Next to any parades in Powhatan the Brandermill event has got to be the s l o w e s t parade of the year! The car is very close to overheating by the end of the route when it's really hot out. This year wasn't so bad but I for one wish it went a little faster..........
[quote name='FDSafetyMentor' post='255143' date='Oct 18 2008, 22:49 ']And this is what you owners can relate to......people helping themselves to whatever they want with little regard for the antique. Yo! Watch the belt buckle! Don't touch![/quote]
WELL NOW!!! I think it's time to roll up the windows lol
[quote name='FDSafetyMentor' post='255143' date='Oct 18 2008, 22:49 ']And this is what you owners can relate to......people helping themselves to whatever they want with little regard for the antique. Yo! Watch the belt buckle! Don't touch![/quote]
I had similar problem when I went to order lunch at a local Mc. Donald's down the street from a fire muster. lol
The '63 Galaxie got out for the first time in 2009 with a trip from Richmond up to Winchester, VA for the Annual Apple Blossom Festival Firefighter's Parade on May 1, 2009. That's a 150 mile trip one way for the old Gal and it performed flawlessly. The day of the parade turned out to be rainy in the morning but cleared up just in time for the parade at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. The Galaxie was also awarded a plaque for Best in Class for Specialty Vehicles - Privately Owned.
Every once in a while we take the '63 Galaxie to a local car show. On August 8, 2009 we took a short trip down to Petersburg, VA for the Annual MDA Car Show. About 240 vehicles showed up throughout the day with mostly sunny and scattered rain in the area kind of weather. The show was held under the trees at Richard Bland College which is a nice venue for August. Lots of shade available even though that makes taking decent photos a challenge. The chief's car won a plaque for "Best Appearing Emergency Services Vehicle" at the show which overall raised a bunch of money for MDA. No matter where the car goes these days, Sparky always seems to attract more attention than the car.
The '63 Galaxie was one of several units that showed up to help support the 1st Annual "Burning Up the Bottom" Firefighter Charity Festival Saturday, 9-26-09 at the Farmer's Market on 17th Street in Richmond, VA. The event was sponsored by the Halligan Bar & Grille and featured a fire apparatus parade, lots of food, a firefighter auction, music, FD demos and stuff for the kids. Here the units are in staging before the parade. The old and retired and the new and in service apparatus came from the City and surrounding counties.
After the parade the units were parked at the festival site to allow the public time to mix, mingle and photograph........and put their sticky fingers on every polished section of sheet metal ;o)
Actor Randolf Mantooth (aka Johnny Gage from the TV Series "Emergency") poses with our '63 Ford Galaxie 500 Fire Chief's car at the hotel where he was staying in Winchester, VA for the Apple Blossom Festival Firefighter's Parade on April 30, 2010. Photo credit goes to Frank Hoppes who was Randy's driver for the afternoon.
Took the Chief's car out to the Annual MDA Car Show in Petersburg, VA last weekend. It's one of the largest car shows in the area each year with about 200 show cars on site. New Mustangs and Camaros, lots of street rods, some beautifully restored antiques and plenty of custom rides. A little something for everyone. Found a great parking spot early on and started to walk the show field which is set in a grove of pecan trees. One of the few car show sites with lots of shade for a sunny day. Great for participants and a nightmare for those of us who like to take photos. You have to deal with bright sun and lots of shadows. Anyway, while walking around and taking some photos one of the organizers approached me and asked if I could move my car. Wondering what was up, he explained that the "police" needed me to move the car. Hmmmm, why is that? Turns out one of the show participants from the Newport News area had showed up with his 1963 Ford Galaxie 300 Police car and everyone thought it would be cool to have the FD and PD cars parked together. So the fire chief ended up side-by-side with the "Mayberry, VA" Police car for the day; a somewhat rare sight these days. A great show on a really nice day.
The '63 Galaxie didn't get out quite as much in 2011 due to my travel/training schedule. Lots of weekends on the road teaching Roadway Incident Safety workshops to help prevent emergency personnel and especially firefighters from being struck by vehicles while working highway incidents. I'll post a few updates starting with this one where we lead a couple of Mack's in a local 4th of July parade in 2011.
In June '12 we were part of a large group of antique and modern fire apparatus that helped honor Virginia's Fallen Firefighters at the Annual Memorial service.
02-11-2012, 02:55 PM (This post was last modified: 02-11-2012, 02:56 PM by FDSafetyMentor.)
One of our favorite trips each year is up to Winchester, VA for the annual Apple Blossom Festival Firefighter's Parade at the beginning of May. We take the back roads up through the state for the 150 mile trip and when the weather is nice, it's a great ride. Here's the car at the static display area before the afternoon parade.
One of our favorite trips each year is up to Winchester, VA for the annual Apple Blossom Festival Firefighter's Parade at the beginning of May. We take the back roads up through the state for the 150 mile trip and when the weather is nice, it's a great ride. Here's the car at the static display area before the afternoon parade.
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Jack, I missed seeing it somehow.
John Hinant Retired Member of Richmond VA Fire Bureau
October 25, 1858 - October 25, 2020 = 162 years old The sixth oldest paid, documented, Fire Department in the United States First established in 1782
"In God We Trust - All Others We Take For Granted"
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