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BRUNSWICK VOLUNTEER

FIRE COMPANY

Thomas Strother loaned the fire company the money to purchase the wood for the ballroom floor. The company paid him back at 4% interest and the burning of the mortgage for Brunswick's new Fire Hall took place on Wednesday, November 18, 1953. In 1990, Tony Webber is president of the Fire Company, and Roy Lipscomb is fire chief.

The B~,mswick Volunteer Fire Company was organized May 20, 1910butitwas not incorporated until June 11, 1917 when Harry Chew, S. T. Hogan, H. N. Werntz, Francis T. Cahill, William Schnauffer Stanley T. Virts and Wilbur Sigafoose were on hand for the incorporation.

HARVEY E. "SONNY" CANNON

Sonny Cannon and the Brunswick Fire Company are synonomous. He joined in 1927 and became the fire chief in June of 1940, continuing in that capacity until he retired for health reasons in 1979. Under Sonny's leadership the Brunswick Fire Company hosted many big-name bands for the semi-formal dances that were held annually. Jimmy Dean and the Texas Wildcats and the Guy Lombardo Orchestra were among the many notable celebrities who entertained at the fire hall through the years.In October 1989 a plaque in memory of the late H. E. "Sonny" Cannon was placed on Brunswick's Volunteer Fire Company Building. Sonny had been a member for over half a century and had served as its chief for 38 of those years. Over a century of appreciation is due the hundreds of volunteers that have come at the ring of a bell or the sound of the railroad whistle. There is no way to total the lives and property that have been saved because people in Berlin and Brunswick cared enough to answer the call.

EQUIPMENT

The first fire equipment was hand-drawn and consisted of two pieces - a cart pulled by two men that carried the hose, and a ladder truck which was a_wagon with the ladders stacked on top, pulled by six men. The first piece of motorized equipment was an American Lafrance 750-gallon-per-minute rotary pump. The date of the delivery and testing this new equipment has been reported as 1923. In 1939, a Ford truck equipped with a Howe three-stage piston pump was added to Brunswick's fire equipment. It was a 450-GPM pumper. (This piece of equipment caused the fire company much inconvenience. It has been reported that when this truck went to a fire someone had to follow with a basket in order to pick up the parts that fell off and then put them back together when the truck returned to the firehouse.) That experience led to a preference for American Lafrance equipment for a time, but other makers have now entered the pie-· ture. As of mid-1990, Brunswick Fire Company equipmen t includes three engine trucks, a ladder truck, a tanker, a mini-pumper/ brush truck combination, and a brush truck.

S - Dutch Burns - Various newspaper articles

W-MMM - B LC

FIRE HALLS

BRUNSWICK VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY AUXILIARY

When centralizing of fire protection began, there was a primitive fire hall housing the equipment and an anteroom where the men congregated at the exact location of the present fire hall. Stickley' s Garage on Dela ware A venue between Potomac and Brunswick Streets preceded the fire hall. Two engines were downstairs; upstairs was a meeting and recreation room. On November 20, 1947, H. E. (Sonny) Cannon made a motion to build a new fire hall and auditorium. The fire company purchased the lot from Lee Horine for $3,800, and the building was completed in 1951. The first floor housed the fire trucks, a dining room, kitchen, and pool room. The second floor is the ballroom and there is a stage. Dr.

(Memories of Louise Cannon)

Louise recalls that it was 1926 or 1927 when these ladies organized to offer financial support to the Brunswick Fire Company. They had an annual dinner, open to the public, at the fire hall at $1.00 per person (all you can cat) ~nd these affairs were great fund raisers. Everyone m town supported them. The food was all donated busincss:s and individuals. The menu always included fried oysters, baked ham, and chicken; homemade rolls or biscuits, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, and kraut. The Ladies Auxiliary was the backbone of the

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