By Juan Montoya
The 1927 American LaFrance Aerial Fire Truck that is finally back home in Brownsville.
The truck was purchased by the city for $50,000 from a truck company owner from Pennsylvania who bought it as scrap and whose heirs sold it for a song to the city fully restored as he wished before he died.
The city signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Brownsville Historical Association for its care and preparation for exhibition.
The truck, after it was junked by the city for scrap metal in a local junkyard, was purchased by truck dealer John W. Brown, of Chambersburg, Pa.His son Ronald Earl, told firefighters that his father had always wanted the truck to go back to Brownsville.
The city commission approved the MOU with the Brownsville Historical Association to purchase the fire truck on July 30, 2018.
As of yesterday, city officials received it and it is now being stored for cleaning and presentation in the near future.
Firefighter Jorge Lerma said he had been urging the city to buy the antique engine which was last used n the city's Bicentennial Celebration in 1976. (It broke down during the parade). He said city commissioner Ben Neece was instrumental in restarting the process of its acquisition and eventual transport here.
Yesterday, by circumstance, he was on duty and needed to replenish the fluids of his truck at Public Works. He arrived there as it was being unloaded.
"I was excited that it was finally here," he said. "As it was being unloaded a guy from Public Works asked me to sound the sire, which needed to be cranked by hand," he said. "It was exciting to have it back."
21 comments:
We have poor drainage, lots of streets full of potholes due to the weather that need to be fully restored not just patch work, horrible traffic due to unsync traffic lights..but hey, lets spend 50k for an old fire engine that will be used ONCE a year during the parade..and people wonder why the hell businesses/people leave this shit town? Spend money on useless crap instead of improving city infrastructure..
Poor people like & need shiny things, that's why Brownsville spent $50,000 on this relic. Fuck Brownsville!
If he's got the hots for an old junked truck buy it yourself or start or organize a fund raiser not go to the tittie bank just like everybody else gime gime gime. This shit has to stop..
Another pet project don't we have enough of this shit...
DO NOT RE-ELECT ANYBODY AND NO ATTORNEYS JUST LIKE AT BIDS.
DO NOT RE-ELECT ANYBODY AND NO ATTORNEYS JUST LIKE AT BIDS.
DO NOT RE-ELECT ANYBODY AND NO ATTORNEYS JUST LIKE AT BIDS.
Another Genius Buy From Anti-Trump Democrats
Hey you fking haters this is history kids and citizens will enjoy this for yrs to come $50,000 was a bargain for this piece.
If your kids need clothing what do you do go out and buy a steak for yourself PENDEJO...
Self serving elected officials all they are doing is ass kissing for votes at our expense and found the right group of ignorant estupidos
La Firetruck Del Nylon.
Good try 9:02 pm, but you can't perform miracles on a bunch of stupid mother fuckers. They too stupid to see the big picture. Trump is screw them in the ass and they like, so why explain.
We will use it to take the ex fire Chief to jail, with the DA Luis Saenz, and not forgetting Charles Cabler.
There is much to say about preserving our history and having some civic pride. Some people that fail to have a reasonable life by pulling themselves up by their own boot straps, like to blame all their deficiencies on government.
You have people moving forward and making progress just to have the Mexican Crabs bring you down.
FOOLS
What a bunch of closed minded clowns. In addition to preserving and displaying our heritage, there are these people called "tourists," who come to Brownsville to see cool things like this. The more places and exhibits for them to see, the more sales taxes and tourist related jobs are generated. Don't let that spoil your negativity, though. There are always clown critics, without solutions, trolling the blogosphere. It's ok, though. This way we can show how idiotic your comments are ... bunch of losers.
2:11p : We're wondering why you don't leave, if you hate it here so much. Ever heard of having things on display ... all year round? By the way, do you think the money came from funds dedicated to infrastructure, or do you know? Have you asked? Do you know what the City is doing regarding infrastructure, or just offering us gratuitous negativity?
4:54p : LOL! You couldn't resist "Trumping" the conversation. What basis do you have for that remark? Who, exactly, are the Anti-Trumpers of which you speak?
9:27a : See comment above.
9:30a : Really? Which ones? Enlighten us.
11:31a : Orale
Agentis Publicus
The argument is that on the way to jail, who will ring the bell, the Ex Fire Chief, the Ex City manager,the Ex State representative,or the Ex District attorney.
They have that old truck taking up space at fire station #1 on E Adams they never use it in parades.
We have lots of "Winter Texans" who visit the city and it's historic sites, but they generate little financial benefit to the city. "Winter Texans" seem to know how the get the best of our town without spending much money and we might gain from that knowledge. Brownsville has few tourists and some visitors, but these historical sites are seldom visited by local citizens. And, local citizens know very little about the great history of this city and don't care about that history. The fire truck, like the narrow rail train engine at the BHM, or the train caboose in Linear Park, or our museums...few will benefit from the fire truck.....a sad thing for our city. The motto for this city might be "Ignorance is Bliss".
"preserving and displaying our heritage" WHAT heritage? your heritage is a vandeja de tamales pendejo.
Pinche tourists the only thing they can't can is rent and bread. You think those so call winter shits are gong to spend the big buck to see a dilapidated fire truck? They come here to buy their meds NOTHING ELSE.
Mexican crap? Quite believing what the gringo your idols tell you, there is no such animal. When you and the rest of your bozo friends start realizing you are nothing but a pun you will stop running errands for the gringos, pinche coco.
You must be one of those cocos that compare compadre to cronism pinche joto without knowing the actual meaning of what the hell you are saying. "IT MAKES YOU SOUND WHITE", that'a all you care
There's an old saying I heard by a old firefighter, "Only the kids and locos wave that us". So I guess you can take your kids to see the fire truck and you can go too.
@11:08 good try you still need some more learnin' in english writing maybe next time idiot.
But you still made sense of it Mr.learnin', what a dumbass. Haha
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