Arcata Volunteer Fire Department, 1884-1984, the First Hundred Years USED
Arcata Volunteer Fire Department, 1884-1984, the First Hundred Years USED
By Joe Trainor with Susan Simon. Used copies have sturdy binding, with some foxing and name plates and/or stamps. Pages are clean.
A community and its history is made up of many pieces -- all of which deserve to be preserved and told. One of these pieces of local history is found in a book on the Historical Society's special sale shelves: Arcata's Volunteer Fire Department, The First Hundred Years.
The book begins by recounting how the small town of Union, now called Arcata, went for 25 years without experiencing any large fires. Then a major conflagration around the central plaza in 1875 ignited a drive to establish a town water system and some form of fire department.
Based on town records and newspaper reports, and for the later years, personal interviews, the book chronicles the creation and life of the volunteer fire department from 1884 to the publication date of 1984. It explores the system where the fire department is not strictly part of city government though the city still supplied the equipment and recruited volunteers to man the operations.
The first chapter discusses the original organization, constitution, charter members and annual balls. Succeeding chapters detail expansion of equipment, uniforms, meetings, significant personnel, expanding the water system and, of course major fires and the Department's responses. Decade by decade, we follow changes in technology, community events, and athletic competitions including the famous hose cart races. The civil defense duties during WWII are covered as are the increased demands as the size of the town grows and responsibilities extend to near-by communities.
The book ends with an account of the Department's 1984 centennial celebration followed by roll calls of department members. Photos of personnel, events, equipment, and dramatic fires are sprinkled throughout the book -- a book that is valuable as a thorough presentation of an integral and historic part of our Humboldt community.
