The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1944-10-12

big time. II said;
mo more suit
able nor appropriate place could
have been selected for the great
| flremcn's demonstration we cele-
brate this week. The home, as IL Is,
of $4,000 chivalrous, industrious
and comely people, the center, as II
is, of five converging lines Of rail-
roads, and the Mecca, as il is, of
hundreds Of annual pilgrims who
come to drink the life-giving air
that surrounds il and feel in their
veins the pulses of quickening
health.
"Hagerstown as she stands today
Is not the creature of an impulse
nor a bubble blown from the fancy
Of an evanescent boom. She is
builded up on the rock of conserva-
ton and towers up to what she is,
from such lasting foundations She
greets the dremen from many
States with the enthusiasm Of youth,
coupled with the maturer prepare
ton for their comfort She is
young. yet old Founded in 1854 by
the historic Jonathan Hager, she
spent many years in quaint, old
fashioned garments of the village
Up to the sound of the deep roar Of
the cannon of Antietam she had not
dotted them, though it was plain
that they were outgrown. After
the war came railroads and city
dom and she put on new garments
In the year 1884 she assumed a new
charter and from that point came
the sudden development OF the
locked-up force of 20 years. The
population from that time to this
doubled in size"
Thus the writer, with many flow
ering epithets, went on to tell about
Hagerstown, then entertaining the
firemen.
Each of the five volunteer fire
companies of Hagerstown came in
for a write-up The First Hagers-
town Hose Co, No. l, was organized
in 1915, a short time after the sec
ond war with England, in which our
flag was given such proud pre-
eminence on the sea, by the gallant
deeds of the American sailors. 1t
was stated that all records of the
organization, if any were ever made.
had been lost. 1t was recalled that
Stewart Herbert and William Miller
were among the organizers. Both
had passed away in 1894, ESQ years
ago., but Miller lived to an adj
vanced age, and saw the company
take possession of its present home
on South Potomac street.
In 1923 the company was incor-
porated by the Legislature of the
State. The act named as incorpor-
ators: George w. Krebs, c. c. Fech-
tig, H. l. Rahauser, VIM. G. Drury
John Wise, Jr., Thomas Post, George
Fechtig, VIM. Bender, Martin Kersh-
ner, John Reynolds, Jr., James Da-
Wis, George Emmert, William Mil.
Ter, George Kealhofer, Luther Aims
worth, George Swearingen, Peter
Shank, John A. Boyle, Stewart Her.
bert, David T. Wilson, VIM. Wise
VIM. Robertson, Samuel j. Downey
Vaudeville Miller, John H. Fechtig
John H. Krebs, George Lorshbaugh
James Zwisler, Jr., John w. Swear
ingen, Levin C. Willis and DAME
H. Middlekauff.
The first engine house the compa
ny had was situated upon thu
grounds of st. Johns Lutheran
Church and was small frame shed
only large enough to hold its singh
| piece of apparatus, an old-tim
hand engine, with gallery. Ii
1886 they had built for them b,
John Rogers, of Baltimore, thel
celebrated engine builder, the small
machine known as pet" Its small
size enabled the boys to run it int
alleys or the yards of residence
and thus obtain water for it fror
, pumps or private cisterns. At tn
time of the burning of the Schinde
tannery, while H. K. Tice was pres
ident, the company was getting wa
ter for their engine in the yard {
, the dwelling later occupied by vii
liam Wallace Slower.
About 1850 or 1852 the compan
purchased from Rogers a much lal