Riverton fire engines past and present

RFCo Engine #10. by Gary R. Weart
RFCo Engine #10. by Gary R. Weart

As Riverton’s recent July Fourth Parade attests, it’s not a parade without the fire engines and the fire fighters.

Riverton Children's Parade c.1950's
Riverton Children’s Parade c.1950’s

The purpose of this post is to consolidate some information and images from past posts on this subject.

Former Mayor Bruce Gunn provided the c.1950s Kodachrome slide for this fire engine (possibly Palmyra’s) from more than a half century earlier.

This past June, I posted this scan of a photo I bought on eBay to our Facebook page, and asked if anyone could identify the men. The only description for the small undated photo appears at the bottom – “192 American LaFrance, 750 GPM type 75, Riverton, NJ.”

American LaFrance, Riverton, NJ
American LaFrance, Riverton, NJ

A few days later, we received this response from Cara Vandy:

My mother, Mary Vandy, who was born in Riverton, says the driver is her uncle, Earnest “Ernie” Bishop and the other man is Jesse Perkins.

So now, can we assume that the photo was taken during a July Fourth Parade, or was it taken elsewhere, as was the case with this other photo I bought in 2013?

1956 photo 1926 RFD ALF 750 pumper in AC
1956 photo 1926 RFD ALF 750 pumper in AC

The seller’s description reads: “A very nice old 1956  original B & W 4 by 6 inch photo of the Riverton NJ Fire Dept  1926 ALF 750 pumper. This photo was taken by me at the  NJ State Firemen’s Parade in 1956 Atlantic City.”

If a reader can identify the driver, please advise.

See other fire apparatus photos which appeared in February and November 2011 posts.

courtesy of Mike Nowacki, Jersey Shore Photography
image courtesy of Mike Nowacki, Jersey Shore Photography

We come full-circle to Riverton Borough’s newest fire apparatus, Riverton, NJ Engine 2412, a 2015 Pierce Impel 2000/750, which made its Children’s Parade debut in 2015.

Read more of the history of Riverton Fire Company, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2015, in a series of articles written by former Town Historian Betty B. Hahle reprinted from July Fourth Program booklets in this June 2013 post.

Let this post serve as an invitation to readers to exhibit more photos of RFCo apparatus, old or new.

RFC1927ALF, chief's auto DGusky
RFC1927ALF and chief’s auto by DGusky

David Gusky, an avid model builder uses such photos to create incredibly detailed miniature duplicates of Riverton Fire Company vehicles.

And just maybe someone else will recognize an ancestor or acquaintance in this tribute to Riverton Fire Company equipment and fire fighters.

For more information, visit the RFCo webpage and Facebook page– JMc