Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1954-01-22
OLin Johnson HOnOred
By His Associates
Continued from first pagel

| WOIk uOne Dy ufemen IN the state
-VOluntarily-giving of themselves
/ to help make communities a better
place in which to live and promOt-
ing the safety, health and happi-
ness of the people" Men such as
Chief Johnson and his fellow fire.
men have done splendid work in
building up volunteer serVice,-in
doing a first class job to put Della
ware first in volunteer fire fight
ing ranks. Gov. BOggs went on to
tell of attending the national con-
ventiOn held in Ohio, where both
professional and volunteer fire
companies paraded and said, Il
/ appreciated then, more than ever,
the fine training and the splendid
! equipment in Delaware" He also
! pointed out, THE work done by
volunteer firemen in every com
munity in the state is needed and
were it not for Chief Johnson and
/ all the others in similar positions,
| together with the members of the
/ companies, / could not estimate the
cost in taxes to people of the state
if such service had to be paid for"
Gov. BOggs also stated that the
volunteer fire companies and the
services they perform are one of
the attractions it is possible to
offer to attract new businesses and
organizations to locate in Della
ware. There is no better exam
pie of the traditions of the state
and nation than the service of
men in the volunteer fire cOmpan-
les; the best evidence that they
are meeting the needs of the COM
munities is the fact that younger
men are coming into the various
companies to carry on the work of
their predecessors.
Thomas r. PuTneH, newly elect
ed president of the Georgetown
Fire Company, greeted the guests
and made the presentation of the
watch to Chief Johnson. He said,
I'm presenting this gift, which is
| an expression of appreciation and
esteem of the firemen, it will serve
as constant reminder of the APP
probation of fellow firemen and the
community. The watch has %
jewels, one for each year of your
servi,e as Chief and just as the
watch has many parts dependent
upon each other, so is the VOlun-
teer fire company and just as the
parts of this watch must be syn
chronized to perform perfectly, so
the volunteer companies must be,
in order to function perfectly" "A
watch also has a main spring." he
said, land you, Chief Johnson,
have been a handspring of this
company for many years" The
watch carries the following inscrip-
Presented to Olin D. john
son, January Is, 1854 % years
Chief of Georgetown Volunteer
Fire Company, Inc. Chief john
son received the gift with a brief
expression of appreciation.
Mr. Purnell paid tribute to Mrs.
Mary Houston Robinson, editor and
owner of The Sussex COuntian. for
cooperation with the fire company
IN using the columns Of the paper
to aid the firemen. He read the
editorial printed in the Sussex
Countian this past week and writ
ten by Mrs. Robinson.
Other speakers were Curtis w
Ennis, of Glendale, president of
the Delaware State VIA and also
Chief CT the Glendale Fire Com
pany, where he is just beginning
his twentieth year in that position:
Ernest Leverage, president of the
DelmarVa Volunteer Firemen's AS
ISOLATION who announced Training
School to be held. in Salisbury, Md,
April 24-25, to which all Eastern
Shore firemen are invited and also
the Delmarva Annual Convention
to be held in Centreville, Md, May
HIP. Williams Hines, president
of the Sussex County VIA and
Walter LaRue, State Fire Marshall.
both spoke briefly. Mr.. LaRue paid
tribute to Mr.. Johnson and the
work of the volunteer firemen. He
stated, IF the younger firemen
coming into the organizations had
to go back to the time and condi-
tons existing when Chief Johnson
began fire-ighting they would find
! the going tough. He told of the
| duties imposed on the Fire Mar
shall of the state and the deputies
in each county, the latter who are
serving on a voluntary basis. Mr.
LaRue stated that since January l.
headlines in the newspapers cover
ing nearby Pennsylvania, Mary
land and Delaware, showed that
fires had caused approximately 4
million dollars in damage, most of
the fires being caused by careless
ness"
Mayor Harvey B. Spicer, unable
to attend, was represented by Nor
man Rogers, member of the Town
Council, who expressed apprecia-
ton of the Council and community
for long service of Chief Johnson
and the members of the company.
Officers Of the Georgetown Fire
Company were introduced, as we'll
as Thomas B. Pepper, Oldest men,
Der OF the company; w. Linden
RaWlins, former Mayor of the town
and Lifetime friend of Mr.. johnson.
Also guests were Mr.. and Mrs. Wal
ter Townsend and Mr.. and Mrs.
Lacey DerricksOn, of Georgetown.
Mrs. Townsend and Mrs. Derrick
son are sisters of Chief Johnson.
Other Out-Of-tOWn guests were
Mrs. Curtis Ennis, Glendale: Mrs.
Walter LaRue near Wilmington,
and Mrs. William Hines, Seaford.
There were ia in attendance in
Guiding other members of the Town
Council; the wives of firemen and
! mnmhnrs of adins A,nuilin,... e -