The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-01-29
JOHN MARONEY. FIRE CHIEF
Veteran Leader of Silver City Department Honored by State Associates on 3Oth Anni-
 versary of Appointment

ment, Bill Noble, who always says: There's one New York, and one Waterbury," George Milne, chief of Rockville, once among the sportiest towns of Connecticut. George wore q stiff @hirt and looked nice, but he wasn't q bit stiff in his conversation to those of us who just went along as we appear daily on the streets; Art Harris. . deputy chief of the Mer- iden department, all business and rushing "hither and thither;" young Lieutenant Donovan, asso- ciated with Chief Maroney, the Master Mind" of the arrange ments who handled so many floral pieces that upon several occasions we almost took him for an under taker instead of a fire fighter; Big Dan Donovan who was Mayor of Meriden once or twice, and who still mingles with the crowd and talks of old time political days, when he and the late gifted Tom Kelley were on the opposite side on election day. and Alderman Joe Quinn of de old Fort" The alder man, by the way, looks the part of an alderman, as we observed him, real old fashioned handshaker as he appeared to us last night, the Mayor of Meriden, Steve Smith. short in statute, young, sufficient black hair, and well groomed.
 The mayor was the toastmaster. He talked about the chief, said thousands of good things about him, and commented upon his ex- ceptional popularity among the rank and file of Meriden. Others did the same. The chief just sat back and grinned. There was no reason why he should have done otherwise. It's better, you know, to hear nice words about yourself In life; you can't hear after your dead and you don't get the daily paper fin the other world. Some preachers say the dead know more than we suspect, but we're some what skepticAl about 1t all after following the Henry Mencken viewpoint for these many years.
 Old Meriden, we like you and your people. Yet you have only been on earth these lSO years. Originally, as we review our his- tory, we think you were taken frci1 Wallingf0rd.
 We think back to the days or yore when the greatness Of your silyerwarc attracted many outsid- CTS within your borders. The town was full of sports and just like Waterbury your people were ready and willing to wager on any ana all events of the day. We think of the early days of the Meriden railroad when the ambition or every Waterbury "lkid" was t0 make Meriden on the Fourth or July, and shoot blank cartridges from the rear platform of the "on- rushing" fast trains of 2 newly formed combination to which every man I'm both Meriuen anu Waterbury subscribed, if he had q hundred dollars or 50 in his jeans. He was railroad magnatc then. he thought. But the money went up in smoke. and all he got for its value was the name of being 2 stockholder.
 Meridon stiII retains It's main railroad in the center of the town' and probably will have to continue so to do fer many years to come New buildings have rcplaced many of the old structures Tn which merry times of past day took place.
 Meriden has a fine fire chief. RIr Mike Carroll is the chief Of police; he's bigger and perhaps q HttIe more active than the late Jim Burke whose wearing of his famed Derby hat when he was nGeriden's only detective, always interested us.
 The Maroney banquet makes us talk, probably too much.