Showing posts with label Fire CC Depts 03 Westminster history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fire CC Depts 03 Westminster history. Show all posts

Monday, May 4, 2020

The Westminster Fire Department remembers past Westminster Fire Department Chief Robert DuVall


The Westminster Fire Department remembers past Westminster Fire Department Chief Robert DuVall

April 23, 2004 – April 23, 2020 by Kevin Dayhoff

WW II Marine Veteran, Small Business Owner, Welder, and an Avid Motorcyclist

On Friday, April 23, 2004, Carroll County and the greater Westminster community suffered a great loss with the passing of Robert Emerson DuVall, 81, of Westminster.

He was a 1939 graduate of Westminster High School.

During World War II, he served with the 3rd Marines, 4th Air Wing in the Marshall Islands, Guam, and Pelilu.

https://dayhoffwestminster.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-westminster-fire-department.html

Mr. DuVall was born July 12, 1922, in Carroll County, he was the son of the late G. Wilmer and Mercedes Brown DuVall.

Surviving, in addition to his wife of 53 years, Leona Hammett DuVall, are daughter and son-in-law Donna and Robert Shaeffer of Westminster; son and daughter-in-law Robert Emerson DuVall II and Patsi DuVall of Atlanta; sister and brother-in-law Donna DuVall Sellman and Russell A. Sellman of Westminster. Granddaughters Nicole DuVall Pomeroy and husband Tim, and Laci DuVall Shaeffer; grandson Robert Emerson DuVall III; and great-grandson Daniel DuVall Pomeroy.

He was a 1939 graduate of Westminster High School. During World War II, he served with the 3rd Marines, 4th Air Wing in the Marshall Islands, Guam, and Pelilu.

He was the owner of Mobile Welding Service, which he founded in 1948. He was the 11th state certified welder in Maryland. 

An avid motorcyclist and trap shooter, he was the Maryland State Trapshooting Handicap Champion in 1966. He was a member of Westminster United Methodist Church, VFW Post 467 and a life member of North Carroll and Carroll County gun clubs. He was a past chief of Westminster Fire Department.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as they adjust to life without him. This Memorial Tribute by the Westminster Mayor, Common Council and the Staff of The City of Westminster on behalf of the citizens of the City of Westminster, was signed in Westminster City Hall, this April Twenty-fifth in the year Two Thousand and Four. Westminster Mayor Kevin Dayhoff






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Kevin Dayhoff for Westminster Common Council
Westminster Municipal election May 14, 2019
Authority Caroline Babylon, Treasurer.

Carroll County Times: www.tinyurl.com/KED-CCT
Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: http://tinyurl.com/KED-Sun

Facebook Dayhoff for Westminster: https://www.facebook.com/DayhoffforWestminster/
Facebook: Kevin Earl Dayhoff: https://www.facebook.com/kevindayhoff

Dayhoff for Westminster: www.kevindayhoff.info
Dayhoff Soundtrack: www.kevindayhoff.net
Dayhoff Carroll: www.kevindayhoff.org
Kevin Dayhoff Time Flies: https://kevindayhoff.wordpress.com/  

Sunday, March 10, 2019

John H. Cunningham was a charter member of the Md. State Fireman’s Assoc.

John H. Cunningham was a charter member of the Md. State Fireman’s Assoc.

 

At the time of his death, Cunningham “was believed to be McDaniel - Western Maryland College's oldest living alumnae… and the State's only living charter member of the Maryland State Fireman's Association

 

When John Cunningham died, he was America's Oldest Banker in Years of Continuous Service. He was a lifelong member of the Westminster Fire Engine and Hose co. No. 1.

 

February 24, 2019 by Westminster Fire Engine and Hose Co. No 1 Chaplain Kevin Dayhoff

 

It is only fitting and appropriate that from time to time we take a moment to remember some of the many great Carroll Countians that have gone before us.

 

On December 31, 1965, John Cunningham passed away within a few hours of 99th birthday. Local historian Jay Graybeal wrote of “his rich life, including his interests in bicycling, walking and poker,” in a March 16, 1997 column in the Carroll County Times.

