Who was Old Joe and Malcolm Lassane?

NEWBERRY — Have you heard the name Old Joe? Maybe you’ve passed by the Firehouse Conference Center and noticed the plaque memorializing Old Joe. Well, the story of Old Joe stretches back to 1902 as he galloped into the hearts of many, including that of Newberry fireman, Malcolm “Mac” Lassane.

According to information provided by the City of Newberry Fire Department, Old Joe came to Newberry in 1902 when a livestock freight car billed to J.H. Summer arrived. Among the five occupants of the car was a large Kentucky-bred bay face. It should be noted, the information only refers to the horse as Joe, rather than Old Joe.

“It stood 16 hands high and weighed 1,300 pounds. In the next two years the horse was sold first to T.J. McCrary and secondly to the town of Newberry to be used as a fire horse,” the research states.

At the age of nine, Old Joe was trained by Malcolm Lassane to respond to fires and it soon became apparent the horse had the attributes to make him a winner at the Fire Department Tournaments. He was almost always the winning horse.

He is thought to be the first African American firefighter in South Carolina. Lassane was born between 1871 and 1873, he was married to Rosalie Holman sometime after 1900.

He was a driver for the fire wagon for the Fire Department of Newberry and was hired by Newberry City Council in 1910 at $20 per month. He became the keeper of Old Joe, taking care of the horse for as long as Old Joe was owned by the City of Newberry.

Lassane passed away in 1947 from cancer, he was buried in Werts Cemetery, as is his wife.

Lassane used to attribute Old Joe’s winning ways to the fact the horse seemed to out-think his competition. The horse never needed a whip and Lassane hated to admit — probably didn’t need a driver either, according research from the fire department.

In 1911, Old Joe won the state time races and was clocked at fifth fastest in the nation, per the research.

It is stated that he still went crazy trying to get to fires when he heard the bells at the Opera House go off.

When he was retired from the fire department, Old Joe was sold to someone on O’Neal Street, according to the information provided from the fire department.

Old Joe died on May 9, 1930 and according to “History of Newberry, Part 2” he was buried in a grave 10 feet deep by the side of the fire station. The town bell tolled 35 times, once for each year of his life. Old Joe is buried under the first window on the northern side of the old fire station (now the Firehouse Conference Center) on Harrington Street.