| On Sunday April 3rd 2011 six member and two friends of the knights got together for the first ride of the season to the Pennsylvania National Fire Museum in Harrisburg.
The eight people met at the Wawa at routes 10 & 30 at 11:30am, after fueling up they pulled out at 11:45 and made the trip to Harrisburg be of 30 to 283 to 81. The trip took about an hour and a half as we pulled into the museum around 1:15pm were everyone then gathered for a picture around the bike's before heading inside.
After signing in and restroom stops the group was met by one of the volunteers from the museum who gave us a quick history of the museum and the building it resides. The main museum building is the former Reily Firehouse. It was originally opened in 1899, and served the Harrisburg Fire Department until 1980. The station sat dormant until 1990 when it underwent a 3.2 million dollar restoration project to become the museum, this project took four year and was opened in 1994.
After giving us the history of the museum the volunteer set us free to explore the museum which consist of seven parts :
#1 Main Apparatus Room of the Reily fire station. This room has been restored to its 1899 appearance, and shows you examples of firefighting equipment used in the mid to late 1800's. There is also a memorial to local firefighter who made the supreme sacrifice in the execution of their duties.
#2 The Stable Area shows you the important role horses played in the fire service. In 1914, the "Hay" day of the horse drawn era, Harrisburg's 14 fire stations were home to almost 50 horses.
#3 The Large Apparatus Room gives you a glimpse into the modern era. Early gasoline power fire apparatus is displayed in this hall. There was interactive exhibits that explore many aspects of firefighting and fire safety. there was also a short 20 minute film on the history of firefighting. this room also had a 911 tribute that include a piece of steel, firefighting tools, and PPE worn by one firefighter at ground zero.
#4 The Gamewell Alarm Room displays a functional alarm headquarters set up. Housed in the former hayloft, you can get a sense of how complex a system the old red street alarm boxes were.
#5 The Driver's Bunkroom shows you what life was like for the early paid firefighter. you will see that there was a great deal of work involved taking care of the fire station and it's equipment. Also featured here is their "Firefighters On Parade" exhibit, featuring a sampling of mementoes from firefighters, county conventions, housing of new fire apparatus and fire station dedications.
#6 The Wardrobe Room houses an extensive collection of early stovepipe parade hats. These ornate treasures will give you a sense of pride shared by the early volunteers.
#7 The Parlor Room houses temporary exhibits that are rotated on a yearly basis.
The group spent over two hours touring the museum before gathering for a group short out front and heading for a little lunch/dinner at a nearby restraint. the group headed home and returned to the area around 5pm.
The Red knights Pa2 would like to thank the museum volunteers for their time and undivided attention throughout our visit. |
