Welcome to Orland Park, Father Ken.
The Rev. Kenneth Simpson, who most know as “Father Ken,” joined the Orland Fire Protection District as a chaplain and his first call in the village on Sept. 6, 1980, was gut-wrenching not only for him, but for the district.
“The car was way off in the cornfields,” he said. “And the person behind the wheel was dead and it was a son on one of the (fire district) members.”
Dale Specht, 17, the son of fireman Ben Specht, was killed when his car was struck by another vehicle which did not stop at a stop sign, according to a story in a Star Publication newspaper. Another teenager died in the accident.
Simpson had his work cut out for him.
The clergyman had trained as an emergency medical technician and firefighter, so this wasn’t the first fatality he witnessed. But he had to do a lot of counseling after his first Orland Park call. He didn’t shy away from his duties, daunting as they were.
“This is what you are there for,” Simpson said.
“He held the department together,” recently retired district fire Chief Michael Schofield said. “Everybody questioned what they could have done better. It was God’s will that (Dale Sprecht) went quick and there was nothing that any of us could have done. To sit back and pound ourselves would not have been good.”
Simpson who held a variety of high-level jobs over the years including working at St. Michael Church in Orland Park, presided over the fifth Blue Mass Sunday at St. Francis of Assisi in Orland Park.
The event honored the service of active, retired and deceased first responders. After the Mass, there was a flag ceremony featuring a procession with the Knights of Columbus Council No. 16369 Honor Guard and the playing of Taps by Orland Park’s Jim Hahn.
The Blue Mass is a tradition that started in 1934, but St. Francis officials brought their version to the south suburbs in response to the on-duty death of Chicago officer Ella French. The parish also times it in proximity of the celebration of St. Michael the Archangel, which this year fell on Monday. St. Michael is the patron saint of police and first responders.
Casey Pytel, a deputy grand knight for the Knights of Columbus group, said his group is “thrilled and privileged” to honor the responders.
“The ultimate reward is to acknowledge and to revere our first responders,” he said. “The Knights of Columbus is the arm of the church and we’re here to protect and enhance the church and who they support.”
Battalion Chief Carl Jones said it was an honor and a privilege to be given a ceremony.
“It’s also an honor to represent the community. We’re here to serve more than anything else,” Jones said.
This is Jones’ 30th year as a first responder and 18th year in the Orland district.
“I love my job,” he said. “It’s the most gratifying job you could have.”
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St. Francis Director of Music Ministry Leanne Hahn, who is also the director of music of the Archdiocese of Chicago, is happy her church can pay homage to the first responders.
“It’s making a small groundswell in the community so we are always encouraging people to come out,” Hahn said. “It’s our day to give thanks for all of our men and women in blue and white. It’s near and dear to us.”
Simpson, 73, is retired but still trains priests in Chicago and lives with first-year seminarians next to Holy Name Cathedral to guide them though their early years.
Simpson talked about a recent trip to Rome and meeting with fellow Chicagoan Pope Leo XIV, talking “Chicago stuff.” Simpson said he also met Vatican firefighters and they joked about who has the better fire department.
He also touched on the serious matter of first responders’ mindset in their careers.
Cops and firemen and never know what is coming when they get that next call and Simpson said there is a fine line on how close or distant responders get to situations.
“It’s exciting and it’s challenging,” Simpson said. “You are sometimes called into some very difficult situations. You can get a little callous and get this attitude of ‘I’ve been doing this forever, I got this knocked.’
“That’s when you are really in trouble. There is this balance of keeping that edge and keeping that distance.”
Schofield agrees there needs to be a balance.
“We see the worst of the worst,” Schofield said. “Whether it’s a fatal car accident with kids … it hangs with us. But you can get callous and more callous and terrible things can happen.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown