Page 1 |
Previous | 1 of 4 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
All (PDF)
|
This page
All
|
Loading content ...
aaassea wit. ■--- ? '" 1 ,'d ou soroe" ow? y hhara, -now* aid passion. fashion ? knees, ■> all it may be ; .ie day be ;ka of Circe, ;ep eyes, mercy, i lay Love's seasons| i love's soft treasons ?i * .iat subtle surgery with Lore's gentle per/ut^ ; A swells and falters,. .■Us tender psalters; .ado-fv gleams imeneer ...... . re moon's silver censer, f" I fe**X and bow before her : iiUe, Eo'r the true^dorer ! %- eyes, and her quick glance ana^ersvS* 4e, shall we join the (fancera*? * kal . x>J [Written for The Jooknal.] ^>k REMINISCENCES OF RACINE. History of the Fire Department from 1851 to the Present Time. Joys Amid Sorrows - -Koses Amid Thorns In the Life oi' a Fireman. BY I. V. GREEN. As Chicago has been writing tip her Fire Department, perhaps it would be interesting to the readers of The Journal to call to mind something of the early history of that of Racine. As I think I hear you say : " Of course—why not V here is ITS ORGANIZATION. Up to about 18S0 and 1851, we had not ex perienced any very disastrous fires, and the Deparment was rather slim—consisting of a Hook and Ladder Truck, the little " Coffee Mill " of Mr. Skinner's, and a Bucket Company—(no reference to the " Old Oaken Bucket.") The fires of those years which destroyed the old Exchange, kept by the Messrs. "Raymond, together with out-buildings, horses, etc., and other fires of like magnitude, awoke our people to a sense of the dangers that hung over our young and growing city, and the ''fathers" concluded to purchase three hand engines ; on their arrival here three splendid companies had been organized to receive them. No. 2 was organized first ; but the older fellows of No. 1 had not been asleep and got their number—thus securing the best machine But tke Department was put together with Marvin G. Armour as Chief Engineer ; H. T. Taylor, as Assistant; S. S. Dickinson, Foreman No. 1 ; S. P. Bounds, Foreman No. 2; Evan Lewis, Foreman No. 3, and the machines were given to the respective companies regularly organized under constitutions and by-laws, subject to the city government., No. 1 was made up of our more elderly and substantial citizens. No. 2 was composed entirely of young men, and was rather a temperance company, for Rounds (Ster-man) was the publisher of The Old Oaken Bucket, a paper that at that time found its way into almost every household in the whole Northwest, and his name and character was held up by mothers to their children as a light by which they should be guided in their future lives. Of course, his followers in No. 2 strove to emulate him ; how far they succeeded, I will not undertake to say. No. 3 was composed of our YVelsh fellovr- citizens, were orderly in their conduct, and I always rendered efficient service at fires. Under this organization the fire fiend was readily handled and subdued ; but sometimes the boys would get rusty, or tired of serving on hose committees, when they would get up an alarm just for fun, and to stretch their bgs. ared for by No. 1—each company was the guest of a Chicago company. Many of our party had never been in the Garden city before, but our foreman, through Assistant Chief EngineerLangdon, and our Chief Engineer Taylor, on the right side of Chief Bradley, soon put us on a good footing—there was nothing in Chicago too good for us, and No. 7 made us feel perfectly at home. There were fire companies from Detroit, Buffalo, Milwaukee, Bacine, and other points to the number of some fourteen hundred strangers, and red shirts mingled in good feeling, as though they had been acquainted for years; and it seemed as though the whole population wanted to be firemen, in fact, several tailor shops were kept running from the time we went there till we came away, (three days) making uniforms for outsiders who wanted to get into good society, and the dressy uniform of a Bacine fireman was a sure passport. It was one continued round of pleasure ; and the dinner which was furnished us at the Tremont House—it would take a solid column to describe as it should be Suffice it to say that those fourteen hundred guests enjoyed it hugely—particularly the " pop "— a mysterious looking bottle, which came around in its course. No. 1 was ranged on on one side of the table and No. 2 on the other. The look of the bottles was new to several good Sons of Temperance, and one of them leaning over toward Bill McCarty asked what it was. Bill says : " It's pop, Uncle Ira—a new kind of pop." Ira, with t ncle McD., "cracked" one bottle, and then another, and corks were flying through five whole Divisions of S. of T., as it were, each declaring it wasthemost splendid "pop" they