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Dinner for the department elders

Hudson-Catskill Newspapers

HUDSON — About 30 lifetime members of the H. W. Rogers Hose Company in Hudson sat talking Saturday, while in the kitchen a few younger members of one of the oldest volunteer fire companies in the state prepared dinner for their elders. The sound of clanging pots and pans and laughter drifted out — along with the smell of food — to where the “old timers” were visiting.

The tradition of having the younger members prepare a meal for the lifetime members has been around 25 years.

“It’s a chance for all the lifetime members to get together,” said Jim Coons.

Coons, President of the 214-year-old fire company, has been a firefighter for 51 years.

“I joined when I was 18,” he said, adding “I was chief for 10 years in Hudson...in the 1960s.”

Coons, born and raised in Hudson, has seen a lot of change over the years, from equipment to training.

“There’s a lot of OSHA trainings now,” he said. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a federal agency created in 1970 to oversee job safety and health.

Another change Coons has seen was the consolidation of three fire companies into one centralized space on Seventh Street three years ago.

“It’s all right,” he said of having to share the space with other companies.

Bill Cowell, a 48-year veteran, agreed that things had changed since he joined in 1960. “We used to have our own firehouse,” he said.

He mentioned that women are allowed into the fire companies, something that wasn’t done in the past. “They’re good too,” he said of the female firefighters.

Cowell has four brothers who are also lifetime members. “There were six of us,” he said. One brother passed away.

Their father was mayor of Hudson in the 1940’s.

“There were a lot of politicians in the family and they all belonged to the fire company,” he said.

The family tradition continues.

“We got a bunch of nephews in the company,” said Cowell.

George Super, another lifetime member with 49 years, joined after his tour of duty in the Korean war and just after his wedding.

He said he enjoyed the event, but that every year there were less of the lifers.

“This year there are fewer,” he said looking around the room.

To reach reporter Andrew Amelinckx please call 518-828-1616 or e-mail aamelinckx@registerstar.com.

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