Annual reports of the Town of Seabrook, New Hampshire

148 Pages·1993·5.3 MB·English

by  Seabrook (N.H. : Town)

Annual Reports of the
Town
of Seabrook
New Hampshire
1992
For the Year Ending December 31st
As Compiled by the Town Officers
COVER: "Old Betsy"
"Old Betsy" was Seabrook's first motorized fire
truck. It was built by George Austin Weare (shown
standing) who converted the 1932 Model "A" Ford into a
tank and pump truck. "Old Betsy" was destroyed, along
with the Passaconnaway hand tub, during the Barr and
Blooinfield factory building fire in 1964.
Shown sitting on the truck is Weare's sister, Lydia
Mary Weare Gould, then 16 years old. She drove the truck
to a fire one day when none of the volunteer firemen came
to get it. After the fire someone suggested that she
drive it home and she said she shouldn't because she
didn't have a driver's license!
Annual Reports
of the
Town
of Seabrook
New Hampshire
For the Year Ending December 31st
1992
As Compiled by the Town Officers

DEDICATION
This town report is dedicated to the memory of
deceased Seabrook fire chiefs. These men served
unselfishly and faithfully devoted much of their time to
saving lives, protecting property and building a fire
department to meet the needs of the future. It is obvious
that the dedication of these men had an impact on the
entire community and especially on their families. Many
of their brothers, sons and grandsons have served as fire
fighters and that tradition continues today. Many of
their mothers, wives, sisters and daughters have served as
members of the ladies' auxiliary.
DECEASED SEABROOK FIRE CHIEFS
This memorial dedication has been co—mpiled from
personal conversations with many pe—ople family members,
firemen and friends of the chiefs and from information
contained in town reports from 1932 to the present, as
well as from news clippings, photo albums and scrapbooks
loaned to the selectmen for this project. It would be a
monumental task to prepare a complete history of the
Seabrook Fire Department but I personally feel no better
tribute could be made to all the brave fire fighters we
all depend on throughout our lives.
Narrative prepared by Margaret E. Wetherington at the
request of the Board of Selectmen.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2010 with funding from
Boston Library Consortium IVIember Libraries
http://www.archive.org/details/annualreportsoft1992seab
George Austin Weare, Fire Chief 1932 - 1933
and 1939 - 1944
Died November 11, 1979, age 72
The town's first fire chief was appointed in 1932.
Then 23 years of age, Weare was the youngest fire
chief in New England. In the 1979 town report, which
was dedicated to Weare, it is noted that he built the
town's first motorized fire truck himself.
Frank Ashley Perkins, Fire Chief 1934 - 1938
Died February 14, 1958, age 61
Perkins was also tax collector from 1935 through
1937.
Alfred Waldo Locke
Died April 19, 1955, age 43
Locke was a "temporary" chief prior to Henry
Kendrick. He was issued the first Seabrook Firemen's
Association membership card and the first key to the
building. He was a fireman for many years and was elected
a town constable several times. Locke drowned after his
car went off the road and into the marsh in Hampton Falls
during a high-run tide.
Henry S. Kendrick, Fire Chief 1945 - 1966
Died December 3, 1978, age 72
Kendrick was a member of the fire department for 36
years, 22 of those as chief. At one time he was the
foreman of the Passaconnaway handtub, was a fire
warden for many years and was instrumental in the
formation of the Seabrook Firemen's Association.
During his tenure as chief his efforts to improve the
department resulted in the purchase of two new trucks
in 1946 and continued through the years to 1965 when
a transistorized fire alarm system was installed at
the fire station and in 1965 the purchase of a new
tank truck was approved at town meeting. Kendrick
was the son of Frank Kendrick, a long-time Amesbury
fireman.