ever drank ; and its effect was so glorious, too—it lasted two or three days. That night —there was only one place where we had not been used very well—at Cozzen's ten pin alley ; we went up in considerable numbers, commenced playing, drinking " pop," etc., until about 11 o'clock, when the alarm of fire sounded, and true to duty, every fireman skedaddled, forgetting how much they "hung up " Cozzens for—but then it must be laid to Eop—everybody had been drinkingpop. The re proved to be the old Mansion House, and the fire was an impromptu affair, gotten up tor our benefit; but it was the finishing up, as the day before No. 1 had borne off the broom at the trial of engines—though force of numbers had something to do with Bacine beating the cities of Buffalo, Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago. It happened in this way : No. 7 had asked George Barrows how it was best to fix their machine—an old goose-neck. George told them to back her into the river, and they did so—she lay there when we came home. They then joined in with No. 2 of Bacine ; when No. 1 took the stand, both companies went to her assistance, and she ' got away with all the baggage," from one end of the Chain of Lakes to the other. Capt. Applebee, of the steamer Sultana, as she came up on his boat, " patted her on the back," and praised her as " the girl that took the colors." She is still in the hands of No. 4, and with that efficient company, Bhe keeps up her reputation, although the last relic of the Volunteer Department. The trip was one of pleasure and profit in more ways than one. Our firemen learned many things in regard to the working of fire aparatus that was of great use in after years ; 5. P. B. cemented a friendship that resulted in a business partnership, from which he has walked up the ladder of business prosperity, till he stands among the solid men of Chicago, doing more business with the printing fraternity of the Northwest than any furrishing house this side of Philadelphia, and is President of the celebrated Taylor Press Manufacturing Company, of Chicago. Many other social relations were formed, which intervening time has not obliterated. We all got home, in time, though most came on the Sultana and Pacific. I'm not going to say anything about our Worthy Chief (H. T. T.) walking off the pier into Lake Michigan, because it was currently reported that he and Andrew Bobertson were the only ones who did not drink " pop." The city'was unusually quiet when we arrived here, but suddenly awoke at the looming of cannon, for the boys had prepared a salute for the returning excursionists. A few little incidents had oc- cured, among others, the venerable Uncle j J. A. H. found there had been a surprise party at his house in his absence. The surprise is now a married woman. No. 3 had taken good care of all conflagrations. THE BALI, AT- CASE'S SHOP. Our next circus was the ball at J. I. Case's new shop, which many will remember as the affair of the winter. * No pains had been spared, and unde the Terpsechorean direction of Bounds, Bill McCarty, 'Rash Taylor, and others, our guests from Milwaukee, Kenosha and Chicugo pronounced it decidedly rescherche. '• Rough and Ready" 4, of Mil- Hook and Ladder would, once in a while, with Uncle Arby Tyrrel as foreman, get hold of a 2x4 scantling, burned off at both ends, and yank blazes out of it. But then it was merely an asylum for those who did not want to serve on juries, or work out their poll tax. The organization is in better shape now, and renders good service. FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION. The first celebration we had after our organization, was on the 4th of July of the same year, when some of the citv fathers defeated a proposition in the Council to furnish the Fire Department a " free dinner." As No. 2 left the house to go into procession, Sol Cather says : " Jim, you print the labels, and I'll furnish the rest." The labels were printed : " The city council refuses to provide for us on this occasion, and we provide for I ourselves." By this time Sol. came with two cards of ginger-bread, which were put up by the buckets, and four bottles of small beer, one hung to each end of the brakes. But there was an incident occurred that made all things right : Acting Chief Engineer Taylor wasasked to detail men for a "hose company" to act for the day. The detail was made, and afterward it turned out that the " hose company " was made up of good old fellows.who couldn't stand the march in the hot sun, and that their chief duties were to get up a dinner for us at Congress Hall,' and furnish refreshments for the rank and file during that hot day's march—which they did to perfection, under the orders of H. T. T. The dinner was good ; the iced champagne better, and it was a lively Independence Day from that time out. . I am not going to tell who rolled Durand's grind stones down Congress hill ,- who made the farmer's wagon to pieces, and made it up again on the top of a lumber pile ; who got up the serenade for Madame Anna Bishop, .