in the lobby addition—a reflection of the company’s dedication to protection, and in that, a symbol of the past, present, and future.

Profile view of the fully restored 1923 fire engine sitting in the lobby of the W. R. Berkley Corporation Headquarters in Greenwich, CT.

“We have a long-term view here; a recognition of how things have evolved, from one to the next, and how we’ve hoped to fill a niche in that history,” he says. “The fire engine is a connection with where we have been, and where we plan to go from here.”

A History of Innovation and Integrity

Founded in 1967, W. R. Berkley Corporation has grown from a small investment management firm into one of the largest commercial lines property and casualty insurance providers in the United States.

Along the way, W. R. Berkley Corporation has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange, become a Fortune 500 company, joined the S&P 500, and seen gross written premiums exceed $10 billion.

Today, the Berkley brand comprises more than 60+ businesses worldwide and is divided into two segments: Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. Led by Executive Chairman, founder, and largest shareholder, William. R. Berkley, and President and Chief Executive Officer, W. Robert Berkley, Jr., W. R. Berkley Corporation is well-positioned to respond to opportunities for future growth.

This story appears in One Adventures, Berkley One’s digital magazine celebrating creators, experiences and stories. Read the issue here.

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