Westerly Firefighter's Hand Tub Association
A Bit of History of the Defiance and the Star...
The Defiance
The history of the Defiance trails back to the days of 1860. Button & Blake of Waterford, New York built it for Brockville, Canada. She has two 12 ½ inch cylinders and can be traced by her serial number - 536. At a Muster in Montreal, Canada the Defiance was in her prime.
The Defiance was the second piece of equipment obtained by the Brockville Fire Brigade. With this addition, the Farmer's Market was moved out of the first floor of the town hall in the southwest corner of town to give the firefighters more space.
On August 28th 1860, in celebration to welcome the Prince of Wales, the Defiance won all honors. She shot a perpendicular record of 150 feet and a horizontal record of 170 feet. Other records indicate she won the Prince of Wales Trumpet and the Muster this same year with a play of 238 feet.
The Defiance was purchased from Buffalo, New York by the Defiance Veterans Fireman's Association of Fall River, Mass in September 1898. Her best record while at Fall River was 216 feet 9 inches at Crescent Park. She served Fall River for about 23 years when she was bought for $50 by J.P. Burdick of North Kingston, RI. Two years later in 1923, the Defiance was leased to Riverside, RI. After a mere 3 years of service, she returned to North Kingston where she served in muster service until 1930. The next year she toured Pawtucket, RI after Novelty Park bought her to replace their Black Opal. The Black Opal was the former Arnold B. Chase of Albion, RI. Her time at Novelty Park was short lived. North Grafton, MA bought the Defiance while J.P. Burdick was Captain.
The Westerly Fire Department brought the Defiance back to Rhode Island sometime in the 1930's. At times she was lent to the Bristol Fire Department, also located in Rhode Island. Once she was finally settled in Westerly, she began restoration. In 1964, the Defiance was being rebuilt for muster use.
The original box of the Defiance was made out of mahogany with the screw holes inlaid with pearl.
As of 1930, it was estimated that she served in 69 musters. Of these musters, she won prizes in 42 of them with the amount won totaling $4,595. Her first muster took place in 1860 as mentioned above. Her best record, 250 feet 10 inches was at the Brockton Fair in Brockton, MA on September 13 1930. Some of the other musters she competed in were: Riverside, RI on August 18, 1923, 249 feet 11 ¼ inches; Crompton, RI on September 14, 1929, 249 feet 2 ½ inches.
Another source states that the Defiance has won $8,313 in her time. The record distance she set at the Brockton Fair still stands as her best shot yet. She stood as the champion in the New England League of Hand Tubs in 1923 and 1924 with Riverside, RI, 1927 with North Kingston, RI, 1952 and 1955 with Bristol, RI.
In 1994, the Westerly Veteran Firemen contracted George Anderson of Anderson Restoration to completely refurbish the Defiance. In 1964 her original box was replaced with one of oak. The new box was remade in mahogany, the pump overhauled and the bars sand blasted and repainted. The restoration was completed in May of 1996 for a total cost of $12,000.00 The Westerly Veteran Firemen raised all funds to complete this endeavor through the catering of various events.
The Star
The Star was built in 1858 by William Jeffers. It had 9 inch cylinders and double air chamber with a short box style. It was originally built for Bay City, Michigan.
The Star would see service though the state of Michigan until around 1889 or 1890. She served in Detroit where she was renamed the Woodbridge No. 12. Moving to n Iona, MI, her name was changed back to the Star. She would end her service in Michigan in Harbor Springs again as the Star.
In 1889 or 1890 she was sold to Cranston, Rhode Island and called the Star No 11. She was sold to Westerly, Rhode Island around 1916. She was entered in 26th at the annual N.E.W.V.F.L. muster at Providence, RI on August 31, 1916. She shot a stream of 178 feet 2 3/8 inches.
The muster record of the Star was computed in 1930. Her first muster was in 1899. She competed in 31 musters winning 9 prizes with a total purse of $595.00. Her best play was recorded at Crescent Park on August 18, 1923 with a stream of 220 feet 4 ¼ inches.
Sadly, on November 6, 1950 Box 52 was sounded for a fire at a business on Main Street Westerly. The fire extended to several buildings before being brought under control. One of the building housed the Star and she was completely destroyed.
The information in this article was gathered from the following sources:
"Highlights of the History of the Defiance" hand typed from someone from North Kingston, RI.
"Brockville Fire Department History" Webmaster: http://www.brockvillefire.ca/history.htm. 14 July 2008.
"Hand Tub Database - D" http://www.handtubs.com/d.htm. Hand Tub Junction, 1999. 14 July 2008.
Past Presidents of the Westerly Firefighter's Handtub Association
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