-- - ...... ,.,,..,,„..,.„ .,„,„„„,,,, the English songstress, and Old Boxcy, which they could to make the trial of her capacity waukee, had been invited, and the boys ou. watching reported that they were coming. The thing was a success, financially, as our citizens had bought liberally of our tickets, and the treasury was in good shape. The cannon was loided, and rammed to the muzzle with cabbage ; "States" Munroe sat astride the gun with a lighted cigar, and at the word from George "touched her off." Then there was fun; "States" had been thrown under the gun by the recoil—unhurt, but begrimmed with powder as if he had been blown out of a magazine ; there was scarcely a light of gliiss left in ihe building ; $64 dollars put it in again, but the profits of the ball were that much less—and still everybody was happy. The Milwaukee boys appreciated the " salute," and the balance of the entertainment, as they attested by favors to George B. and his boys on an after occasion in Milwaukee. THE MILWAUKEE FIRE. In August, 1854, Milwaukee had her big blaze, and telegraphed to Racine for help, which was promptly sent in the three engines and plenty of men to work them—as the Milwaukee firemen were wholly prostrated with heat and fatigue. The lamented Jake Wrat- ten was Chief Enginer at that time, and during the fire he received such injuries in the discharge of his duties as laid him up for months ; but then the big hearted City Council of Milwaukee voted him $100. At this fire, No. 3 was offered by the proprietor of a drug store, $500 if they would save his property. The Welsh boys pitched in and did the job—but the next morning the $500 man could not be found. NO. 1 WINS THE SILVER TRUMPET. When the first State Fair was held at Milwaukee, George Barrows took No. 1 there. Phil Dayly, foreman of No. 4, extended to George and his boys all those little courtesies so well known and appreciated among firemen—run out their own engine and gave our boys their house, and furnished all the aid was the subject of a column criticism in the London (England) Times, and reproduced here by the Kenosha Telegraph; who swopped Milliner's signs for Doctor's ; how ' Pa " Stevens saw the trick; who put Little's liquor sign on the unfinished steeple of the Baptist Church, and tied the old grav horse to the bell rope ; how S. P. took all his boys to hear that great revivalist, and how the good Doctor was so pleased to see us that he forgot his original text, and went off into a lecture for our special benefit. No, I can't tell you about these things this time - it would swell this article to such dimensions that it would burst The Journal "chases." THE TRIP TO CHICAGO. The next bit of recreation we were to have was a trip to Chicago, by invitation of the Chicago Fire Department, to attend a Firemen's Jubilee, to be held in that city to which all the firemen of the North-West and part of York State were to be assembled. We made great preparations, never doubting but that the Council would let us take the machine --No. 2. We had a meeting, and among other committees, one was appointed on decorating the engine, with Al. Howes as chairman. Al. rose and begged, in a bashful manner, to be excused, as he had never " dedicated " an engine in his life. He was not excused, however, for he was a dry goods clerk and knew how to buy ribbon. The stock of the stores and millinery establishments were exhausted, and we employed Signor Blitz, the necromancer, to blow us out a few fathoms to finish up with. On the night before we was to go—just as the last ribbon had been wound on the brakes, an alarm of fire was sounded, and away we went, ribbons and all It proved to be Norton's packing house, over a success. In spite of the Water Witch, o'f Janesville, and the balance of the State, she walked away with the silver trumpet, valued at $95. It was kept and shown with great pride on Review Days while George was in the Department; I have not seen it lately but understand it is in -the city, but held as private property. It is something that should be city property. The Vo'unteer Department and hand engines were all very well for those times and all felt secure till the riisasfrous fire which swept away Titus Hall, the Episcopal Church the Bacine House, and in fact, both sides of* Fifth street, from Main to Wisconsin—involving a loss of some $100,000 worth of property It was then seen that hand engines were of no use where a city had