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FROM THE BRYANT ROOM ARCHIVES
By Myrna Sloam ©July/August 2007
Memories of Roslyn Rescue Hook and Ladder Company #1
by Peter Elmer Lynch
NOTE: Peter Elmer Lynch (1901-1990) was born July 10, 1901 in Roslyn Village. Though he lived much of his adult life in Glen Head, his roots in Roslyn date back to the 1860s to his grandfather, Peter Lynch, who was captain of the schooner “Highlander.” His father was Peter Lynch Jr. and his mother was Mary Pearsall Lynch who, in the 1920’s, served as librarian of the Bryant Library. Peter Elmer Lynch attended Roslyn schools and Columbia University. He was best known for his life-long involvement in fire fighting, both in Roslyn, and as Nassau County Fire Marshall. The following is an excerpt from a typed transcript written by Mr. Lynch in 1976 and donated to the library’s Local History Collection. We would also like to thank Helen Lynch Becker for her continued support.
Next to marrying my Ruth, [Ruth Hartman (1906-1970) and Peter Elmer Lynch were married June 6, 1925] the most important move in my life was when I became a member of Rescue Hook and Ladder Co. #1, of Roslyn on August 8, 1921. From this act flowed all my subsequent successful fire service affiliations and career. [This included] membership in various county, state and national fire organizations, appointments to important committees, and an important part in drafting Section 1700 of the new Nassau County Government Law which provided for the County Fire Commission and County Fire Marshall, and eventually my appointment as Assistant fire Marshall in 1938 and as Fire Marshall in 1958. [A post] which I held until my retirement in 1970.
At the time I joined Rescue, [Rescue Hook and Ladder Company #1 was the first fire company in Roslyn, founded in 1852] it was hard to become a member. It was only because my Uncle, James Lynch, was 1st Assistant Forman that I made it. Rescue was what was known as a “kid glove” outfit, as compared to the Highlands Company. [Roslyn Highlands Hook & Ladder, Engine & Hose Company #1 was formed in 1905.] Its members included all the local important business men, such as the president of one bank, the treasurer of another, the chairman of the Nassau County Board of Supervisors, and so on. The Company had not taken on new blood in so long that it was not too active and I was the beginning of an influx of new men. At this time [1921] Rescue’s equipment consisted of a 1912 Mack open body hose truck, a horse drawn steam fire engine, a horse drawn hook & ladder truck, with a hand pump slung on the platform underneath, and a hand drawn hose reel. The steamer was in operating condition and I remember it being towed by the Mack truck to at least two fires. I never remember the ladder truck being used or the hose reel. There were only two or three men left who knew how to operate the steamer.
During the next five or six years, our membership was opened to the younger generation and we acquired an up-to-date American LaFrance 750 GPM pumper and a hook and ladder truck. At this time the income of the fire company was limited to a thousand dollars from the Town of North Hempstead. Each truck cost $12,500. The [additional] money was raised by donations from local residents, bazaars, tag days and anything else we could do to raise a dollar. This was before the Depression, [and] we had many wealthy residents and donations were generous. Clarence H. Mackay [Roslyn] was always good for a thousand dollars, Nicholas Brady [North Hills], for a thousand, John D. Ryan [North Hills] for a thousand, and others for five hundred. We soon paid for the trucks.
At this time we were in a little old wooden fire house on Bryant Avenue, which was demolished to make way for the pier of the Northern Blvd. overpass. In order to make room for the new equipment, the hose reel was given to the Glenwood Company, the ladder truck to Albertson. It was a tight squeeze. The old building was heated by a coal furnace and the various pieces of equipment were parked all around it, but only one piece could get out at a time. It was a wonder [that] we never had a gasoline explosion, but the truck floor was so cold and draughty it probably prevented it….
[As] I mentioned…. we bought and paid for two fire trucks costing $12,500 each on an income of $1,000 per year from the Town. One interesting thing happened during these fund drives. The [Rescue Company] tournament team used to practice on the Old Powerhouse Road, [now Long Island Expressway Service Road] west of Searingtown Road, [near] by the Brady estate. One night after practice, some one suggested [that] we go up and ask Nicholas Brady for a donation. So, all wet and dirty as we were, we piled on the fast truck and drove up to the front door of the Brady mansion. The butler answered the door and after one look at us refused to tell Mr. Brady [that] we were there. We left, but when we got back to Powerhouse Road, we decided we were not going to take that treatment. This time we took both trucks, red lights flashing and sirens going, and pulled up to the Brady’s front door in a shower of gravel. The front door opened and out came Mr. and Mrs. Brady to see what was the matter. We told Mr. Brady about the butler. They asked us in and we sat and talked in that beautiful hall with the beamed rafters, while Mrs. Brady played the organ for us. The butler was forced to serve us drinks and Mr. Brady wrote out a check for a thousand dollars.
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Email: localhistory@bryantlibrary.org