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Miscellaneous news and notes • Random Sparks • Special Projects • Site Updates		Random Sparks -- Miscellaneous news, notes, and nuggets of historical information
		I know from experience that doing a newsletter (especially a paper-based newsletter) is difficult. You generally have four pages to fill and by the middle of page three you are at a loss for words. A good museum newsletter must have some content. It should have something of interest to break up the pleas for money and the report from the last board meeting. Ideally, it should have some sort of firefighting related article -- but then who has any time to research and write an article?! Enter David's “fun file”.... For me, one of the great joys of research is the “thrill of the hunt.” While looking for an article on a particular fire, I may run across a story about a special fire horse, about a “new and improved” smoke mask, about a wacky fire escape, a strange method for sounding a fire alarm, or even a cute fire related poem. A few years ago I started copying and collecting these interesting anecdotes, jokes, and stories, and I created my “fun file.” As time permits, I will pull some items out of my file and reprint them here, under the heading “Random Sparks” for your enjoyment and use. If your comments dictate and my time allows, I can envision expanding this feature and soliciting articles and tidbits from you. Please, if you reproduce any of this information in your newsletter credit the Fire Museum Network and the original source.
		Firefighter heroism quotes from history “I have no ambition in this world but one, and that is to be a firefighter...” -- Chief Edward F. Croker FDNY circa 1910 In preparation for a local firefighter memorial ceremony, I was asked to pull a few appropriate quotes from historical sources. I share these with you now. Oh how many of these words from history ring true! Read the - Firefighter Heroism Quotes From History Through the Smoke Mustaches, fire-proof marshmallow-men jackets, and “Darth-Vader” like masks... read about these personal protective devices which got firefighters of the late 1800s “through the smoke” Read the article - Through the Smoke Fire-Water! “...and when the fire was mostly quenched, and the smoke obscured the stars, Some trump with open heart would treat, to lager and cigars...” When these lines were written in 1854, who would have thought the fire might have been “quenched” with that lager as well! Read the article - Fire-Water!
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