attained the proportions that Bacine had, and A PAID STEAM FIRE DEPARTMENT was demanded. After a great deal of talk and mainly through the hard work of Messrs' John Vaughan and L. S. Blake two steamers have been purchased, and under Mr. Fred. ' Gottbehuett as Chief Engineer, we have one of the most efficient Fire Departments of its size in the State. The steamers are named respectively after the gentlemen whose energy has secured this valuable improvement in protection to life and property. With Adam Hertzog in charge of the " Blake," and Pat Traeey of the " Vaughan;" with No 4 Hook and Ladder and Asby to help them' our citizens sleep secure in their houses, without fear of any very considerable conflagra- Johh is wo Iff 1873 h ave In repor and p We the h Ga., p Boc which tne re> It ii have cattle Uta! from ] tory n< Stal nicely vest,'h Catifju The; Lewisi ville,1 busv p The Nebra ninety tliirty- Bec unfavc this se f'ar.-^ li sold j —at 4 nice 1 cultuj II Minn seed to so contr 'W wet* year. acres rate almus age 0] Mr 111,, 1 whiel pastil On t. purcl: he ex $30,0 tut introi Iri B 3,800 pcjpd pciun able the s tion. I have thus briefly sketched this historv as I remember it over these twentv-three years of time. There are undoubtedly sins of omission and commission—for both of which on the river, and of course No. 2 was the I am willing to be forgiven first on the ground. There was only a narrow track between the seething flame and the rivei,b^t_ through it we went, some getting Before the other engines severelp>Prched As an illustration of the increasing value of walnut lumber the Indianapolis Journal notes that the standing walnut trees on a half-sectio of land on Eel River, in Miami County were recently sold to a lumber dealer for>T7 000, There is a large amount of ber on the tract which is not include, only the walnut timber being sold. Wjffnut lumber is coming more and more inWSse throughout this country and Europeujffd at present a very large business is donafn preparing and shipping it from Indiana. A arrived it £g hot worb_ as many wU, ^ A ;™Pt&rldnS so hard t0 save propertv word came th,the CoMcil whi h V P - session had vc^ not t } No. 3 to c°h\° mfsta~k"f TheVvard tu™d out to be a £5£& anheinVW6rbeut-te^ JS&f" speech to them, 4'.b"'Man thl Vi * boys, we'll put this K ' , ■■ Ma" ^e brakes, cW anvhow, and ypnl, and we'll go Chi- the* machine, we will fc*!^let "*».* His word was law and if Pu* out another •' Sred all the balance of ***e We la our dilapidated decorations" *o restore 1 and 2, leaving the safety*^ botli NoAs .. .. care of No. 3, left for Cnica,[°e city in the sand grasshopjifrs were hatched out. After One steamboat sufficed t, being subjecjid to twenty degrees of freezino- iait it took three or four to brl«e us down, they were.iriawed out as lively as ever An° our arrival there No. 2 was« back. On other big crop of these insect pests for the reived and ' next season is feared. Some of the folks been experimeritin&rvn uaicmng out grasshoppers. The oOilr day six quarts of earth were placed undjTa stove, and several thou- artin County have n hatching out "E ward fob of to char got c and dowi playj one i thro' ting erali had apph • ,d| ohr boy 1 Rev. John tion ] there Lawj his h swea: propi thouj and s and { if this moth< and J their they i world said, '
Object Description
Pagination | Box 6, Folder 11: Racine Fire Department |
Title | Box 6, Folder 11: Racine Fire Department |
Creator | Leach, Eugene Walter, 1857-1938 |
Folder Description | This folder contains a list of the number of fires and monetary damage. It also includes information on the equipment used, J.I. Case plant's fire prevention methods, and newspaper clippings about Racine reminisces concerning the fire department. |
State | Wisconsin |
Place | Racine |
Subject | Racine Fire Department; data & lists; Case, J.I.; fire prevention; institutions & associations |
Date | 1874-1920 |
Language | English |
Source | Eugene Walter Leach Papers, 1842-1851, 1898-1938 (Parkside Mss 6 UW-Parkside, Box 6, Folder 11); WIHV99-A283 |
Type | Text |
Publisher-Electronic | Wisconsin Historical Society |
Publication Date-Electronic | 2017 |
Rights | Copyright to these documents belongs to the individuals who created them or the organizations for which they worked. The principal organizations have been defunct for many years and copyright to their unpublished records is uncertain. We share them here strictly for non-profit educational purposes. We have attempted to contact individuals who created personal papers of significant length or importance. Nearly all have generously permitted us to include their work. If you believe that you possess copyright to material included here, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org. Under the fair use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, teachers and students are free to reproduce any document for nonprofit classroom use. Commercial use of copyright-protected material is generally prohibited. |
