[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 51 (Tuesday, April 20, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E554]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO THE HOPE FIRE COMPANY OF GREAT BARRINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS ON 
                         ITS 150TH ANNIVERSARY

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                           HON. JOHN W. OLVER

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 20, 2004

  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate 
the Hope Fire Company of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on its 150th 
anniversary. Their long and outstanding record of public service will 
be celebrated during their annual ball on May 8, 2004.
  On February 7, 1854, hardware merchant Erastus F. Russell hosted a 
meeting of 19 young men from the community. This meeting established 
Hope Fire Company No. 1; and with ``strong arms and willing hearts,'' 
they pledged to obtain and man a fire engine for the town.
  With great enthusiasm and support from their friends and neighbors, 
the Hope Fire Company was able to quickly raise the $1,550 needed to 
purchase an engine ``of the first class, of superior caliber, and 
power, with suitable fixtures to equal all emergencies.''
  By June 15 of that year, the local paper reported that the company, 
now 80 members strong, paraded in full dress to the train depot to 
receive their new engine: a pumper and hose cart manufactured by Button 
& Company of Waterford, New York.
  That same summer, the company played a central role in the town's 4th 
of July celebration. They were grandly toasted during the ceremonies, 
and member Charles A. Sumner responded with a sentiment that still 
holds true today:
  ``May we attain such promptness and efficiency of action as shall 
entitle us to your confidence, so that when the devouring element 
threatens you, and all seems lost, the smack of our brakes may remind 
you that there is one Hope left yet.''
  It has been 150 years, but the dedication and professionalism of the 
Hope Fire Company has never wavered. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
commending the company on its anniversary.

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