Norwich bulletin., 1922-12-20

The cid ''ssvens" of Gresnsv8Ile will
 .seaSs to act as a fire company after,
 February lst. A letter received by the
 cothpany the early part of last week tn-
 formed them that the fire commissioners
 have decided to place motor apparatus
 In the Greeneville station and that the
 volunteers must Yacate the premises by
 February 1, 1923. AG. ,>,Es
 With regard to the change, from vol
 uYteer to, petmanent paid men a prom
 inAnt member of the "Sevens said
 Tuesday: .-' '.' " '-...i f-'E \ While the fire companies are both 3rrto
 leavehthe old quarters the action Of the
 commissioners was not wholly unexpsct-
 ed for ever since, they took away the
 apparatus the company could and did
 work with, and put in the lumber wagon
 that nobody, but horses could pull, with
 no arrangements made for horses to re-
 spond, the handwriting. on a the s wall
 could be easily discerned. .. However, the boys adjourn, not dis
 band. and the "Sevens' as q body will exist, and their records will be kept in- 1. tact. The history of the doings of the old Shetuckets would fill volume with deeds of heroisrn and sacrifice at fires, success at fairs and socials, and on the Hthletic field. The "Sevens" had facul- ty getting whatever they went out aft g er.r .s,, ~.. 7. -5;' old residents will tell of the batter of . hurfyng feet from all sections of the village at the first sound of an alarm. each racing with the other 70 see who < would make the engine house first and : before the full, round of the bell the old carriage would be on the way. Many < suit of clothes was spoiled and many : cut and bruise went unnoticed in those s days. It was all in the life of fre- man. -
 A clipping from a newspaper at the ' siIne of the Lucas hall fire said:
 < "The Shetucket Steam Fire Engine \ company, No. {, made grand record in going to the fire in Lucas hall on Sat q urday evening. The members started ! put from their hose house on North {. Main street with their carriage when the | general alarm struck and in thirteen E minutes afterwards, by actual count, :. they had stream of water on the fire. ti This is considered fine record for the ! members of a volunteer fire company s The company on many occasions made { fast runs and did various work, notabl sr at the Potter coal yard, shannon build S ing and Hopkins and Allen fires, and ' many others, too numerous to mention in {, the seventy odd years of their existence. s The early records went back. into the 6 i0's, but like most things of that vim tage somebody appropriated them for 2 safe keeping. So safe, in fact, it is not { known just where they might be found, Y but from 1877 the doings of 45 years z are freshAin the memory of some of us. X In 1S77N the officers were Samuel D. Wilson, foreman; Arthur Mathews first : assistant; Patrick Barry, second as- | slstant; Walter Armstrong, secretary; Ea William H. Bell, treasurer and John ' ReAIolds. steward.
 < The handsome silver trumpet still in the possession of the company was won ' al a fair in Breed hall in 1877. It was <. presented by the Rev. Daniel Mullen, for N the most popular fire company and need : less to say, because of energy and bar hrSls of money were spent to bring home
 Che prize. ,-..,t .> =: .s.l.i. So with the contest for a gold; watch . h later years, won by Pat Daley as the most popular firSrnan, and assistant 2 Sbief. backed up by his host of friends. 2. The, bitterly fought hose races still { given in our memory, were held at the county fair grounds in 1896 and. 1905, sand. won by the "Sevens' with their. do or die spirit and the record of 2 min- s!utes S9 1-2 seconds for a half, mile, E drawing l,0S0 pound carriage. still
 stands as a worlds record. ... Y
 z X few of the company's athletes were 7, Ed" McMahons John D. Nolan. John
 gleason, long distance men; F. J. Mur- II Lha, Jack Dunn. sprinters; Bob Counors, z lack Downes, long jumpers and |. there swere- many shot putters and high kick < ers among the lesser lights. John, H, Icleary. was. the company's acrobat
 whose act in those days was a. head: ipe throughout the country. and Bar $ney''. Keenan was the stellar performer z with the gloves. They also had tug of
 war teams that could pull up the camel 2 About a dozen of the boys were in the World war and all returned safe after gscquittlng themselves on the field of bat
 1et with the same vim and spirit the oId
 boys had when fighting a bad fire.
 7 The "Sevens' carried a membership
 of N75 to 90 for, a number of years. A
 death benefit of $50 was paid irnmedi.
 ately to d members relatives A present
 eof SEQ was always given to each mem.