1940 LaFrance Fire Engine

The reason I missed the fledgling of the last Hairy Woodpecker from the nest in my yard was a fund raiser for the local volunteer fire department. We raised over $4000 in donations selling coffee and generously donated homemade caramel rolls, cinnamon rolls, and cereal marshmallow treats in the morning and burgers and hot dogs in the afternoon. This works out to a per capita donation of about $16.

The main reason for the fundraiser is to purchase newer equipment. This is most evident in the fire trucks we use. One of the two fire truck we have (two others are county vehicles we use mostly for grass fires) is a 1940 LaFrance Fire Engine. We still use it and it still works although the brakes are a bit temperamental. Here are some photos of this fine old fire engine.

Here is the LaFrance in front of the Fort Peck Theater. They both are about the same age. The theater was constructed to provide entertainment for the workers building Fort Peck Dam in the thirties and it has a number of old movie posters still on display in the lobby. It is currently the home of a summer theater company and each summer they have a number of plays here.

This sign is on the dash of the LaFrance. Obviously from a different time.