It was 1918; Woodrow Wilson was President, Sunday baseball was made legal, the United States’ First World War I victory was achieved in Belleau Wood, gas was 25 cents per gallon, the average family income was $1,518 per year and 22 concerned & civic minded individuals joined together to form the Bon Air Civic Association. Since they had no official meeting space, they met in various members’ homes and, as a part of their activities, they formed the Bon Air Fire Brigade. Each member of the Brigade was issued 2 buckets for purpose of controlling unfriendly fires. At the time, we were the only fire company on the southwest corner of the township.

5 years later (1923), the Association paid $1,000 for a community lot, at the present site on Royal Avenue, and the next year they built its first hall. Our first piece of motorized apparatus, a Ford, on which was mounted soda-acid tanks for firefighting, was housed in George Shadel’s workshop.