|
|
|
|
|
HISTORIAN’S CORNER
|
FOSTER HOSE COMPANY
(By Fred Gifford)
As many of you know, the first fire department in the village was Foster Hose Co. and was located at the Water Cure of Dr. Henry Foster. As his first buildings were constructed of wood, it was a necessity for him to do all in his power to protect his investment and above all look after the safety of his patrons.
Recently an article has come to light to tell us a little more about those early days and what Dr. Foster faced. The following sketch is from a 50th Fire Department anniversary article printed on July 26, 1933. The original information was written down by John P. Sheehan, one of the first fire chiefs of Foster Hose. His portrait you will find on the wall in the Foster Cottage Museum in the downstairs west room.
"In July, 1883, it was decided to organize a fire company on account of several fires in our village, and practically no fire protection. At that time we did not have village water works, and the Sanitarium depended on a pump in the laundry and water from the pond in the park, which, during some seasons of the year, was not a large supply. At this time the Sanitarium had about 300 ft. of leather hose, which hung on a peg in the carpenter shop, and about three hydrants surrounding the buildings. This constituted all the protection the Sanitarium had. Fire was one of the great worries of Dr. Foster, and on windy night many times he had been seen patrolling halls and buildings fearing that someone might carelessly leave a gas jet lighted near a door or something else might start a fire.
On July 26, 1883, a meeting of the employees was called in the smoking room, which is now a part of the machine shop. Foster Hose Company was formed with the following officers: Patrick O'Sullivan, President; Frank Van Dyne, Sr. Vice President; Charles M. Redfield, Secretary; Leonard D. Fischer, Foreman; John Hanlon, Assistant Foreman and W. P. O'Neil, Drill Masters. The trustees were Dr. Henry Foster, C. L. Judd and C. B. Linton.
Dr. Foster presented the company with a hose cart and the hose was taken off the peg and put on the hose cart. The first firemen's parade in Clifton Springs was held the following September with thirty men drawing the two wheel cart and Abe Cook with the feather duster bringing up the rear. (The feather duster must have been to see that everything looked in A1 shape!) Three years later (1886), Dr. Foster purchased a very fine parade carriage for the Foster Hose Co. which the company prized very highly and was used in all our parades up until 1920 when a motor truck was purchased by popular subscription, the Sanitarium Co. making up the balance of the cost. In a few years more it will probably be replaced with more modern equipment, as the Foster Hose Company, like the Sanitariuim, is progressive."
I was surprised that Foster Hose was not organized at an earlier date as the Water Cure buildings first went up in 1850, with a third wing being added on shortly thereafter. All the stories about Dr. Foster relate how concerned he was with the possibility of fire, for as you know heating in those days was first by fireplace with lights being candles. Anyone going through one of our winters knows what some of the "howling" winds of the season can sound like and if you have ever had a fireplace that the added draft can set a fire to roaring in no time at all. Little wonder that Dr. Foster chose to live in his facility and not the cottage he build in 1854. He wanted to be FIRST on hand for any problems that arose, especially fire. Fortunately, no one has related that he faced any major problems prior to the establishment of Foster Hose, but there must have been "times" when they did develop and he was able to stay on top of them. It must have been a wild and scary night for him when he saw the old Powell Hotel, on the site of present day Maxwell Hall, burned to the ground in 1872. Little wonder that Dr. Foster stepped forward in 1883 and gathering his valued employees around him organized the first official fire department in Clifton Springs,
As I have written about before, there were to follow several fire units in the
village itself following the installation of village water lines in 1896. Among these
were the Hook & Ladder Co., The Protectives and Winona Hose. After many years
all the fire departments were united into the Clifton Springs Fire Department in1954
and they have been an OUTSTANDING example of service above self ever since. In
this day and age we are proud that our firemen are still all volunteers.
Proud of our fire department, we salute again those dedicated persons who work to provide us all with protection from the dread of fire. Today they are increasing being called upon for many other services necessary over and above the ones we used to expect from a fire department.
|
|
Click On Banner For More Information
|