Digital Format | XML |
Digital Identifier | UWPMss006_B6_F11_000 |
Description
Pagination | Page 1 |
Title | History of the Fire Department from 1851 to the Present Time |
Searchable Text | aaassea wit. ■--- ? '" 1 ,'d ou soroe" ow? y hhara, -now* aid passion. fashion ? knees, ■> all it may be ; .ie day be ;ka of Circe, ;ep eyes, mercy, i lay Love's seasons| i love's soft treasons ?i * .iat subtle surgery with Lore's gentle per/ut^ ; A swells and falters,. .■Us tender psalters; .ado-fv gleams imeneer ...... . re moon's silver censer, f" I fe**X and bow before her : iiUe, Eo'r the true^dorer ! %- eyes, and her quick glance ana^ersvS* 4e, shall we join the (fancera*? * kal . x>J [Written for The Jooknal.] ^>k REMINISCENCES OF RACINE. History of the Fire Department from 1851 to the Present Time. Joys Amid Sorrows - -Koses Amid Thorns In the Life oi' a Fireman. BY I. V. GREEN. As Chicago has been writing tip her Fire Department, perhaps it would be interesting to the readers of The Journal to call to mind something of the early history of that of Racine. As I think I hear you say : " Of course—why not V here is ITS ORGANIZATION. Up to about 18S0 and 1851, we had not ex perienced any very disastrous fires, and the Deparment was rather slim—consisting of a Hook and Ladder Truck, the little " Coffee Mill " of Mr. Skinner's, and a Bucket Company—(no reference to the " Old Oaken Bucket.") The fires of those years which destroyed the old Exchange, kept by the Messrs. "Raymond, together with out-buildings, horses, etc., and other fires of like magnitude, awoke our people to a sense of the dangers that hung over our young and growing city, and the ''fathers" concluded to purchase three hand engines ; on their arrival here three splendid companies had been organized to receive them. No. 2 was organized first ; but the older fellows of No. 1 had not been asleep and got their number—thus securing the best machine But tke Department was put together with Marvin G. Armour as Chief Engineer ; H. T. Taylor, as Assistant; S. S. Dickinson, Foreman No. 1 ; S. P. Bounds, Foreman No. 2; Evan Lewis, Foreman No. 3, and the machines were given to the respective companies regularly organized under constitutions and by-laws, subject to the city government., No. 1 was made up of our more elderly and substantial citizens. No. 2 was composed entirely of young men, and was rather a temperance company, for Rounds (Ster-man) was the publisher of The Old Oaken Bucket, a paper that at that time found its way into almost every household in the whole Northwest, and his name and character was held up by mothers to their children as a light by which they should be guided in their future lives. Of course, his followers in No. 2 strove to emulate him ; how far they succeeded, I will not undertake to say. No. 3 was composed of our YVelsh fellovr- citizens, were orderly in their conduct, and I always rendered efficient service at fires. Under this organization the fire fiend was readily handled and subdued ; but sometimes the boys would get rusty, or tired of serving on hose committees, when they would get up an alarm just for fun, and to stretch their bgs. ared for by No. 1—each company was the guest of a Chicago company. Many of our party had never been in the Garden city before, but our foreman, through Assistant Chief EngineerLangdon, and our Chief Engineer Taylor, on the right side of Chief Bradley, soon put us on a good footing—there was nothing in Chicago too good for us, and No. 7 made us feel perfectly at home. There were fire companies from Detroit, Buffalo, Milwaukee, Bacine, and other points to the number of some fourteen hundred strangers, and red shirts mingled in good feeling, as though they had been acquainted for years; and it seemed as though the whole population wanted to be firemen, in fact, several tailor shops were kept running from the time we went there till we came away, (three days) making uniforms for outsiders who wanted to get into good society, and the dressy uniform of a Bacine fireman was a sure passport. It was one continued round of pleasure ; and the dinner which was furnished us at the Tremont House—it would take a solid column to describe as it should be Suffice it to say that those fourteen hundred guests enjoyed it hugely—particularly the " pop "— a mysterious looking bottle, which came around in its course. No. 1 was ranged on on one side of the table and No. 2 on the other. The look of the bottles was new to several good Sons of Temperance, and