A Window on the Past
Willard Engine and Ladder Company
By Kathryn Onos DiPhilippo
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We continue this week with the history of the Willard Engine and Ladder Company No. 2. As mentioned last week, the call company was originally formed in 1892 by a group of men in the Willard neighborhood, led by Willis F. Strout. Initially under the name Willard Hose Company No. 2, the men voted for Willis Strout to serve as their captain and they quickly set about the work of building a hose house on Preble Street in Willard Square.
Members of the Willard Hose Company riding on their Peerless Hose 2 truck. Fireman Norman Thompson is at the wheel.