Hudson Fire Companies Add Local Flavor to New Exhibit at FASNY Museum
 
By HFD newsroom
May 27, 2011
 

The FASNY Museum of Firefighting will open a new exhibit on June 10, 2011. The exhibit is entitled Social Favor and Local Flavor: the Firehouse of the 1800's. It was created with the assistance of the Museum's After School Museum Studies Program. Students in this program spent many hours researching their local firehouses. The result is this new and engaging exhibit.

The history of the Hudson fire companies is providing the local flavor to the exhibit. The Hudson fire companies highlighted in the exhibit include J.W. Edmonds, C.H. Evans, H.W. Rogers, J.W. Hoysradt, Phoenix Hose and Washington Hose. Each fire company will have a digital frame scrolling pictures pertaining to their fire house history and also a segment about their history and any special tidbits found during the research for the exhibit. There is also an audio component to the exhibit that features some of the major files documented in Hudson. This audio presentation was recorded, with the assistance of Bill Williams of the Hudson radio stations, by the students in the after school program. The exhibit also includes a walking tour brochure concerning the Hudson firehouses that visitors can take with them. They can then complete a walking tour of the downtown firehouses at their convenience. The walking tour booklet was created by the students of the Museum After School Museum Studies Program and contains pictures and information the piqued the students interest from the history of Hudson's firehouses.

The exhibit also includes a scaled down version of the inside of an 1800's firehouse. The visitor can walk around the firehouse social room, which showcases the elegance and sophistication of the firehouses of the 1800's. This reproduction setting is not based on any singular firehouse's floor plan, but rather is a compilation of the firehouses of the 1800's in general. Within this firehouse social room exhibit are any artifacts from Hudson's firehouses. We are sure that the visitor will find the exhibit fascinating, as many interesting pieces of information were uncovered during the students' research. For instance, did you know that Edmonds Fire Company once had an apparatus with the likeness of J.W. Edmonds painted on it? Did you know that firemen from C.H. Evans Fire Company once used a stretched out coat like a blanket to catch a baby thrown from a burning building's window? Did you know that a fireman from H.W. Rogers Fire Company had a dog that followed him to fires and once climbed a ladder to the top of a burning building to join his master? Did you know that Hoysradt Fire Company once held a benefit play entitled "The Fire Brigade" in which the firemen and their apparatus appeared on stage, in action? These and many other interesting stories are part of the exhibit. All past and present Hudson firemen are invited to attend the exhibit opening on June 10, 2011 from 6pm until 8pm. Refreshments will be served and dress is business casual. To RSVP, call 822-1875, ext 11, or sign up on the lists which are in the truck floors of both firehouses.
 
A new Seagrave aerial ladder, built for C. H. Evans Hook & Ladder Company, No. 3, sits in front of the State Capitol in Columbus, Ohio in the late 1800s. (photo courtesy of FASNY Museum of Firefighting)
A new Seagrave aerial ladder, built for C. H. Evans Hook & Ladder Company, No. 3, sits in front of the State Capitol in Columbus, Ohio in the late 1800s. (photo courtesy of FASNY Museum of Firefighting)
 
Members of H. W. Rogers Hose Company, No. 2 await the start of a parade circa 1915. (photo courtesy of FASNY Museum of Firefighting)
Members of H. W. Rogers Hose Company, No. 2 await the start of a parade circa 1915. (photo courtesy of FASNY Museum of Firefighting)
 
The last non motorized piece of fire apparatus operated by J. W. Edmonds Hose Company, No. 1 in front of their Park Place firehouse. (photo courtesy of FASNY Museum of Firefighting)
The last non motorized piece of fire apparatus operated by J. W. Edmonds Hose Company, No. 1 in front of their Park Place firehouse. (photo courtesy of FASNY Museum of Firefighting)
 
The ice covered American LaFrance pumper operated by J. W. Hoysradt Hose & Chemical Company, No. 8 at a fire at 5th & Warren Streets in late November 1991.
The ice covered American LaFrance pumper operated by J. W. Hoysradt Hose & Chemical Company, No. 8 at a fire at 5th & Warren Streets in late November 1991.