one of them leaning over toward Bill McCarty asked what it was. Bill says : " It's pop, Uncle Ira—a new kind of pop." Ira, with t ncle McD., "cracked" one bottle, and then another, and corks were flying through five whole Divisions of S. of T., as it were, each declaring it wasthemost splendid "pop" they ever drank ; and its effect was so glorious, too—it lasted two or three days. That night —there was only one place where we had not been used very well—at Cozzen's ten pin alley ; we went up in considerable numbers, commenced playing, drinking " pop" etc., until about 11 o'clock, when the alarm of fire sounded, and true to duty, every fireman skedaddled, forgetting how much they "hung up " Cozzens for—but then it must be laid to Eop—everybody had been drinkingpop. The re proved to be the old Mansion House, and the fire was an impromptu affair, gotten up tor our benefit; but it was the finishing up, as the day before No. 1 had borne off the broom at the trial of engines—though force of numbers had something to do with Bacine beating the cities of Buffalo, Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago. It happened in this way : No. 7 had asked George Barrows how it was best to fix their machine—an old goose-neck. George told them to back her into the river, and they did so—she lay there when we came home. They then joined in with No. 2 of Bacine ; when No. 1 took the stand, both companies went to her assistance, and she ' got away with all the baggage" from one end of the Chain of Lakes to the other. Capt. Applebee, of the steamer Sultana, as she came up on his boat, " patted her on the back" and praised her as " the girl that took the colors." She is still in the hands of No. 4, and with that efficient company, Bhe keeps up her reputation, although the last relic of the Volunteer Department. The trip was one of pleasure and profit in more ways than one. Our firemen learned many things in regard to the working of fire aparatus that was of great use in after years ; 5. P. B. cemented a friendship that resulted in a business partnership, from which he has walked up the ladder of business prosperity, till he stands among the solid men of Chicago, doing more business with the printing fraternity of the Northwest than any furrishing house this side of Philadelphia, and is President of the celebrated Taylor Press Manufacturing Company, of Chicago. Many other social relations were formed, which intervening time has not obliterated. We all got home, in time, though most came on the Sultana and Pacific. I'm not going to say anything about our Worthy Chief (H. T. T.) walking off the pier into Lake Michigan, because it was currently reported that he and Andrew Bobertson were the only ones who did not drink " pop." The city'was unusually quiet when we arrived here, but suddenly awoke at the looming of cannon, for the boys had prepared a salute for the returning excursionists. A few little incidents had oc- cured, among others, the venerable Uncle j J. A. H. found there had been a surprise party at his house in his absence. The surprise is now a married woman. No. 3 had taken good care of all conflagrations. THE BALI, AT- CASE'S SHOP. Our next circus was the ball at J. I. Case's new shop, which many will remember as the affair of the winter. * No pains had been spared, and unde the Terpsechorean direction of Bounds, Bill McCarty, 'Rash Taylor, and others, our guests from Milwaukee, Kenosha and Chicugo pronounced it decidedly rescherche. '• Rough and Ready" 4, of Mil- Hook and Ladder would, once in a while, with Uncle Arby Tyrrel as foreman, get hold of a 2x4 scantling, burned off at both ends, and yank blazes out of it. But then it was merely an asylum for those who did not want to serve on juries, or work out their poll tax. The organization is in better shape now, and renders good service. FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION. The first celebration we had after our organization, was on the 4th of July of the same year, when some of the citv fathers defeated a proposition in the Council to furnish the Fire Department a " free dinner." As No. 2 left the house to go into procession, Sol Cather says : " Jim, you print the labels, and I'll furnish the rest." The labels were printed : " The city council refuses to provide for us on this occasion, and we provide for I ourselves." By this time Sol. came with two cards of ginger-bread, which were put up by the buckets, and four bottles of small beer, one hung to each end of the brakes. But there was an incident occurred that made all things right : Acting Chief Engineer Taylor wasasked to detail men for a "hose company" to act for the day. The detail was made, and afterward it turned out that the " hose company " was made up of good old fellows.who couldn't stand the march in the hot sun, and that their chief duties were to get up a dinner for us at Congress Hall,' and furnish refreshments for the rank and file during that hot day's march—which they did to perfection, under the orders of H. T. T. The dinner was good ; the iced champagne better, and it was a lively Independence Day from that time out. . I am not going to tell who rolled Durand's grind stones down Congress hill ,- who made the farmer's wagon to pieces, and made it up again on the top of a lumber pile ; who got up the serenade for Madame Anna Bishop, .