The weekly Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1911-1922, 1912-01-18

was called on for remarks, and gave
a short address, followed by Com
rades Cephas Firestone and John p.
Sullivan. Sort of an old-fashioned
love feast" or as the old soldiers
would say "camp fire. was held,
different ones relating experiences
of the days when the Wide Awake
Hose Company had a running team,
and attended tournaments at differ
ent places. Some of the younger
members had never known much of
the Company history, and were anx-
ious to listen to the older members
as they related incidents of the
past.
Wide Awake Hose Co. No. 2,
was organized on June 13, 1883,
shortly after the big fire that wiped
out the corner where the Trust and
Savings building now stands. Those
were the days of the old hand en-
CINE, and at that fire the engine was
backed down to the river back of
where the Vangilder grocery store
now is, and the suction hose was
held In the water by our old hotel
keeper of those days, Adam Vim
hedge. About forty men on the
brakes, with the Foreman command
ing "Down on her, boys" made a
fair stream Of water for the time,
but with our electric pumps of to-
day, the old hand apparatus would
be but sorry affair.
The Company was organized with
thirteen men. Of this number Geo.
Lamson and Ed Haslanger are dead.
w. G. Hendricks, Charles Harris,
Bert Thompson, Henry Bergman and
Ezra n. Roe have removed from the
city. w. A. Strunk and F. M. Nc
Crory long since dropped out. John
Sullivan was out for part of a year,
but was taken back when he re-
turned. Charles Walburn, Cephas
Firestone and A. R. Underwood
have been members since the organi-
zation. Since the original organiza-
ton, there have been 68 other names
added, making total of 81 men who
have held membership with this
company.
At the organization A. r. Under
wood was made Foreman, and has
been reelected to the position each
year since. During its existence
this Company has held 800 regular
and special meetings, and the
records show that the Foreman was
present at all but twenty-three of
these. During the same time the
Company has responded to 312 fire
alarms, and the records show that
the foreman has missed in twenty
eight and one-half years just twenty
four fires, responding with the Com
pany to 288.
Since the organization of Wide
Awake Hose Co. not one member
has ever been seriously injured.
One member, Frank Woods, was
slightly hurt by the breaking of a
ladder at fire in the old Behren g
mill that stood on the corner #
CAIRO and Plumb streets. At the
fire that destroyed the old Corbin
block, Chief Kuhn was knocked
down by falling wall, but was not
seriously injured, though for the
time it was thought he was killed,
and some industrious reporter wired
the news to the Chicago papers, and
next day his father living at the
time at Port Huron, Michigan, see
ing the report in the papers, wired
here to learn of the truth of the re-
port. The Chief wired back that
if he was killed he was a very live
corpse, which satisfied his anxious
parents.
At the organization of this COM
pany the City gave them the old
four-wheeled hose cart to work
with, but it was soon found to be
unwieldy, as it took a whole block
to turn round in. The members then
got up subscription among them
selves and some interested citizens
and purchased for themselves the
two-wheeled jumper cart that they
used until the hose wagon was
bought in 1897, since which time
their cart has been used as a reserve
for emergencies.
There has always been the best of
feeling among the various members
of this company, and the men feel
proud of the record they have made
in the fighting of fires. At their
meetings they have attended strict
| ly to the duties imposed by their
Constitution, and when a member
could not give a lawful oxcueo for