An earlier shorter version of this story appeared in the Carroll County Times on January 13th, 2019. Please find the article here: https://www.carrollcountytimes.com/columnists/features/cc-lt-dayhoff-011319-story.html. This version of a story about Mr. Cunningham is the long version with all the edits restored.

Finding a picture of Mr. Cunningham has been nearly impossible – except, I did finally find a picture of him at the Westminster Fire Engine and Hose Co. No. 1 - although the picture was damaged by the April 6, 1906 H. H. Harbaugh's Palace Livery Stable fire. The livery stable and residence was located next to the Fire House on East Main St in Westminster. The fire, which destroyed the huge building, also burned a portion of the Westminster fire station and the Westminster city offices that were located on the second floor of the station.

To put 1965 and the mid-1960s into some perspective, our country was just beginning a new phase of the Vietnam War; with the introduction of the first combat troops on February 9, 1965. Before we had, “advisors” engaged in the conflict. Later in the year, on November 14, the Battle of the Ia Drang began in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. It was the first major engagement of the war between regular American and North Vietnamese forces. Shortly afterwards, the pentagon told President Lyndon Johnson that the number of troops needed to be increased from 120,000 to 400,000.

At home, the Civil Rights movement was on the forefront of many as around 1965 was the last year that restaurants and such were segregated in Westminster. Malcolm X was assassinated in New York at the Audubon Ballroom on February 21.

Bloody Sunday had occurred on March 7 as 600 civil rights marchers were attacked by state and local police with billy clubs and tear gas. Led by Martin Luther King, Jr. civil rights marchers were finally successful, after three attempts, to walk from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama. On August 6, President Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

It was 1964 that Carroll County administrator George Grier went to New York to begin negotiations with Random House to build a book distribution center in Westminster. At that time in the negotiations, adequate supplies of water was a sticking point, among many issues that were subsequently ironed out before the facility opened on July 14, 1967, according to “From Our Front Porch,” a history of Carroll County from 1900-1999, by Jim Lee.

And oh in 1964 ice cream cost 89 cents per half gallon

Graybeal shared with us Cunningham’s obituary, which appeared on January 1, 1966, in an unidentified newspaper. The obituary began: "John H. Cunningham, believed to have been the oldest banker in the United States, died yesterday at his home… His wife, the former Mary Irwin, died in 1949… He was a past master of the Masonic order and was a member of the Westminster Church of Christ.”

Cunningham was born on New Year’s Day in 1867. According to his obit, “On January 1, 1885, while a senior at Western Maryland College, Mr. Cunningham began his banking career as a clerk with the Farmers and Mechanics National Bank, [at 105 E. Main St. in Westminster] following the footsteps of his father William, who was a clerk there.”

He worked in the same office, with the same employer for his entire life – from 1885 until when he passed away in 1965. “Many days he walked the mile to work from his home at 95 West Green Street.” 

Graybeal reported; “His long career in banking was recognized by a telegram from President Kennedy in 1963.” 

The telegram said: "Congratulations on being named by your friends and associates in Westminster and Carroll County as "America's Oldest Banker in Years of Continuous Service." Your 77 years record as a banker is certainly an impressive one and you deserve all the honors, which have been given you…”

He was well-known for his punctuality and folklore attests that “fellow employees reportedly set their watches by him,” as he would arrive at his desk “every working day promptly at 9 a.m. and would not leave until 3 in the afternoon…” It was also noted “that Mr. Cunningham had not missed a town meeting in Westminster since 1883, the year he became old enough to vote.

Cunningham played poker every Tuesday night between 7 and 11 p.m. sharp, at “Thelma Hoffman's restaurant at 216 E. Main Street [later known as Cockey’s Tavern] in Westminster.” Among his partners were Ben Thomas, Paul Whitmore, Miller Richardson, Ralph Bonsack, Frank Leidy, Theodore Brown and Norman Boyle.”

Cunningham was also well known for his New Year’s Day tradition of an all day poker game, “that began promptly at 11 a.m., broke for dinner at 5 p.m., then resumed until 11 p.m.”

