We are in the process of archiving all weekly updates by the month. All of the weekly updates for this month are on this page.
Just scroll down to locate the desired update.
July 2021
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| Hamden Fire Retirees' Association |
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Florence M. Fletcher, 96, widow of retired Hamden Firefighter Frederick Fletcher, Sr., passed away June 1, 2012. She is survived by her three sons, Fred and his wife Carol, Stephen, and Dennis Fletcher.
Funeral from Beecher and Bennett, 2300 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, on Monday, June 4th at 9:15 a.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Hamden at 10 a.m. followed by her burial in St. Mary's Cemetery.
Friends may visit with her family on Sunday evening from 5 until 7 p.m. at the funeral home. Fred Fletcher, Sr. served on the Hamden Fire Department from 1946 until his retirement in June 1980, and passed away on September 29, 1992.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Fletcher family.
Posted 6/2/12
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| HFRA members, circle this date on your calendar!
The 2012 Summer Meeting of the Hamden Fire Retirees' Association will be hosted by Brian and Karen Forsyth at their 138 Stanley Road home, for all HFRA members and their families.
Swimming Pool - Volley Ball - Bocce - Food & Refreshments
The gathering will start at 2 PM.
VERY brief meeting to begin whenever the members decide.
Details to follow soon.
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| CLICK on this photo to find out . . . |
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HFD Communications Bulletin No. 14, issued on June 1, 1982, was pretty mundane. It preceded a tumultuous weekend for Hamden, which you can read about NEXT week when Bulletin No. 15 is shown.
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| Memorial Day 2012 |
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| Hamden Fire Retirees' Association |
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30 Years Ago - FLOOD!
This week's website update is devoted exclusively to one of Hamden's worst natural disasters of the last 100 years.
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Heavy rain fell steadily from Friday night into Saturday morning, June 5, 1982, continuing all day and through the following night. By mid-morning on Saturday, water was collecting under the railroad bridge on Putnam Avenue. By early afternoon, calls for assistance were being prioritized at Central by the number of feet of water in basements. By mid-afternoon the Emergency Operations Center was opened by Mayor Peter Villano. By evening, Dixwell Avenue at Central was covered in several feet of water. By the next day, the Flood of '82 was a major disaster.
Posted 6/8/12
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| Flood waters lap against the covered bridge by the Whitney Dam (Photo by Leland Robinson, courtesy of the Hamden Historical Society) |
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| Leland Robinson photo courtesy of the Hamden Historical Society |
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| From the New Haven Journal-Courier, Monday, June 7, 1982 (Courtesy of the New Haven Free Public Library microfilm collection) |
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CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO ENLARGE FOR EASIER READING.
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| "This Skiff Street home, next to the Nationwide Insurance building, which suffered severe water damage, was evacuated over the weekend as swells of torrential rains claimed its foundation, porch, roof and backyard." (Photo by Christine Bellini) This article, photo and caption is from The Hamden Chronicle, Wednesday, June 9, 1982. |
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All Hamden Chronicle articles on this page were provided by Gilbert Spencer.
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| The Hamden Chronicle, Wednesday, June 9, 1982 |
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The gravity of the damage to Hamden streets can be gleaned from reading the weekly HFD Communications Bulletin (below), issued just two days after the rain ended. One of the silver linings of this disaster was the level of cooperation and assistance provided to us by our neighboring communities. Some border areas of Hamden could be reached only from other towns. Some areas of our neighboring towns could be reached only from Hamden. These conditions resulted in new mutual aid agreements with Bethany, Cheshire, North Haven, and Wallingford, which are still in effect today.
Posted 6/8/12
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| Hamden Fire Department Bulletin No. 15 - HFRA Archives |
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| The Hamden Chronicle, Wednesday, June 16, 1982 - The page 3 article referred to in the photo caption is below. |
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CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO ENLARGE FOR EASIER READING.
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| The Hamden Chronicle, Wednesday, June 16, 1982 |
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| The Hamden Chronicle, Wednesday, June 16, 1982 |
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| The Hamden Chronicle, Wednesday, June 9, 1982 |
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| Photo by Leland Robinson, courtesy of the Hamden Historical Society |
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| From the New Haven Journal-Courier, Tuesday, June 8, 1982 (Courtesy of the New Haven Free Public Library microfilm collection) |
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| Hamden Fire Retirees' Association |
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| Third Anniversary!
