MENASHA (NBC 26) — Over the past three summers, the fire hydrants in Menasha have received a facelift. Tom Miller, a resident of the city, made it his duty to restore the dull, pink fire hydrants to a new, bright red.
“I’m up to a hundred hydrants so far and just having fun doing it, and making things nice in the city… and that’s the key… is to do something nice,” said Miller.
He began the summer of 2020, all because he wanted to do something good for the city.
“I was thinking of things to do that’s nice for Menasha. My dad was a former fire chief from 1979 to 1994. My wife’s dad was a fire chief at Kimberly Clark,” said Miller.
The good deed he chose was painting the fire hydrants. He goes out on free mornings and paints four or five a day.
The first summer he painted nine in Downtown Menasha, the second summer he painted about 40, and this summer, he’s painting the fire hydrants on Doty Island. He’s up to 45 this summer alone.
The city purchases the paint for him and he volunteers his time to keep his city beautiful. Miller has painted over 100 fire hydrants so far but he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
“Not likely to stop anytime soon because by the time I stop and get everything done over on the other side of Menasha... I’ll end up having to redo what I started three years ago so it’s just nonstop,” said Miller.
He cares about the city he calls home and wants to make sure it remains as beautiful as he knows it to be.
“One small step at a time I’m trying to make it look nice,” said Miller.
