Volunteer Fire Bell Rings Twenty-Five; Cake Served in Turnout Coats

ENGINE HOUSE NO. 2— Chief Bobcat polished the brass while Mrs. Meadowlark cut sheet cake into squares you could mail home. The bell—nicknamed Gladys—still clears pigeons from the courthouse eaves in one honest clang.

Speeches stayed under four minutes apiece; the nozzle demonstration doubled as a sprinkler for toddlers. Someone threw confetti approved by the safety committee (paper, not foil—this is a respectable blaze of fun).

Rookies sworn in with right hands raised and left hands holding somebody's baby. That's continuity you can hear three blocks over.