[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 27, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1646]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATING THE VOLUNTEERS OF THE SOMERVILLE CENTRAL HOOK AND LADDER 
                                COMPANY

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 27, 2005

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Somerville 
Central Hook & Ladder Company, in the Borough of Somerville, New 
Jersey, a patriotic community that I am proud to represent! On August 
27, 2005, the good citizens of Somerville will celebrate the Hook & 
Ladder Company's One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Anniversary with special 
festivities.
  For one hundred and twenty-five years, the Somerville Central Hook & 
Ladder Company has been protecting and serving the residents of their 
community. In celebration of their anniversary, festivities will 
include an apparatus judging contest during which invited neighboring 
fire companies will show off their rigs for a trophy prize. They will 
also introduce a new truck, the newest addition to their company.
  The Hook & Ladder Company was created when, in the summer of 1880, 
several members of the Somerville Engine Company #1 recognized the need 
for a hook and ladder truck. They resigned from the Engine Company, and 
with several other volunteers created the Central Hook & Ladder 
Company. Funds for the purchase of their three-story brick building 
were raised by using their team, who refer to themselves as ``Hooks,'' 
and a dump truck to collect garbage in town at the cost of 25 cents a 
week per customer. The Division Street Building was built in 1902, to 
house the hand-drawn ``Wonder'' fire truck. In 1909, the company 
upgraded to a horse-drawn Seagrave truck.
  Currently the Central Hook & Ladder Company is led by Deputy Chief 
Todd Starner and has about 50 members of which about a dozen are second 
generation or more Central Hook & Ladder families.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge you and my colleagues to join me in 
congratulating the volunteers of the Somerville Central Hook & Ladder 
Company on the celebration of 125 years of a rich history in the 
protection of one of New Jersey's finest municipalities!

                          ____________________