I am a fire buff. I love to hear motor driven, real sirens, as in Philly, not the electronic ones now in common use. When I lived in Philly, I was a member of the ‘Second Alarmers Association.’ If a third alarm or better was ordered, we brought out the doughnuts and coffee for the firefighters, and they did appreciate it. I was a volunteer fireman in Silverton Colorado, also. Watching firemen and their equipment, has always been extremely interesting to me. When there are major fires and casualties among the firemen, there will usually be a parade, with coffins mounted on shiny pumpers, and firemen marching with black arm bands. This always brings tears to my eyes, as I consider them the bravest of the brave.
What is so sad in current times, is that companies with the most calls, are in the poorest neighborhoods, whose residents are always careless, cause the fires, and don’t give a hoot about the brave firemen who are saving their lives and property. Many firemen in big cities, when answering an alarm, are greeted with bottles and garbage raining down on them. I have lots of slides I took at major Philadelphia fires, but I ran across the following story, and this is it.
It was Christmas Eve, 1929. A big Christmas party was going on at the White House. In the West Wing, where the oval office is, (built in 1903), the President’s secretary smelled smoke at 8 PM. The Secret Service was summoned, and agent Russell Wood began investigating. It seemed to come from the attic. He mounted the stairs, opened a door, and was hit by a wall of searing heat. President Hoover was quietly told of the fire. He left the party and decided to observe Box 157 was pulled, which is the White House box. (A ‘box,’ is an alarm, usually on a street corner, which was used to summon a fire department. They are virtually extinct now, thanks to the use of cellphones. Too many false alarms. I still remember listening to fire radio, and as an engine approached a box alarm, saying, “nothing showing.”). “Box 157-The White House,” screamed the telegrapher. Seconds later, every company in D.C. received the message 1-5-7. 1-5-7.
Engine One, had a brand-new Seagrave pumper, and was first due. It rushed through the gates, and Captain O’Connor could see flames through the small attic windows. Battalion Chief Gill, was speeding to the fire scene, and as he raced down Pennsylvania Ave, he could see the flames also. Gill led his hose crew up to the attic, and when the door was opened, a dreaded ‘back draft’ occurred, throwing the chief and his men back down the stairs to the main floor. As Gill and his men staggered to their feet, Gill ordered a second alarm at 8:15.
Engines 16, 23, and Truck 3, (ladder) had arrived, and the 85-foot aerial ladder, could have reached the roof, but the massive iron gates on the sides and rear of the White House, were locked. All chiefs were given keys to the gates, but the Secret Service had changed the locks without telling anyone. Deputy Chief Nicholson, arrived at the rear, saw the equipment locked outside, and ordered a third alarm at 8:17.
Fire Commissioner Watson, was rushing to the fire scene in his red Cadillac touting car. He made the 35 blocks through Washington’s heavy Christmas traffic, in eight minutes flat, reaching the fire scene at 8:18. Seeing the flames breaking through the roof, Watson ordered a fourth alarm, which would bring four more engine companies, and off-shift men, to activate reserve pieces. The fifth and final alarm, was sounded at 9:24. Some pumpers were taking water from hydrants as far as five blocks away. Here was a government office on fire, loaded with combustible papers by the ton, and virtually no access. The first idea, was to get through the roof, but most of the skylights led into partitioned air shafts, so that was of no use. Finally, the roof gave way, and Truck Three, which had finally gotten through gates, was able to wet the fire from above. When the roof collapsed, there were men below, frantically trying to save valuable papers. None were hurt when the ceiling gave way.
Huge calcium lights had been set up, so the fire scene was brilliantly lit. The President was on the roof of the White house, watching the whole show, while the Christmas party below, went on, totally unaware of the commotion going on outside, with the West Wing being destroyed. The White House was un-insured, as it is now. Across the river at Ft. Meyer, a troop of the Third Cavalry, stood by, in case they were needed. 150 soldiers from what is now known as Ft. McNair, formed a human wall around the fire scene to keep the public out, because the fire had drawn a huge audience. One hundred D.C. police aided the soldiers.
At 7:27 AM, Christmas Morning, the fire was officially out, although Engine One, which was first in, remained all day, in case of re-ignition from all the smoldering paper residue. Fifteen firemen were injured, and the West Wing was destroyed, but the White House was saved. The cause of the fire, was discovered to be an over-heated flue in an open fireplace in the secretary’s office.
This all happened in 1929, 93 years ago. Fire-fighting equipment, since 1929, has become more and more sophisticated as each year has passed. “Scott Packs,” allow firemen to breathe in smoke filled areas, and “Squirts,” are the equivalent of a large fire hose, remotely directed from high in the air. Engines are dieselized, and pump pressure and engine capacity, are far higher than they were in 1929. Ladders are hydraulically raised and lowered, and can go well over a hundred feet in the air. Turnout coats, boots, and helmets, are far superior to those in 1929. Radios allow instant communication between firefighters and their chiefs. Then as now, fire departments and the firemen who man them, deserve our greatest praise. I strongly believe that no woman is brave or strong enough to be a firefighter, and 99% of firemen agree with me.
Beethoven
I love classical music, and Beethoven is probably #1 on my list. Beethoven, born in 1772, had a loving mother and a harsh father, both musicians, who drilled him constantly, and was possibly partly responsible for Beethoven’s command of the piano, and hundreds of compositions. In 1814, he had completed the 7th and 8th symphonies, and was doing very well. Publishers, desired everything he wrote, as soon as it was finished, and he was becoming a well-off composer. On page 288 of a large book I am reading, titled “Beethoven,” on page 288, is the following. ”Together with the arrears paid on his annuity, the pecuniary benefits, soon enabled him to invest more than 4,000 florins in silver.” In 1814, the 4,000 florin value in today’s dollars is $7,120, or 3342 ounces of silver. Not bad for a struggling composer, huh? Even then, 208 years ago, Beethoven knew how to save in things other than florins, as we should today.
The gold-silver ratio, remains at 88 to 1, making silver a huge bargain. I am well aware that the mint is two months behind, even though working 24/7. Maybe a new mint is being considered, but there is no land adjacent to the current one, and a new one would cost over a million dollars, and take at least two years to complete. A one-ounce Gold Eagle, Krugerrand, or Maple Leaf, is priced at 87 ounces of silver. There is no shortage of silver, only mint capacity.
Is the future price of silver, going to be higher than the current price? No one knows what will happen in the future. We only know by history, that no paper currency has ever escaped ending up with a value of zero, and in no nation’s history, has any government ever balanced its budget, always causing their money become valueless. In America, it has happened three times. The Continental dollar, used to fight the Brits in the Revolutionary War, went to zero, so many were printed. In the War Between the States, both the North’s and South’s went to zero, and if you’re as old as me, and most aren’t, I easily remember nickel Hershey Bars and nickel Cokes, or as the advertising song went. “Pepsi-Cola hits the spot, twelve full ounces, that’s a lot, twice as much for a nickel too. Pepsi-Cola is the drink for you.”
Going through my desk yesterday, I found a “Twenty Trillion dollar” banknote, issued by the ‘Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.’ Serial number AA0037023. The bank says on the note, “I promise to pay the bearer, on demand, twenty trillion dollars.’ I forgot who gave it to me, but it is indeed genuine, and not an advertising gimmick. I won’t bore you further with this gibberish. Save in precious metals, not paper. don@coloradogold.com, or 1-970-249-4646 for conversation.