At the time of his death, Cunningham “was believed to be Western Maryland College's oldest living alumnae… and the State's only living charter member of the Maryland State Fireman's Association.”

The January 1, 1966 obituary reported that: “Cunningham's interest in politics was rewarded during the Coolidge Administration with his appointment in 1923 as Surveyor of Customs at Baltimore, a post he held for nine years. In 1911, Mr. Cunningham ran unsuccessfully for State Comptroller.”

“Beside politics and poker, Mr. Cunningham loved walking. On weekends as late as 1964, he hiked along country roads, a white handkerchief tied to his cane, for safety.”

When he was 97 years old, he explained in a November 1964 interview: "I only walk half as far and about half as fast as I used to… It's a strain to walk more than 4 or 5 miles…"

“In his earlier days… [he] was a bicyclist of renown… According to a banker's association bulletin, in 1898 he bicycled 200 miles from Westminster to Atlantic City, N.J…” He waited to give up driving until he was approximately 92 years old.

In full disclosure, I met Cunningham in the early 1960s upon the occasion of one of his visits to City Hall to talk with City of Westminster Mayor Joseph L. Mathias who served on the Westminster Common Council May 1927 to May 1937 and Mayor from May 18, 1942 to December 3, 1963. To the best of my knowledge, I have only written about Cunningham a couple of times. Most notably, a portion of this column was previously published in 2006.

Carroll County is fortunate to have many great community leaders still with us. We should all take time to pause and thank them for their service to our community – whether we agree with them or disagree. 

Every one of them is working hard to meet today’s and tomorrow’s challenges. In 2019, may we all work hard to rekindle a renewed sense of civility and have as full and vigorous a life as Mr. John Cunningham – playing poker, bicycling and walking many four or five miles is optional. God Bless and Happy New Year. 




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Westminster, Maryland, Cunningham, history, MSFA, 

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Kevin Dayhoff for Westminster Common Council
Westminster Municipal election May 14, 2019
Authority Caroline Babylon, Treasurer.

Carroll County Times: www.tinyurl.com/KED-CCT
Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: http://tinyurl.com/KED-Sun

Facebook Dayhoff for Westminster: https://www.facebook.com/DayhoffforWestminster/
Facebook: Kevin Earl Dayhoff: https://www.facebook.com/kevindayhoff

Dayhoff for Westminster: www.kevindayhoff.info
Dayhoff Soundtrack: www.kevindayhoff.net
Dayhoff Carroll: www.kevindayhoff.org
Kevin Dayhoff Time Flies: https://kevindayhoff.wordpress.com/  

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Time Flies Dayhoff: Fires and general mayhem dominated the April news in days gone by

Time Flies Dayhoff: Fires and general mayhem dominated the April news in days gone by:

“Fires captured the attention of the local newspapers in April many years ago. The American Sentinel reported on April 9, 1898 that a “large coal oil lamp, suspended from the ceiling of the office of Dr. John S. Mathias, this city, broke loose on Wednesday night, fell, exploded and the oil caught fire…”




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Fires and general mayhem dominated the April news in days gone by: http://www.westminstervfd.org/2018/05/09/fires-general-mayhem-dominated-april-news-days-gone/

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Carroll County Times: www.tinyurl.com/KED-CCT
Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: http://tinyurl.com/KED-Sun
Westminster Fire Dept. and MTA Lodge #20 Chaplain and PIO
Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoff.com/
Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Kevin Dayhoff Time Flies: https://kevindayhoff.wordpress.com/

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Caroline and I stopped by the Westminster Vol. Fire Dept. engine bays...