June 15, 2012 - The week marks the third anniversary of the Hamden Fire Retirees' Association's website. Thanks to the generous contributions of photos and stories from dozens of HFD retirees and other fans of the website, we have published hundreds of photographs and scores of articles about past and present members of the Hamden Fire Department.
We are staying connected and preserving our past.
Posted 6/15/12
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A New Calling for an Old Friend
Jack Mordecai is ordained a Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church
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| Following his ordination, Jack and his family gathered for a photo with the archbishop. L-R: Daughter-in-law Angela (with grandson Andrew) and son Michael, Deacon John Mordecai, Archbishop Henry J. Mansell, DD, Jack’s wife, Clementina with oldest grandson Mike Jr., daughter Elisabeth, and sons John, Jr. and Joseph. CLICK on this photo to read more. |
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| May 1982 - Asst. Supt. of Alarms & Apparatus Paul Wetmore, Sr. fine tuning Engine 3. (Photo by John Tramontano) |
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Horton Manufacturing Co. (Edwards Fishing Rods)
Home Place
Monday, December 19, 1932
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According to the newspaper article below, the Horton Manufacturing Co. was located at the top of Home Place on the right hand side of the road "on a hill behind St. Mary's Cemetery in Mount Carmel." The Hamden Fire Department logbook for 1931-1940 stated that the call was received at 11:15 p.m. Engines 5, 4, 3 and the hook and ladder responded, with a total of 32 personnel. Recall was at 4:00 a.m. $14,000 in damages was recorded.
The building occupant was listed as "Edwards Fishing Rod Co.", so the best guess is that the Horton Mfg. Co. was the mother company (clarifications are always welcome.) Veteran Hamden firefighter Bill Bossoli, now 93, recently recalled being one of the many witnesses of the fire when he was a boy.
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| From the New Haven Evening Register, Monday, December 1932 - CLICK to enlarge |
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| CLICK on article to enlarge for reading |
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Edwards Fishing Rods
The Edwards Fishing Rod Co. was established by Eustis Edwards, who died the year before the fire. Sons William and Eugene eventually formed their own separate fishing rod businesses in Mount Carmel. William's company, Bill Edwards & Son, was located at 3321 Whitney Avenue, opposite the Yantic Beef Co. It was last listed in the 1957 Hamden City directory.
Eugene's business, Gene Edwards Fishing Rod Co., was located at 3820 Whitney Avenue, opposite the Sleeping Giant Golf Course. It was listed for the last time in the 1955 SNET telephone directory. (See the 1955 SNET yellow pages listings for both business at right.)
The Edwards Fishing Rod. Co. was well known worldwide for its fine custom fly rods that are now quite valuable. Check out the link below for more about the history of that company.
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History of the Edwards Fishing Rod Co.
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Rose Eastman O'Donnell, widow of retired Hamden Fire Marshal Robert "Bubby" O'Donnell, passed away June 15, 2012. Rose's funeral was Wednesday, June 20th, at the Church of St. Rita.
Bob O'Donnell served on the Hamden Fire Department from January 1947 until his retirement in October 1987, and passed away on June 15, 2008.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Rose's family.
Revised 6/20/12
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| A year ago this week this mystery photo was posted in the hope that someone would know when and where it happened. Two months ago, retired Dep. Chief Clark Hurlburt answered the question when he noted that it matched Tom Waite, Jr.'s photos of the Hoffmeister barn fire in January 1955. We now have the news article about that fire. CLICK on the photo. (Posted 6/17/11) |
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| This new 1966 Ford wagon replaced the 1961 Ford sedan used by the Deputy Chiefs. (Photo courtesy of Chan Brainard) |
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Two bids for a new deputy chiefs' car were opened at the December 13, 1965 meeting of the Hamden Board of Fire Commissioners. A bid of $2,435.68 was turned in by Bradford Ford (now Bob Thomas Ford), $150.06 lower than the bid received from Partyka Chevrolet. The Commission voted unanimously to purchase the Ford wagon, which is pictured above shortly after its delivery.
The relationship between Chief V. Paul Leddy and the Board of Fire Commissioners was generally a very good one. However, the selection of the color white for the new Deputy Chiefs' car may have been the Fire Commission's final attempt at asserting its authority over the chief, who, unlike the Board, vehemently opposed any color but red for Hamden's fire apparatus. The new town charter that took effect just three weeks later on January 1, 1966 greatly curtailed the Fire Commssion's power, giving the fire chief the authority to make almost all departmental decisions that previously required their approval. Five fire chiefs later, the Hamden Fire Department has yet to purchase another all-white vehicle.