-- - ...... ,.,,..,,„..,.„ .,„,„„„,,,, the English songstress, and Old Boxcy, which they could to make the trial of her capacity waukee, had been invited, and the boys ou. watching reported that they were coming. The thing was a success, financially, as our citizens had bought liberally of our tickets, and the treasury was in good shape. The cannon was loided, and rammed to the muzzle with cabbage ; "States" Munroe sat astride the gun with a lighted cigar, and at the word from George "touched her off." Then there was fun; "States" had been thrown under the gun by the recoil—unhurt, but begrimmed with powder as if he had been blown out of a magazine ; there was scarcely a light of gliiss left in ihe building ; $64 dollars put it in again, but the profits of the ball were that much less—and still everybody was happy. The Milwaukee boys appreciated the " salute" and the balance of the entertainment, as they attested by favors to George B. and his boys on an after occasion in Milwaukee. THE MILWAUKEE FIRE. In August, 1854, Milwaukee had her big blaze, and telegraphed to Racine for help, which was promptly sent in the three engines and plenty of men to work them—as the Milwaukee firemen were wholly prostrated with heat and fatigue. The lamented Jake Wrat- ten was Chief Enginer at that time, and during the fire he received such injuries in the discharge of his duties as laid him up for months ; but then the big hearted City Council of Milwaukee voted him $100. At this fire, No. 3 was offered by the proprietor of a drug store, $500 if they would save his property. The Welsh boys pitched in and did the job—but the next morning the $500 man could not be found. NO. 1 WINS THE SILVER TRUMPET. When the first State Fair was held at Milwaukee, George Barrows took No. 1 there. Phil Dayly, foreman of No. 4, extended to George and his boys all those little courtesies so well known and appreciated among firemen—run out their own engine and gave our boys their house, and furnished all the aid was the subject of a column criticism in the London (England) Times, and reproduced here by the Kenosha Telegraph; who swopped Milliner's signs for Doctor's ; how ' Pa " Stevens saw the trick; who put Little's liquor sign on the unfinished steeple of the Baptist Church, and tied the old grav horse to the bell rope ; how S. P. took all his boys to hear that great revivalist, and how the good Doctor was so pleased to see us that he forgot his original text, and went off into a lecture for our special benefit. No, I can't tell you about these things this time - it would swell this article to such dimensions that it would burst The Journal "chases." THE TRIP TO CHICAGO. The next bit of recreation we were to have was a trip to Chicago, by invitation of the Chicago Fire Department, to attend a Firemen's Jubilee, to be held in that city to which all the firemen of the North-West and part of York State were to be assembled. We made great preparations, never doubting but that the Council would let us take the machine --No. 2. We had a meeting, and among other committees, one was appointed on decorating the engine, with Al. Howes as chairman. Al. rose and begged, in a bashful manner, to be excused, as he had never " dedicated " an engine in his life. He was not excused, however, for he was a dry goods clerk and knew how to buy ribbon. The stock of the stores and millinery establishments were exhausted, and we employed Signor Blitz, the necromancer, to blow us out a few fathoms to finish up with. On the night before we was to go—just as the last ribbon had been wound on the brakes, an alarm of fire was sounded, and away we went, ribbons and all It proved to be Norton's packing house, over a success. In spite of the Water Witch, o'f Janesville, and the balance of the State, she walked away with the silver trumpet, valued at $95. It was kept and shown with great pride on Review Days while George was in the Department; I have not seen it lately but understand it is in -the city, but held as private property. It is something that should be city property. The Vo'unteer Department and hand engines were all very well for those times