Caroline and I stopped in the engine bay to reflect upon the 60 years that Jack Lippy selflessly served our community. Later in the morning the Westminster Vol. Fire Dept. conducted a memorial service at Myers Durboraw Funeral Home to celebrate the life of Mr. Lippy, who answered the final call on Dec. 4, 2016. God Bless him for his service. http://www.myersdurborawfh.com/notices/John-Lippy Dec. 10, 2016

Fire CC Depts 03 Westminster, Fire CC Depts 03 Westminster history, History This Day in History 1210, Westminster Bus Myers Durboraw Funeral, Funeral Homes Myers Durboraw, Dayhoff self-portraits, Babylon Mrs Owl, Fire equipment

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Westminster Fire Department (teaser 2016)



Published on Nov 2, 2015

Westminster Volunteer Fire Department
With years in the making, we're proud to present our teaser for the full video coming fall 2016!
Always seeking Volunteers!
https://youtu.be/o6HNilShE5g

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Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: 
Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:
Baltimore Sun - Carroll County Times - The Carroll Eagle: www.explorecarroll.com: http://www.explorecarroll.com/search/?s=Dayhoff&action=GO

Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com

My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

See also - Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art www.kevindayhoff.com: Travel, art,artists, authors, books, newspapers, media, writers and writing, journalistsand journalism, reporters and reporting, music, culture, opera... Ad maioremDei gloriam inque hominum salutem. “Deadline U.S.A.” 1952. Ed Hutcheson:“That's the press, baby. The press! And there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing!”- See more at: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/#sthash.4HNLwtfd.dpuf
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Westminster Fire Department 2015-2016



Published on Aug 22, 2016


2015-2016 in review of the Westminster Fire Department In Carroll County Maryland.
Become a volunteer and print out an application from our website and find out further information at 
http://www.westminstervfd.org

https://youtu.be/OL_Akd2tJgQ

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Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: 
Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:
Baltimore Sun - Carroll County Times - The Carroll Eagle: www.explorecarroll.com: http://www.explorecarroll.com/search/?s=Dayhoff&action=GO

Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com

My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

See also - Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art www.kevindayhoff.com: Travel, art,artists, authors, books, newspapers, media, writers and writing, journalistsand journalism, reporters and reporting, music, culture, opera... Ad maioremDei gloriam inque hominum salutem. “Deadline U.S.A.” 1952. Ed Hutcheson:“That's the press, baby. The press! And there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing!”- See more at: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/#sthash.4HNLwtfd.dpuf
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Thursday, May 21, 2015

Westminster Fire Dept. 1924 American LaFrance City Service Truck


Westminster Fire Dept. 1924 American LaFrance City Service Truck

Fire CC Depts 03 Westminster, Fire CC Depts 03 Westminster history, Fire CC Depts 03 Westminster history museum, 

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone

Westminster Fire Dept. Museum 1933 American LaFrance triple combination pumper.


Westminster Fire Dept. Museum 1933 American LaFrance triple combination pumper.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Westminster Firefighter Milton Zepp honored for 50 years of service



Westminster Fire Engine and Hose Co. No. 1 volunteer firefighter Milton Zepp was honored at the November 7, 2012 monthly company meeting for 50 years of service.

Westminster Mayor Kevin Utz, in this photo at the far left, read a mayoral proclamation and thanked Mr. Zepp, to the right of Mayor Utz, in the yellow shirt.

Westminster Fire Department President Bob Cumberland is pictured here to the right of Mr. Zepp.

Fire Department historian Joe Ebaugh is pictured at the podium with Tim Bangerd looking on. Photo by Kevin Dayhoff
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Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoffTwitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff
Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net

Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/
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Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Milton Zepp is recognized for 50 years of service at Westminster Fire Co

Westminster Fire Engine and Hose Co. No. 1 volunteer firefighter Milton Zepp was honored at the November 7, 2012 monthly company meeting for 50 years of service. 

Westminster Mayor Kevin Utz, far left, read a mayoral proclamation and thanked Mr. Zepp, in the yellow shirt.

Westminster Fire Department President Bob Cumberland is pictured here to the right of Mr. Zepp. 

Fire Department historian Joe Ebaugh is pictured at the podium with Tim Bangerd looking on. Photo by Kevin Dayhoff

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Sunday, Aug 19 2012, 1-4 pm Westminster Fire Department museum open house http://tinyurl.com/d25cj6g

Sunday, Aug 19 2012, 1-4 pm Westminster Fire Department museum open house http://tinyurl.com/d25cj6g 

Today, Sunday, August 19, 2012 – the 3rd Sunday of the month - from 1-4 p.m.
Also available is pit beef and pit ham sandwiches for the event from 1-4 p.m...