The white '66 wagon eventually became the Superintendent's car when the Deputies got a new 1970 Ford wagon - a RED one. Several years later the '66 wagon was sold to a private party for $25.
Posted 6/15/12
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| Hamden Fire Retirees' Association |
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A Special Meeting of the HFRA has been called for Wednesday, June 27th. Check the Members Only page for details.
E-mail notices have already been sent and postcard notices were mailed to all members last Monday.
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Station 4, Back in Service
Squad 1 and Rescue 1 return home after 1,000 day station renovation
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| 9/22/09 - Squad One Leaving 4's |
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| 6/18/12 - 1,000 days later - Squad 1 is back! |
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Dixwell Theater
820 Dixwell Avenue
Monday, February 14, 1938
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The first alarm was received at 6:10 p.m. on Monday evening, February 14, 1938. The Dixwell Theater, opposite Goodrich Street, was on fire. Before it was over nearly four hours later, a total of 52 Hamden paid and volunteer firefighters had responded with Engines 1, 2, 3 and 4 and the hook and ladder. The loss was estimated at $40,000, a staggering sum in those days.
CLICK to enlarge article
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| Dixwell Theater Fire, February 14, 1938 - 1st Asst. Chief Raymond C. Spencer, complete with cigar, doing a little overhauling. Chief Spencer's penchant for cigars would lead to a classic prank a couple of decades later. (Photographer unknown - probably I.A. Sneidermann) |
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| CLICK ARTICLE to enlarge for easier reading |
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The double feature the night of the fire was to have been Cary Grant and Irene Dunne in the Oscar® winning (Best Director) film, "The Awful Truth," and a low-budget cheapie called "A Fight to the Finish" - both films from Columbia Pictures. Ironically, the Dixwell Theater building today is home to the Columbia Mattress & Upholstery Co. (You just can't make this stuff up!)
The Dixwell Theater was rebuilt and continued to operate until the 1960s. Since it closed as a theater, the building has been occupied by various retail and wholesale businesses.
Posted 6/22/12
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| In 2012, the building is home to the Columbia Mattress & Upholstery Co. - CLICK to enlarge. |
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| © 1937 Columbia Pictures |
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"The lookers-on derived no little amusement from the fact that the marquee carried the listings, 'The Awful Truth' and 'A Fight to the Finish.'"
The New Haven Journal-Courier, February 15, 1938
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| This photo, which appeared in the December 4, 1994 edition of The Hamden Chronicle, shows Firefighter Jim Koutsopolos demonstrating an Akron nozzle to some kids from the Spring Glen School. The 1973 Maxim Telesqurt and the 1991 Pierce Tower can be seen in the background. Our appreciation to Jim for this and numerous other photos and articles that will be posted in the coming weeks. |
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| This 1949 news item from the Strain family, courtesy of the Hamden Historical Society. |
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| Hamden Fire Retirees' Association |
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Mario Serafino, known to us all as "Bucky," is pictured in this 1952 Hamden Chronicle photo. A generous blood donor, Bucky and fellow Hamden firefighter George Reutenauer were the first two members of the Hamden Gallon Club. Bucky joined the Hamden Fire Department in 1942, retired on November 10, 1973 and was a Life Member of the New Haven County Fire Emergency Plan. Bucky Serafino passed away on February 14, 2001, at the age of 91.
Posted 6/29/12
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Two 1946 Maxims
one custom chassis - one commercial chassis
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| Dave Lockery's 1946 Maxim pumper on a Diamond-T chassis is pictured at the June 19th meeting of the New Haven Fire Emergency Plan hosted each year by Hamden at Company 8 - CLICK PHOTO for more |
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| New Britain's 1946 Maxim on a their 1931-style open custom chassis had an interesting connection with a Hamden fire company. CLICK PHOTO to find out. (Factory photo courtesy of Chan Brainard) |
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| Bob Mordecai caught this great shot of Dep. Fire Marshal Brian Dolan and his little daughter, Katie, at the Memorial Day Parade. |
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| CLICK HERE for more information |
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| A reminder to HFRA members,
circle this date on your calendar!
The 2012 Summer Meeting of the Hamden Fire Retirees' Association will be hosted by Brian and Karen Forsyth at their 138 Stanley Road home,
for all HFRA members and their families.
Swimming Pool - Volley Ball - Bocce - Food & Refreshments
The gathering will start at 2 PM.
VERY brief meeting to begin shortly thereafter.
For more details, CLICK on the JULY 10 calendar page at left.
To RSVP (by July 8), call Brian at 203-887-3409.
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