Making good homemade spaghetti gravy is hard enough. It is a lot of work and to do it right takes 6-8 hours. We usually dont have that kind of time in the firehouse. So if you want to make a good spaghetti dinner in the firehouse one night, try this meatball recipe, which will do WONDERS for any "store bought" red gravy. (A side note to the red gravy- dont skimp and buy cheap stuff! I know spaghetti gravy isnt cheap, but dont compound the matter by purchasing the cheap stuff! I like Franchesco Rinaldi, for 4-6 servings, I buy 2 large jars of "traditional", one medium jar of "mushroom" and 1 small jar of "3 cheese"). No matter how you go with the red gravy though, these meatballs will cover up the fact that you used store-bought red gravy!!!! This only takes a few minutes to make, and since you can bake these, you can concentrate on other parts of the meal while they are cooking.



Serves 4-6 with leftovers. (2 boxes standard #9 spaghetti pasta and the above recipe for the red gravy. Also dont forget salad and ITALIAN bread!)

Preheat oven to 375.



1.5 pounds of lean gr. beef (try to get as lean as possible.)



1 pound gr. pork



1 pound gr. veal



1 small can tomato paste



1 tbs oregano



1 tbs basil



3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped or put through a garlic press



3/4 cup of grated parmesean



Italian bread crumbs as needed



mix all ingredients well, using the bread crumbs to "dry" and hold the mix together as needed. Now go to the TV room and grab 2-3 other guys who are watching Dr. Phil and get them to help you roll the meatballs. I like mine just a bit bigger than golf balls, as they bake nicely without drying out in about 35-45 mins.



Place them in a glass baking dish or a deep cookie sheet, as there will be grease produced. Throw em in the oven for 35-35 mins. When they come out, drain them on a paper towel for a few minutes and then toss em right in the gravy!



PS- You can fry these if you want, but I prefer baking for a few reasons- it cooks them all evenly with minimal effort, this kind of a quantity will require 2-3 frying pans or multiple "batches" in one frying pan, plus if you just put them all on a baking sheet at one time, you can then work on the rest of the meal while you wait for these to bake, versus having to constantly tend to them if they were in a frying pan!!!

Here's a good one to serve at the Firehouse during a football game or new years day or any other special occasion.......Good for about 6-10 people depending on how hard they hit this.....which will be hard!!!!



1- 10" round bread loaf, I prefer a white or sourdough loaf.



1- 8oz package cream cheese, softened



1- 2 cup package shredded cheddar cheese



1.5 cups of sour cream (this works out to about 2/3rds of a 16oz container)



1/2 cup of chopped scallions (green onions.)



2 cups finely diced or finely cubed ham (I buy one plain ham steak, avoid "honey" or "smoked" flavors)



3oz (1 can) mild green chilie peppers, drained and chopped



1 tsp Worcestershire sauce



*********

-Preheat oven to 350



-Carefully cut a hatch in the bread by slicing it open across the top. Save the "lid" that you cut off.



-Hollow out the loaf, being careful not to puncture the bottom. Save the pieces you tore out from the center, creating a "bread pot". You can toast these and use them for the dip later.



-In a bowl, blend the three cheeses well. Add the ham, scallions and chilies, and worcestershire and again blend well.



-Spoon the mix into the bread "pot". Replace the "lid" Wrap the entire thing in foil all the way around. (If you dont have commercial foil, use normal kitchen-sized foil crossed in a + shape.)



-Bake at 350 for one and a half hours. Serve warm, with the toasted bread pieces, or chips (I prefer Fritos "dipping" corn chips but thats me.)



The BEST PART is the LID by the way!!!!!!! When you take it off, cut it in strips!!!!!

Well, I know everyone doesn't feel this way, but in my eyes, the 75' single axle Mack/Baker Aerialscope was just the best damn aerial device ever made. You can tell that to people who have never run one, and they look at you and laugh. But to those of us who have worked on these units, there is just nothing better than a 75' Scope. Nobody made a better or more effective fire putting out machine. 40 years later, I don't really think any manufacturer has come out with a more effective machine, and I regret that future generations of firefighters will have no clue about the joy of knocking fire with those babies.