On Sunday, August 19, 2012 – the 3rd Sunday of the month - the Westminster Volunteer Fire Department will swing open the doors to the past with an open house to the department’s critically acclaimed history of local firefighting museum, from 1 to 4 p.m.

Veteran firefighters and historians will be hand to answer questions and conduct tours of the museum which is attached to the southern-end of the firehouse on John Street in downtown Westminster.

Also available is pit beef and pit ham sandwiches for the event from 1-4 p.m...

The museum at the Westminster firehouse offers the public a glimpse into the history of the fire department that spans two centuries. It was dedicated on October 24, 1998, when the fire department moved from the fire station located at 66 East Main Street, which had served the community for 102 years, to its current location on John Street.



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Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoffTwitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff
Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net

Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/
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Monday, July 23, 2012

1931 Maryland State Firemen’s Association Convention

By Kevin Dayhoff July 15, 2012 Westminster Patch


A lengthy July 17, 1931 newspaper article describes the Westminster Municipal Band and the Westminster Fire Department arriving home from participating in the Maryland State Firemen’s Association annual convention earlier that July “in a jubilant mood, as the band brought home $100 for the best band in line of parade…”

The history page from the Frostburg Maryland Fire Department reports that it was one of nine member fire companies that organized the first Maryland State Firemen's Association convention in Frederick in June 1893. 

In 1899 the convention was held in Westminster. A June 8, 1899 Baltimore Sun article, “Have A Hot Time In Westminster And Make Brave Show MANY DROP OUT OF RANKS Twenty-Six Companies And Forty Organizations In The Line Of The Great Parade” observed:

“…From 10,000 to 12,000 people were in Westminster for the opening of the seventh annual convention of the Maryland State Firemen's Association. From midnight until noon today trainloads of people arrived. By everyone it is conceded to have been the greatest day in the history of Westminster...” … http://westminster.patch.com/blog_posts/1931-maryland-state-firemens-association-convention

The 1931 newspaper article described the trip to Ocean City in the days long before the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was built. “The firemen and band left Wednesday morning at 6:35 and arrived at Ocean City at 12:15 p.m. in a Blue Ridge line bus. They traveled by Green Spring Valley to Towson to Havre de Grace, Elkton, Dover to Ocean City, about 190 miles…

“Thursday passed off in sight-seeing with a pajama parade by the Westminster Band at 11 o'clock at night which was followed by several hundred people cheering as they passed down the board walk…” The band also gave concerts on the boardwalk and at the Del-Mar-Va Hotel and Hastings Hotel. 

One of the biggest attractions at the end of the convention is the grand parade which is described in great detail by the 1931 newspaper account, “On Friday morning at 11 o'clock the firemen's parade was the feature.

The parade was led by Gov. Ritchie, Comptroller William S. Gordy, and Mayor William W. McCabe. Twelve hundred firemen, representing 83 Maryland and Delaware fire units, paraded.” The parade extended over 2 miles long that year. 

According to the newspaper article, “Members of Westminster Fire Department taking part in the convention were Frank T. Shaeffer, Michael E. Walsh, Edw. O. Diffendal, Francis N. Keefer, J. Floyd Diffendal, Frank B. Dillard, James Pearre Wantz, Jr., Ralph Royer, Edward B. Orendorff, Wilbur Weller, J. H. Ryland and Claude Buckingham.”

“The $100 purse was a princely sum in 1931,” says local historian Jay Graybeal. “In this early year of the Depression, a pound of coffee cost 20 cents; a pound of peanut butter, 21 cents; and two cans of tomatoes were 15 cents.”
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Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoffTwitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff
Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net

Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/
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Sunday, July 22, 2012

The July 3, 1938 Smith and Reifsnider fire caused serious concerns in Westminster


The July 3, 1938 Smith and Reifsnider fire caused serious concerns in Westminster


By Kevin E. Dayhoff kevindayhoff@gmail.com Sunday, July 22, 2012

Seventy years ago, Carroll County was still reeling from the aftermath of fireworks of an unwelcome variety - one of the biggest fires in the county’s history – the July 3, 1938 Smith and Reifsnider fire on John Street.

