Bonjour a tous. My name is Dominique Gosselin from Knowlton (Brome Lake), Quebec, Canada. I have been a volunteer fireman since 1983. My story is about "Old Betsy"- It's a 1954 Chevrolet 1700 firetruck made in Oshawa, Canada. The firetruck part was built by Pierre Thibault in Pierreville, Quebec. Old Betsy was purchased new in 1954 and retired in 1998. For 20 years she was the only fire truck the village had. The village of Knowlton became part of Brome Lake in 1971 with 5 other neighbouring villages. In 1974 a new Fire Hall was built in Knowlton and new fire trucks were purchased. Old Betsy became a backup unit. She was used only on major fires and training new firemen (including myself) and for the parades. As the years go by only a few old firemen would take her for a spin and play with her. In 1998 she was officially retired and sold to the local museum. The museum is in the old Fire House where Old Betsy started in 1954. The museum had good intentions but lacked the space so they had her stored in a barn at the local fair ground. The only time she moved was at Fair time. In later years, brakes have seized and rust started to show. The museum did not have the funds to fix her. This is what got me involved in 2008. A local collector wanted to purchase Old Betsy and turn her back into a flatbed truck. I told myself "over my dead body". I convinced our Firemen's Association to buy her back and restore her (They buy back price $1.00) I temporarily repaired the old girl and did a few parades but she needed a full restoration. I organized fund raisers, told her story to people who listened and By Gosh donations started to pour in. Even the Federal Penitentiary located a few towns over offered to do the body work and paint job for FREE (was I happy to hear that). As of today, Old Betsy has been totally dis-assembled (except for the firetruck part, it's welded to the frame). She has been sandblasted and painted. New parts ordered and now she is ready to be re-assembled. I am hoping to have her back together and ready to go by Mother's Day 2011. I will keep you posted on her progress.
Thank you for letting me post my story. If your are interested you can view pictures at this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/old_betsy/sets/
