The driver and two firemen sat in the front - there was no cab, only a windscreen - and a fireman hung on each corner at the back.
Sixty years later, Mr Clearwater is retiring, standing down on October 26 as brigade support officer.
On Saturday night he was presented with a certificate marking his service, the six-decade milestone achieved by only three other New Zealand volunteer firefighters.
Fatalities were hard to deal with, Mr Clearwater (77) said.
In one 13-month period there were eight from fires and motor vehicle crashes.
In those days the firemen would get together for a drink after fatalities, Mr Clearwater said.
If someone was not coping well after an incident, his wife would be phoned and advised.
He remembers the 1970 school fire, thankful it was at night because the building was a ''rabbit warren''.
Waikouaiti had earlier been in the brigade's territory, and Mr Clearwater said once the butcher's shop there was ablaze during a heavy frost.
The water froze on the ground, making firefighting extremely dangerous.
The ''great wind'' of 1975 brought back memories of fires around the town and warnings Palmerston might have to be evacuated.
One of the best ''saves'' was when a fire at the back of a milk bar in the centre of Palmerston was extinguished before it could spread to other shops.
The brigade was constantly called to grass fires along the railway tracks in the days of coal-fired steam locomotives.
In December 2006, he received the Queen's Service Medal for services to the volunteer fire brigade.
When a volunteer St John station was formed, it was not unusual to see both firemen and their wives at the same car crash.
There have also been two female firefighters.
On Saturday evening, two brigade members, Chief Fire Officer Gary Johnston and Station Officer Craig McCaw, were presented with Gold Star awards for 25 years' service.