Ironically, today, the property where the fire occurred has been occupied by the Westminster Volunteer Fire Department since October 24, 1998.

On July 8, 1938, the now-out-of-print Democratic Advocate newspaper carried a front page story headlined by: “The Blaze Was of Incendiary Origin--Fear Was Entertained That the Fire Would Go To Main Street, But Was Confined to the Yard--16 Fire Departments With 19 Pieces of Apparatus Poured Tons of Water on the Blaze and Was Conquered After Three Hours' Battle--Several Firemen Overcome--Chief Brown and All Firemen Are commended for Their Heroic Accomplishment--The Loss is Heaviest in the County's History.”

The first paragraph of the news article immediately shows the concern of the community. It read “Westminster citizens had the scare of the their life time Saturday night when a fire from an incendiary origin was discovered in the lumber yard of Smith & Reifsnider, which caused an undetermined loss, but estimated at $125,000.”

At the time the company was solely owned by Mr. John L. Reifsnider, Jr. According the article, Mr. Reifsnider; fed the firefighters “sandwiches and coffee at the American Restaurant after the fire was brought under control.”

The first fire alarm was sounded at 11:45 p.m. by the night watchman John Baile and the two pieces of firefighting equipment, owned by the Westminster Volunteer Fire Department at the time, responded.

The fire department chief at the time was Leroy Brown. He immediately put in a call for additional help. Firefighters from Union Bridge, Hampstead; Manchester, Taneytown, Pleasant Valley, Sykesville, Emmitsburg, Catonsville, Reisterstown, Owings Mills, Glyndon, and Pikesville responded.

Union Bridge arrived in 14 minutes; slightly before Reisterstown, “who also broke all records for speed.” The newspaper estimated that more than 200 volunteers fought the flames, using an “estimated 17,000 feet fire hose…”

The article was also meticulous in reporting where each piece of firefighting apparatus obtained water. Hampstead arrived with two trucks which hooked-up at the railroad and Cover’s Stock Yards. Manchester “coupled up at Klee’s Garage...”

Chief Brown was praised for “his masterly generalship” in bringing the fire, “which was a raging furnace,” under control by 3 a.m.

“Every fireman fought as if it depended upon his life, knowing if the fire was not held in the lumber where it started the city was in for a big loss and would sweep to Main street. A high wind kept blowing the debris over the city and fear was entertained for the buildings in its path, but citizens protected their homes and buildings by pouring water on the roofs.”

Firefighting, to this day, remains dangerous business. It was certainly no different 70 years ago and the newspaper went to great lengths to report upon the firefighters who were injured fighting the blaze.

“William McCoy, a volunteer fireman from the Sykesville company, was overcome by smoke and burned about the face and hands. Dr. S. Luther Bare set up an emergency station and treated McCoy and the others. One fireman from the Hampstead company, suffered a broken nose and three others from the same company were burned … (O)ther firemen were treated for slight burns and returned to fight the blaze…”

The four Hampstead firefighters who were injured included Hampstead Fire Chief John W. Murray and "Bud" Arbaugh, who were overcome by smoke. Charles R. Williams and Oscar Armacost suffered cuts and bruises… and Stewart Thompson bruised.

The Maryland State Police “were rushed to the scene immediately to handle the traffic… One autoist was arrested when he ran his car over a line of hose… The reflection of Saturday night's fire brought people from York, Hanover, McSherrystown and Frederick. The crowd was estimated at about 5,000 that watched the firemen from the railroad tracks and surrounding points.”

To this day, the constant vigilance and protection of volunteer firefighters remains the same. Please keep the selfless public servants who protect us, in your prayers, as you celebrate a safe summer with friends and family.

