Norwich bulletin., 1915-01-15
YANTfc FIREMEN
 HOLD HOUSING SMOKER.
Addressed by Chief Stanton and Rev.
 M. fa. eoid:e Of Graes charsh--ysts Tell Their Experiences Mid Flame and Smoke.

town of Norwich held a smoker in
 their hall Wednesday evening to which all the members, ex-members and friends had been invited. The com pany is one of the oldest volunteer companies in the state and the only l chartered volunteer company in the 1 state.
 Over q hundred turned out to enjoy ! the social evening planned. Herfnon | J. Gibbs foreman of the present com
 pany, spoke briefly on the work during ! the past year and acted as chairman of the meeting. Through the courtesy Of the P1aut- -Cadden company Grapho- i phone selections were enjoyed through 1 the evening.
 r. J. Kelly of Fitchville. the first l man to fire the present engine, getting l steam up in eight minutes and holding
 the state record, WAS called on to make a few remarks. He was greeted with much applause and was followed by l James CounteFman, the present stokeF. 1 Experiences at Fires. 1 Charles Carpenter narrated his ex- psriences with the present company, and Charles N. CongGon followed with ] his experiences at the Shannon build i Ing and ChappeH wharf fires recently and McNally's fire and the Ire at F1tchville years ago, when the old
 Three cheers for the old company were given.
 Charles Schlough of Norwich. who 1 never shirked any frenan's duty while a member, was the next speaker and David Mcconnell told of his expsri- ences at janitor.
 Chief Stanton Praises the Boys. MT. Gibbs introduced Chief HoRard 1 L. Stanton of the Norwich fire depart nlent as one Of the most efficient chiefs in New England as speaker of the evening.
 Chief Stanton said in part that the l zork Of a volunteer company was much different from . paid system He 1 spoke of the advisability of fire pro | tectiOn and gave a brief history of his i experiences He loves his work and
 praised the work the Yant1c fire de- partment had done in the past and wanted to state publicly that Norwich 1 was fortunate in having them so near
 sussests Fire Prevention Clubs. He narrated the statistics of the | Norwich fire department, showing the
 Ioss per capita SHY in 1918 with $55.- 600 fire loss, and last year S1.0S per capita. He suggested clubs for the 1 prevention of fires, clubs among men, ! women and school children, saying that frequent talks on the subject will 1 tend to lessen carelessness in many 1 lines He said if he had his way Nor l wich would put in 1000 feet of hose in
 the Yantic hose room immediately He remarked that Tantic was the 1 only real volunteer department in thts | vicinity and the least 1t should have l was proper hose equipment. It gave l him great pleasure to come. which R.as | only nlarred by the thought that such
 a willing organization lacked suitable 1 equipment.
 l Oldest ex- Member.
 Henry Hanrihan next told Of his 1 eight years experience with the com i pany-, and David Smith. the oldest -ex-
 member living. whose father was 8 1 member and whose son Edward now | takes an active part, was called on He said he was no speechmaker, but was able to get around to the roll call ocee- l sionally.
 Joseph Mara of F1tcl1yille told of his experiences in the company sev- l eral years ago and evoked much 1 laughter when he referred 10 the fire
 at McNally's, telling of his loss of clothing
 Oldest Active Member. Winslow Tracy Williams was next l introduced, but needed no introduction, 1 as ile has always been with the men 1 at all fires and has been the one to ] furnish equipment supplies and a sub l stantial building as a testimonial Of l his interest. He was much impressed 1 with the attendance and the good 1 feeling existing among the men. l Mir. Williams $ the oldest active member of the present company, hay l ing joined in 1884. and his first fire 1 Was at Fitchville, when the old hand 1 engine was used.
 ! l always been an inspiration to the men ] and he says it is i'll the blood. His son. 1 Erastus WinsEov Williams, who joined 1 the company last fall, is the foU1th
 generation of Williams in the company. The Original Charter.
 The original company was organized ] h lS47 by his grandfather, ErastuE ] Williams. and following is q copy of 1 the charter:
 General Assembly. May Session, A U. 15N. 1 Resolved by this Assembly: 1 That a fire company be. and the 1 same is, hereby established by the l mama of the Yanfic Fire Engine com pany, to be raised and located in the village of Yantic. in the town of Nor 1 wien; and that on or before the 10th 1 day of July next that ErastuS Vii laims be, and hereby is, authorized and ] empowered to give public notice by I the village of Yantic, that enlistments | will take place upon the third Saturday | in July. 3S47, at o'clock r. nl by him, ! the said EraStu5 Williams, for the es- tabiistmert of said fire company; and that there may be enlisted a fire com pany, not to exceed 40 members, S5 Of | whom may be from the militia Of this 1 state, and no more
 And the persons to be enlisted as l aforesaid or at any time after said 1 third Saturday in July, 1s47, thei1. as- 1 sociates and successors be, and they 1 are, hereby constituted a. body, cor porate and polite, with the usual pow 1 CTS and privileges of fire companies in Y this state
 1 Provided. That this grant maybe altered. amended or repealed at tho 1 pleasure of the general assembly | Presented Picture i Mir. Williams presented the fire con1- 1 pany the picture taken of the company during the centennial celebration of | the town Of Norwich. He spoke of tho I $50 feet of poor hose in the building and suggested that the men take a card and write to the selectmen for proper hose.
 Episcopal Rector Speaks. The next speaker introduced was the Rev. NJ. Mclean Goldie, recently es- 1 abolished pastor of Grace church, who expressed much pleasure in being with the members and to see such d mag nincent home in such a small village. He praised the name Williams and regretted the absence of a fellow speaker, the Rev. Charles Brennan,s of l the Sacred Heart church, who was un- able to attend.
 Sociahility and Sebrietv. E-1I