Submitted by PlentyCommission166 t3_11w3z9k in boston
And some kids dancing around his get while he looked down and smiled and Kelly trying to conduct?
I know, it's old. Just wondering.
Comments
nefarious_bastard t1_jcwmfsn wrote
ppomeroy t1_jd4s26d wrote
Arthur could be a salty ol' bird at times. He was an amateur fire historian and often showed up with his driver at large fires to take pictures and talk with the first responders on the ground. We'd greet him, "Hi Mr. Fiedler," and he would reply, "How's it goin' tonight boys." He would then (and often) critique the fire fighting operations and point out what we were doing wrong. He was a hoot.
I say "salty" since his vernacular was... shall we say... "colorful" at times.
Not too many people know, or may remember unless you have some gray hair, that Arthur paid to have the fire department telegraphs from multiple cities such as Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and some others, wired into his home. And he could read them.
The telegraphs were the original centralized fire dispatch system, and Boston was the first to centralize such. In the past neighborhood fire boxes went only to the local station. After the Great Boston Fire, Boston centralized the boxes and then dispatched from there. Arthur would know where all of the big fires were.
The telegraphs or "tapper system" are still in use as a back up to radio transmissions these days. Some departments have abandoned these but Boston keeps them as a failsafe system. Boston's fire department's tappers are also on their own power supply so if overall power goes out, fire boxes still work. You can see the tappers at all of Boston's Fire stations and also at the Boston Fire Museum intown Boston on Congress Street.
PlentyCommission166 OP t1_jd588pi wrote
That is absolutely amazing and I did not know that. What a nifty, weird thing for him to be interested in!
ppomeroy t1_jdfp0nw wrote
Sometime visit the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline and take a ride On Fiedler Engine #1. That was the fire truck he donated to them. They don't run it all the time but on select occasions.
jamesland7 t1_jcwbknq wrote
He died july ‘79
PlentyCommission166 OP t1_jcwc49j wrote
It must have been 78-79, then. I was too little to remember the date, I guess.
jamesland7 t1_jcwhbq0 wrote
Long before my time, just figured that might help you nail down the exact date :)
PlentyCommission166 OP t1_jcwtedj wrote
Thank you!
impostershop t1_jcwbvrs wrote
Yes! AF seemed like the pawpaw we all collectively wanted to have. When I was young, I knew innately how talented he was, and tried to soak it in.
Which mall OP? Arsenio mall? (/s)