"We're strong enough to move into the future ... but into the distant future, I don't know," says Michael Kitsock.

That sobering assessment sums up concerns at one of the country's top firefighter repositories.The Schuylkill Historical Fire Society Museum, 105 S. Jardin St., Shenandoah, showcases the proud history of Schuylkill County firefighting.It's housed in the former Columbia Hose & Steam Fire Engine Company No. 1, which also served as the police station and borough hall.The society, now in its 20th year, is in desperate need of additional support and a boost in membership."We're hoping to attract new blood," says Kitsock, president."Our members are getting older. We need additional lines of support and ideas for support."The museum operates on a budget of $80,000 to $100,000 a year, with members raising funds through hoagie sales, bake and soup sales and weekly lottery tickets.In return, the museum caters to the public, including educational tours for school groups and others."We're a hands-on museum," says Kitsock. "We don't mind someone touching the wheels."The museumOrganized in 1870, the Columbia used the fire station for over 125 years before relocating to a new facility.The building also showcases a Gamewell fire alarm system and the original 1880 town jail cells.The society acquired the fire station in the summer of 1998 for $17,000.A dedication parade took place Oct. 2, 1999, featuring almost one hundred antique and modern fire engines.All along, members have been restoring the station to its 19th century glory, with sensitivity to architectural highlights such as original hardwood floors, and pressed tin ceilings and walls.The second level includes large framed photographs of the firehouse's original members and several historical paintings and lithographs, including an original print of the first reading of the 1860s Emancipation Proclamation.Truth be told, the place also provided cover for a community speakeasy located in the basement.The preserved speakeasy features beamed ceilings, an ornate oak back bar, and a working miners' spit trough.The spit trough is a waterway situated at the base of the footstools, allowing miners to sit at the bar and spit their chewing tobacco into a running stream that carried the waste away for disposal."This was their gathering place," says Kitsock. "It was open 24/7 because miners worked three shifts."The showpiece of the building, however, is the museum. It houses some of the country's rarest examples of early firefighting."If we wouldn't have bought it, it would've been scrapped," says volunteer Pete Rinaldi of Lake Wynonah, as he points to a piece of equipment.And the same story might be applied to quite a few other artifacts inside the repository.The collectionThe Schuylkill Historical Fire Society currently maintains a world-class collection of antique fire apparatus.The oldest piece is the 1809 Pat Lyons hand pumper owned by the Friendship Hose Company No. 1 of Orwigsburg.The Pat Lyons pumper was built in Philadelphia and was the first piece of fire apparatus used in Schuylkill County.The pumper is in a class by itself and reportedly is the only all-original Pat Lyons pumper in existence.It was built by master fire pumper builder Lyons in his shop and purchased by the Friendship Hose, the first fire company in Schuylkill County.The pumper was displayed at the Philadelphia Fire Museum for many years and now serves as the centerpiece at the museum.The museum also houses "Little Daisy"; an 1815 hose cart owned by the Citizens Fire Company No. 2 of Mahanoy City.An 1859 Studebaker water wagon was owned by the Ryan Township Fire Company, an early horse-drawn apparatus.Twentieth-century fire apparatus displayed at the museum includes an early 1900s hose cart owned by the Joliet Fire Company, a 1910 American LaFrance chemical cart purchased new and owned by the Defender Hose Company No. 3 of Shenandoah, an aerial truck of the Tamaqua Fire Department, and a 1924 United States Fire Apparatus combination pumper/chemical truck privately owned by William Kline of Pottsville.Additional privately owned firetrucks include a 1941 Diamond-T pumper owned by Kline and a 1948 Studebaker pumper recently purchased by Kitsock.The fire society has numerous displays and exhibits of fire equipment and memorabilia. Displays include over 150 years of fire helmets, parade uniforms, a historical display of fire nozzles and breathing apparatus, and a photo wall of Schuylkill County's most serious fires.Community serviceIn addition to restoration projects of fire apparatus and equipment, the fire society maintains and preserves the Gamewell systems in the six boroughs of Schuylkill County that still use them.According to Kitsock, Schuylkill County remains the last bastion of Gamewell systems in Pennsylvania, and the Society has been active in countywide preservation."We're helping Tamaqua again," he says. "They're remapping the circuits."The Schuylkill Historical Fire Society is open for fire department, school and private tours.Store hours are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by appointment.There is no charge for tours, but donations are accepted.For more information, contact Kitsock at 570-628-3691 or William Kline at 570-622-3678.The museum's general number is 570-462-4400.Membership inquiries are encouraged as the society looks to bolster its ranks to fortify preservation initiatives in the decades ahead.