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The firefighting equipment and ambulance are shown in this early 1930s Westminster Fire Engine and Hose Co. No. 1 photograph from when the firehouse was located at 66 East Main Street. Much of the equipment displayed in this photograph may have been used to fight the July 3, 1938 Smith and Reifsnider fire. Photograph courtesy of the collection the Kevin Dayhoff and the Babylon Family. http://twitpic.com/aam2zr Also See: The July 3 1938 Smith & Reifsnider fire caused serious concerns in Westminster http://tinyurl.com/cscd8uq  -  http://www.westminstervfd.org/news/fullstory/news/Westminster%20Volunteer%20Fire%20Company%20fought%20Smith%20and%20Reifsnider%20fire%20on%20July%203,%201938
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Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoffTwitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff
Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net

Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/
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Saturday, July 14, 2012

Westminster Fire Department to hold history museum open house and pit beef sale


Westminster fire history museum to hold open house

Later on Saturday, July 21, 2012, the Westminster Volunteer Fire Department will host a crab feed.

By Kevin Dayhoff,




On Sunday, July 15, 2012, the Westminster Volunteer Fire Department will swing open the doors to the past with an open house to the department’s critically acclaimed history of local firefighting museum, from 1 to 4 p.m.

Veteran firefighters and historians will be hand to answer questions and conduct tours of the museum which is attached to the southern-end of the firehouse on John Street in downtown Westminster.

Also available is pit beef and pit ham sandwiches for the event.

The museum at the Westminster firehouse offers the public a glimpse into the history of the fire department that spans two centuries. It was dedicated on October 24, 1998, when the fire department moved from the fire station located at 66 East Main Street, which had served the community for 102 years, to its current location on John Street.

The first mention of a fire department in the city of Westminster was in the year 1808 when the Maryland General Assembly “passed an act authorizing the raising of money by lottery to pay for a fire engine…”

The Act of the Maryland General Assembly named several “commissioners” who were charged with conducting the lottery. Even in those early days, they were also some of Westminster’s prominent community leaders.

Several were among the first elected officials of the town after the town’s first election in April 1819: Jacob Sherman, Daniel Zacharias, John Fisher (the first Burgess of Westminster) and Jacob Yingling.

It took another fifteen years before the fire company was formed. The name of the first fire company in Westminster, formed in 1823, was, the “Union Fire Company of the Town of Westminster.” The first firehouse was on Church Street. 

Another little known tidbit of history is when the “firehouse” was moved from its beginning location on Church Street, to near the intersection of Court Street and Main Street, around 1834, it was used as a “drunk tank.” 

When a town drunk was picked up, the local authorities would move the firefighting apparatus out of the “firehouse” and lock up the offender inside. Remember, although Westminster had first incorporated in 1818; at this time, it was still in Frederick County and there was no “county jail” in Westminster.

According to the Westminster Fire Department website, today the department’s museum looks “like an old station dating back to the late 1800's. The station is octagonal in design and in the front above the window contains the original stained glass window from our previous station…

“Inside the museum, you will find our two antique motorized pieces, 2 hose carts, and assorted photos, documents, and other historical memorabilia. The room is designed to look like a station of the late 1800's/early 1900's…”

In addition to display cases containing many artifacts from two-hundred years of firefighting in Westminster; on display are several pieces of historic firefighting equipment, including items such as hand drawn hose carts that date back to approximately 1893… A 1924 American LaFrance city service ladder, and a 1933 American LaFrance type 75 pumper; and much more.

In addition to this Sunday’s open house, the Westminster Volunteer Fire Department will host a crab feed on Saturday, July 21 at the department’s John’s Street quarters attached to the firehouse at 28 John Street in Westminster.

The menu features steamed crabs, pit ham and beef, macaroni salad, coleslaw, baked beans, corn on the cob, Maryland crab soup, veggies, fruit dip, cheese, and desserts.

The tickets are priced at $40.00 per person and proceeds go to supporting the Westminster Volunteer Fire Department’s ambulance and firefighting services, and the museum.

For more information on the museum open house or the crab feed to support the fire department, call 410-848-1800 or go to the department website at westminstervfd.org.

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Museum, firefighters, Westminster, history, 
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Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:

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