Fire truck should be restored
Published 8:57 am Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Another opportunity to restore, and hopefully one day put on display, a piece of the city’s storied past has presented itself.
Franklin Fire & Rescue has moved one of its old fire trucks — a 1935 Ford Oren pumper truck — from the former Hayden school building to a garage on Pretlow Street. (The truck had to be relocated so the sale and redevelopment of Hayden, another part of the city’s rich history, could move forward.)
The truck is in decent shape, but a full restoration to its former glory is going to take time, volunteers and, most of all, donations.
How fortunate are we that a piece of our city’s history is even available to us to restore if we wish? How many municipalities out there can only look at old drawings and photographs and lament about its old firefighting equipment? Are the children in those towns and cities really being given an opportunity to appreciate history by looking at a picture in a book?
Can you imagine the swelling of pride among the citizens of Franklin as they queue up along both sides of the street for an event such as the Christmas parade, and see this gem from the days of FDR and the New Deal roll by?
Here is a worthy opportunity to dust off an old jewel and put it out there for the community to see. It’s a part of our history, and it’s worth preserving.