I know the name of my blog (and hopefully in time my business) seems strange, but only till you learn a little about my heritage. Above is a pic from the car show, a 1927 American LaFrance chemical truck from Saint Michael's Fire Department (Biddeford, Maine). Gorgeously restored, it's been owned for twenty years by a man named Mike. I appreciate old fire trucks because when I was little, there was an old ladder truck with a crank engine in our driveway. My dad intended to restore it, but then passed away in the line of duty of a heart attack. My Uncle Bobby, also a firefighter at one time, then completed the restoration.
My grampy was the deputy chief for Old Orchard Beach from '50 to '60, when he passed of a heart attack. My dad was a volunteer on the same force until his death in '77. Before he died, he secured funding for a new truck for Old Orchard. It ended up being a 1979 Mack CF Pumper. When the truck was put into service, it had a plaque under the driver's side door dedicating it to both my Grampy and dad. The truck...Engine 3. Even though I only knew my dad for 3 years 8 months and a handful of days, he left his mark. My nickname around the firehouse was Truck, because they fascinated me, and also because I could always be seen standing on the bench of his International pickup next to him. I try my best to be the man that my mom and dad raised me to be, and I can only hope that from time to time when they look down from Heaven, they smile.
