Citizens Fire Company #1 of Lemoyne Papers

HISTORICAL NOTE

The Citizens Fire Company #1 began its history in the Borough of Lemoyne on June 19, 1905. A meeting was held in Witman Building (or Witman Hall) for the purpose of organizing a fire company for the borough. Meetings were held once a week and the Citizens Fire Company #1 of Lemoyne was officially recognized by the Borough Council on July 6, 1906. The first bylaws and constitution were drawn up and approved on July 17, 1906. The company’s first firehouse was built in 1910 on Hummel Avenue. Before its construction, the fire fighters moved their equipment, then a handmade wooden hose cart, to various stables and garages of the community. During the company’s beginning year, it faced financial crises and it almost lost its building in 1915, but reorganization took place in 1919.

During the 1980s, the fire departments of Lemoyne and Wormleysburg created a Hazardous Materials response team and formed a Mutual Aid Force, which utilized the services of four communities’ resources during fire emergencies. These companies worked with other boroughs, beginning the creation of a regional fire service. In 1997, talks began about forming what is now the West Shore Bureau of Fire, which officially formed on January 1, 1998. It has been providing fire and safety services ever since. The West Shore Bureau of Fire is the newest fire department in Cumberland County.

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

This collection consists of four boxes. The first box contains 28 folders. The content of these files ranges from Borough Council papers, committee papers, membership files, various constitutions, contracts, correspondence, department history, firemen’s association papers, fire rescue squad minutes, financial documents, and insurance papers.

The second box of this collection contains 36 folders. It continues with the company’s invoices and financial statements. Documents pertaining to the fire department’s Ladies’ Auxiliary are stored within this box. The Ladies’ Auxiliary folders include committee reports, correspondence, journals, membership files, and meeting minutes. This box also contains legal files, documentation of the Lemoyne and Wormleysburg fire jointure, letterhead and envelopes, and loan files. The company’s minutes from 1926 to 1978 are stored in Box 2.

Box three continues with the company’s minutes from 1979 to 1999. Folders within this box include the miscellaneous documents, news articles pertaining to the Fire Company, ordinances and resolutions, play scripts, sewer listings, tax files, blank forms, and wills and testaments. Within this box are the company’s reports – auditor, financial secretary, festival, fire, incidents, treasurer, and trustees. This collection’s oversized collection begins in this box and ends in box four.

The collection’s folders are arranged alphabetically and the documents within these files are arranged chronologically. Entries marked with an asterisk (*) in the following inventory list are a part of the oversized collection

See full finding aid.

This collection register was prepared by Emily Bach, April 2017