Some people struggle their whole lives to find something that truly makes them happy.
Not Bob Scholebo, though. He has a deep love of emergency workers, especially firefighters, and he wants everyone to know it.
Scholebo moved to Columbus from Indiana with his caregiver, Steve Marlow, when Marlow got a job at what was then Severstal. Scholebo has been obsessed with first responders for as long as they’ve known each other.
“I met Bob when he was 19,” Marlow said. “His aunt was my wife, Cynthia. When he first moved in with us, back in 2005, every chance he’d get he would look for TV shows about that stuff. You remember the old ‘Emergency’ show? That was one of his favorites.”
Scholebo said he was having a harder time than he used to finding those shows to watch.
“I like watching the movies and TV about (firefighters),” he said. “But they’re hard to find now except on MeTV. I have DVDs of a lot of the old TV shows and movies.”
Luckily, Scholebo has figured out better ways than TV to scratch his itch for emergency services and has become a fixture at several local fire stations.
“Station 1 is the closest to where we live,” Scholebo said. “I go to Station 5 (on Lehmberg Road), too.”
Scholebo said one his favorite things at the fire station is sliding on the pole, but he also loves the personal connection.
“I like talking to the guys, to the men on the crews,” he said. “I got one of their coffee mugs, too. I’ve still got it. It’s like having memories of them. It’s sentimental, and I drink out of it.”
CFR Chief Duane Hughes said Scholebo helps out by sweeping and mopping at the fire stations.
Scholebo said he also makes coffee for the firefighters sometimes.
“It’s something nice to do for them,” he said.
Marlow said he wasn’t sure how Scholebo made his inroads with the fire department originally, but said it started about 10 years ago, after Station 5 moved to its current house on Northside.
“I think he just sees somebody with a t-shirt or something indicating they were part of a fire department and he goes up and starts quizzing them,” Marlow said. “He’s not real shy. (Scholebo) walks our dogs, and he covers a lot of territory. He gets antsy if he doesn’t have something to do.”
Scholebo has also ridden in the Christmas parade.
“I never got to ride in the fire truck, but I got to ride in (one of the medical response SUVs) in the Christmas parade,” Scholebo said. “But not recently because of the pandemic. It screwed everything up.”
Hughes said Scholebo also helps the department out during the parade.
“He accompanies me during the (Christmas Parade) and ensures citizens stay out of the ladder truck’s path of travel,” he said.
Scholebo’s outgoing nature and enthusiasm has netted him more than coffee mugs. He also boasts an extensive collection of patches, mostly fire- and law-enforcement-related.
“They just appear in the mail,” Marlow said. “He gets on the internet and communicates with police and fire departments all over the country. I don’t even know how many he has — they fill a number of good-size boxes.”
The patch collection extends to the military, too, with Scholebo doing his best to talk pilots into donating to his collection.
“He tries to talk a lot of pilots out of their patches when he sees them around town,” Marlow said. “They’re willing to give him the ones that they don’t have to have.”
Hughes said Scholebo is a bright spot for the fire department.
“Mr. Scholebo is a super fan, and he motivates us daily,” Hughes said. “I can call him up any day and he can tell me who’s working and what truck they’re on. Every day he works with us is a joy.”
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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