Oh, how funny!? My mother-in-law maiden name was Coffee. Her father was George Anderson
Coffee and lived in Indianapolis a while. His wife die in 1903 and he moved back to
Lincoln Co., KY. If you talk to Gladys ask if her family came from KY. Please feel free to
give her my e-mail. JoAnn Statom
-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Alloway <ralloway(a)earthlink.net>
To: inmarion(a)rootsweb.com
Sent: Mon, Jun 29, 2009 5:09 pm
Subject: [INMARION] FIRE DEPARTMENT HISTORY PHOTO'S - HERO'S
JoAnn, That is a great family story..the Depression brought out the best in
people and firemen rank right up at the top! Below is a letter from a lady
I met at History Saturday in Broad Ripple...Bob
My Heroes
By Gladys Scott Coffee
One sunny day in August, 1925, my mother, Irma Scott did a very courageous
thing. She decided to take five little kids on an all day outing to one of
the big parks in Indianapolis. Our destination could only be reached by a
long ride on two different streetcars and no small amount of foot work too.
We kids were ecstatic. Not only would we get to take an exciting ride on a
streetcar, but we knew there would be lots of kids at the park to play with
and plenty of playground equipment to explore and conquer.
So we started out from our home at 6519 Ferguson Street in a very happy
mood. Our little stair step brood included my older sister Evelyn, me and
my three younger brothers, Wally, Howard and baby Tom.
All went well until we crossed over the canal and were coming abreast of
Firehouse 32. When up from the canal staggered a horrible looking mad dog
with water and foam dripping from his jaws. Before any of us could do
anything to stop us, the dog went straight to Howard and sank his teeth into
the little boy's arm.
The ensuing screaming and hollering alerted the firemen of Firehouse 32 and
it seemed like in an instant they were there. The firemen immediately went
into action and herded us into safety in the firehouse. They bandaged
Howard's wound then tracked down the dog who had run back down to the canal.
They shot him and called the Animal Control people to come pick him up.
They assured mother that Howard would be all right and gave her all the
information she needed to get him started on the series of shots he would
have to have to protect him from getting the dreaded disease of rabies.
All this was done so quickly and competently that before we knew it, we kids
were having a great time exploring the Firehouse and climbing around on the
fire truck. The firemen
were so kind and showed us their gear and equipment
and let us try on their fire helmets. It almost made up for the missed
streetcar ride and the fun day at the park. We all survived the trauma of
that day without any ill effects. So this story has a happy ending. But I
never forgot that day and how competent and compassionate the firemen of
Firehouse 32 had been. From that day on, I thought of them as my personal
heroes and all through my growing up years in Broad Ripple, whenever I
walked by the Firehouse and remembered that day, I always had this warm
comforting thought. If ever disaster struck and I was in dire need of help,
I always knew they would be there.
As a footnote to this story, I'm proud to say that my brother Tom Scott grew
up to become a fireman and serve the people of Indianapolis for many years.
Of course, he was and still is my hero too.
Gladys Scott Coffee
-----Original Message-----
From: inmarion-bounces(a)rootsweb.com [mailto:inmarion-bounces@rootsweb.com]
On Behalf Of statomb(a)aol.com
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 7:02 PM
To: inmarion(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: Re: [INMARION] FIRE DEPARTMENT HISTORY PHOTO'S
This is so interesting. My husband was born on Woodlawn?St.?in 1933 in
Indianapolis and they lived next to a Fire Station. My mother-in-law told me
if it hadn't been for the fireman at that station they would have starved
during the depression. My husband parent named him after the Capt of the
Fire Station. My husband retired from the Santa Ana Fire Dept. in 1983 and
loved his job.
JoAnn Statom
-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Alloway <ralloway(a)earthlink.net>
To: inmarion(a)rootsweb.com
Sent: Mon, Jun 29, 2009 8:58 am
Subject: [INMARION] FIRE DEPARTMENT HISTORY PHOTO'S
Indianapolis Fire Department history with pictures of the old fire houses.
Go here:
http://www.indy.gov/egov/city/dps/ifd/Pages/home.aspx
Click on HISTORY from the top tool bar and in the drop down box select the
PHOTO'S then YEARS.
This site loads slow. Bob
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