and all felt secure till the riisasfrous fire which swept away Titus Hall, the Episcopal Church the Bacine House, and in fact, both sides of* Fifth street, from Main to Wisconsin—involving a loss of some $100,000 worth of property It was then seen that hand engines were of no use where a city had attained the proportions that Bacine had, and A PAID STEAM FIRE DEPARTMENT was demanded. After a great deal of talk and mainly through the hard work of Messrs' John Vaughan and L. S. Blake two steamers have been purchased, and under Mr. Fred. ' Gottbehuett as Chief Engineer, we have one of the most efficient Fire Departments of its size in the State. The steamers are named respectively after the gentlemen whose energy has secured this valuable improvement in protection to life and property. With Adam Hertzog in charge of the " Blake" and Pat Traeey of the " Vaughan;" with No 4 Hook and Ladder and Asby to help them' our citizens sleep secure in their houses, without fear of any very considerable conflagra- Johh is wo Iff 1873 h ave In repor and p We the h Ga., p Boc which tne re> It ii have cattle Uta! from ] tory n< Stal nicely vest,'h Catifju The; Lewisi ville,1 busv p The Nebra ninety tliirty- Bec unfavc this se f'ar.-^ li sold j —at 4 nice 1 cultuj II Minn seed to so contr 'W wet* year. acres rate almus age 0] Mr 111,, 1 whiel pastil On t. purcl: he ex $30,0 tut introi Iri B 3,800 pcjpd pciun able the s tion. I have thus briefly sketched this historv as I remember it over these twentv-three years of time. There are undoubtedly sins of omission and commission—for both of which on the river, and of course No. 2 was the I am willing to be forgiven first on the ground. There was only a narrow track between the seething flame and the rivei,b^t_ through it we went, some getting Before the other engines severelp>Prched As an illustration of the increasing value of walnut lumber the Indianapolis Journal notes that the standing walnut trees on a half-sectio of land on Eel River, in Miami County were recently sold to a lumber dealer for>T7 000, There is a large amount of ber on the tract which is not include, only the walnut timber being sold. Wjffnut lumber is coming more and more inWSse throughout this country and Europeujffd at present a very large business is donafn preparing and shipping it from Indiana. A arrived it £g hot worb_ as many wU, ^ A ;™Pt&rldnS so hard t0 save propertv word came th,the CoMcil whi h V P - session had vc^ not t } No. 3 to c°h\° mfsta~k"f TheVvard tu™d out to be a £5£& anheinVW6rbeut-te^ JS&f" speech to them, 4'.b"'Man thl Vi * boys, we'll put this K ' , ■■ Ma" ^e brakes, cW anvhow, and ypnl, and we'll go Chi- the* machine, we will fc*!^let "*».* His word was law and if Pu* out another •' Sred all the balance of ***e We la our dilapidated decorations" *o restore 1 and 2, leaving the safety*^ botli NoAs .. .. care of No. 3, left for Cnica,[°e city in the sand grasshopjifrs were hatched out. After One steamboat sufficed t, being subjecjid to twenty degrees of freezino- iait it took three or four to brl«e us down, they were.iriawed out as lively as ever An° our arrival there No. 2 was« back. On other big crop of these insect pests for the reived and ' next season is feared. Some of the folks been experimeritin&rvn uaicmng out grasshoppers. The oOilr day six quarts of earth were placed undjTa stove, and several thou- artin County have n hatching out "E ward fob of to char got c and dowi playj one i thro' ting erali had apph • ,d| ohr boy 1 Rev. John tion ] there Lawj his h swea: propi thouj and s and { if this moth< and J their they i world said, ' |
Language | English |
Source | Eugene Walter Leach Papers, 1842-1851, 1898-1938 (Parkside Mss 6 UW-Parkside, Box 6, Folder 11) |
Type | Text |
Publisher-Electronic | Wisconsin Historical Society |
Publication Date-Electronic | 2017 |
Rights | Copyright to these documents belongs to the individuals who created them or the organizations for which they worked. The principal organizations have been defunct for many years and copyright to their unpublished records is uncertain. We share them here strictly for non-profit educational purposes. We have attempted to contact individuals who created personal papers of significant length or importance. Nearly all have generously permitted us to include their work. If you believe that you possess copyright to material included here, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org. Under the fair use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, teachers and students are free to reproduce any document for nonprofit classroom use. Commercial use of copyright-protected material is generally prohibited. |
Digital Format | JPEG2000 |
Digital Identifier | UWPMss006_B6_F11_001 |