So, I got my checkbook out, again. And this one is worth it, at least to me.



1974 Mack Baker 75' CF-700 Aerialscope. Delivered new to the Greenville Fire District of Westchester County, New York, just north of the City of Yonkers. CF-700 with the big Maxidyne V-8 diesel engine due to the hilly terrain of their first due area and a really neat chrome plated Stang monitor.



In 1987, Greenville sent the unit to Pierce for a total refurb, which included a replacement engine, a 475 HP Detroit Diesel 8V92TA attached to the Allison transmission. They also removed the body, put a new Pierce body with enclosed fender wells, repainted the entire unit, new warning devices and interior. In 1990 Greenville sold the unit to my old company, Northeast Fire Apparatus of Lancaster PA. They replaced it with an E\-One 75' quint. (no comment about the change from a 75' bucket to a straight aerial)



Northeast promptly sold it to the Paxtonia Fire Company of Dauphin County, PA (Harrisburg metro area). At one point Paxtonia had 3 aerials in one station, and this unit served as Tower 34 for about 2 years. Paxtonia had Pennsylvania Fire Apparatus add the half doors on the jumpseat openings. In 1991 Paxtonia ran into severe financial trouble and the unit was repossessed and brought back to my company for resale. At the same time, i became Chief of the Lancaster Township FD and told all my firefighters about the benefits of fighting fire with a 75' Scope. I brought the unit around, my crews fell in love with it, and we bought it from the bank and did some updates to make it fit our needs. We also upgraded the platform controller to the newer style joystick which was horizontal over the older vertical stick. On a long 3 or 4 hour job, that really made a difference in operating the bucket.



We loved that truck and actually sold a 1987 Pierce 75' quint to Bath Maine to make room for the scope. Truck 66 caught tons of fires all over the metro Lancaster area, and on more than one occasion T-66 was backed into an alley or down a driveway where no other aerial device could ever fit. It was a running working machine!



In 1998, it was beginning to show some signs of wear, and after a rebuilt transmission and a bit of hydraulic work, we decided to get quotes from Pierce for another major overhaul. We were going to add a second rear axle for better braking, a new body with a bit more compartment space, new electrical system, and some other upgrades. When we presented the proposal to our township supervisors, they told us to skip the refurb and just buy a brand new unit. Not ones to look a gift horse in the mouth, we ordered a new Spartan/LTI 93' mid-mount tower, which was delivered in the second half of 1998.



Another local fire company heard of our new unit and wanted to get a used scope. The Elizabethtown Fire Department agreed to buy the unit, it went back to Northeast for a new paint job, and to Harrisburg Mack for aerial updates and re-certification. In mid 98, they placed Truck 74 in service until the received a new 95' Seagrave Aerialscope in 2005. The Mack was sold to another local firefighter who used it for parades and other events, and he sold it to me when his time changed and he had no place to store it anymore.



Another one for the collection!



Plans for the unit include some minor rust repair and re-lettering it for Lancaster Township FD.

This is Strongsville, Ohio 1980 ALF Century Engine 4. ive owned this truck for about a year now. Has a 500 gal tank 1250 pump and pumps like a champ. Was originally white, in 96 the city had it repainted and the pump gone thru. I made some freinds and was able to get all of the original equipment back for the truck. I even have orignal build sheets and manuals. Since ive owned it i have built a brand new hosebed floor and redone all the emergency lights.. i am going to get it reletterd to how it was when it was new.. If anyone has any pictures of this truck or my old sutphen, please share











This pic was when i first brought her home. The sutphen next to it, i owned for about 5 years. I sold it to be able to get the alf....last i heard they were making it into a dump truck >: (

The first one is old Truck 1, its a 1982 alf tiller.

Heres the pictures of the two Philadelphia rigs

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This 1979 alf engine is fommerly from Meridan,CT. This picture is when it was yellow.

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Heres a picture of the ladder before we bought it.

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The tiller in the photo is owned by: Joel Bain. Its a 1978 American lafrance Century tiller 100ft.

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This 1967 alf engine was bought by my dad Joel Bain and restored it to a Camden piece as engine 9 its a very nice truck.My dad is the only one that drive it to places it nice. Officer side

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