Roy Kelley Sells Maryland Homes : San Diego Then & Now — The Volunteer's Bell

  

This is one of a series of posts updating old pictures of San Diego County.
To read other posts in this series, simply click on San Diego Then & Now.

Just twelve miles east northeast of downtown San Diego is the City of La Mesa, the Jewel of the Hills.

Back in 1948, the La Mesa Fire Department received an unusual gift, a springer spaniel-pointer mixed dog that was named Blaze and given the honorary title of Fire House Greeter. You can see Blaze in this picture from around 1960:

(Picture reprinted with permission from La Mesa, by James D. Newland and the La Mesa Historical Society. Available from the publisher online at www.arcadiapublishing.com or by calling 888-313-2665.)

No, I don't have an updated picture of Blaze. Our little Fire House Greeter retired in 1959 and died in 1962.

However, notice the bell in the picture? That's The Volunteer's Bell, and it is still in almost the identical spot, although a new fire house was just recently built around it:

See it in the lower left corner there? When the new fire station was built, the bell was removed and put into storage, which caused a minor uproar in La Mesa. Many people believed that it was wrong to put into storage something that represented the efforts of hundreds, if not thousands, of volunteer firemen over the years in protecting life and property. Some of those volunteer firemen had even died in the line of duty, making The Volunteer's Bell an accidental memorial.

Here is a closeup picture of the bell:

Look at the top of the bell in both pictures and you can see that it has been altered slightly, a result of cleaning and refurbishing while in storage.

In the first picture look closely under the butt of the guy at the right. That square you see is a plaque, and here is a closeup of the same plaque but now on the new base of the bell:

For those whose eyesight is even worse than mine, the poem on the plaque reads:

This bell which rang for many years
To call out all the Volunteers
A symbol of the days gone past
It stands here, proudly
Resting at last.

What I find particularly interesting about the plaque is that at the top left it has the date 1922 and at the top right it has the date 1952, seeming to indicate that the bell rang for thirty years. However, at the bottom of the plaque, it reads, "Presented by Ladies Aux. of L.M.F.D., Dec. 23, 1937."

That leaves me wondering just what the three dates are. My best guess is that the bell rang from 1922 to 1937 and that this plaque is a 1952 replica of the original 1937 plaque. I suspect that the 1937 plaque was probably made out of wood since iron would have been scarce during the years of the Great Depression.

Try Russel Ray Photos for inexpensive, royalty free photos.

Recent posts

1. The Power of P's — Prospects: Where are they?
2. Business & Marketing — The Thought-Feeling-Action Pyramid
3. Picture of the Moment #25 — Will someone catch me?
4. Business & Marketing — Are you confusing features and benefits?
5. Picture of the Moment #24 — My mommy thinks I'm beautiful
6. Inspiration — How do you do so much?
7. Picture of the Moment #23 — Are you taking a picture of me?
8. Business & Marketing — Are you turning your services into a commodity?
9. Business & Marketing — How do you deal with setbacks?
10. Business & Marketing — It doesn't matter how good you are, you still have to tell people
11. Business & Marketing — Spinning your wheels? Not going anywhere? My top 3 reasons why your marketing is failing
12. Picture of the Moment #22 — Just a Monday morning reminder
13. Business & Marketing — Are you still door knocking?
14. San Diego Then & Now — When old is new and new is old
15. Picture of the Moment #21 — Create yourself!
16. Inspiration — The power of a dream
17. Picture of the Moment — #20 (occupied)
18. Business & Marketing — The conclusion to my bestest ActiveRain success story
19. Business & Marketing — Are you a member of the IG generation?
20. The Power of P's — Psychology: A successful business is more than just buying or selling