It took two years, and over 300 hours to restore.

The completion of its 1864 hose cart was well worth it as far as members of the Aquashicola Fire Department are concerned.

Firefighters Chris Kegel, Keith Renken and Brandon Smale restored the wooden wheels, hubs, toolbox and frame, and are excited for its reveal.

The antique hose cart will make an appearance during Palmerton’s Memorial Day Parade on Monday.

“We run that out of the fire company for many years,” Kegel said. “It was tucked away, out of sight, out of mind.”

Kegel said it was the brainchild of fire company President Rory Koons.

“Rory decided it’s time to refurbish this to make it look like it did from day one,” he said. “We did what we could, the wheels were off it, had to get wheels back on it. It’s quite heavy and just needed enough people to hold it up and bolt the wheels back on.”

Koons said as a young boy, he would often walk by the old wooden shed along Little Gap Road and wonder what was inside.

His mother lived her entire life in Aquashicola, and told him it was the hose house, and that it was the first cart used before the fire station was built.

Treasures inside

“As I grew older I became more inquisitive and wanted to see what was inside the shed, so I became involved in the fire company and got an opportunity,” Koons said. “On a hot summer afternoon in the mid to late 1960s, I unlocked the shed and found a treasure trove.”

Old civil defense helmets, wooden planks, fire company picnic parts like the penny pitch frame and board, cakewalk poles and old fire hose all gathered dust among the cobwebs and wasps inside.

Koons asked then Chief Warren Furry if he could get it out and clean it. Furry replied, “Sure be my guest and have a ball.”

“I really had no idea what I was getting into, but for some strange reason, I felt I needed to save this thing before someone got the idea to scrap it,” he said. “My mother and my grandfather often talked about how the kids would strike the ring that hung aside the shed, especially around Halloween time. The split ring was placed there and was used to sound an alarm or notify the volunteers of a fire.”

Koons said it was a steel “tire” suspended from wooden ties and a chain.

“This primitive means of sounding an alarm was to utilize an old worn-out tire from a steam locomotive, split it or remove a segment and suspend it,” he said.

Firemen would keep a sledgehammer nearby to strike the ring as needed.

Koons moved the hose cart to the fire station to work on it.

In 1969, an addition was added onto the station. In 1971 Kenny Kresge purchased the building across from the fire station. Kresge approached the fire company members and offered to purchase the property where the hose house stood. The hose house had to go.

“Luckily, the fire company owned property behind the station, which is now the playground, and one hot summer evening, we relocated the hose house to the fire company playground on Pine Street,” Koons said. The hose cart found a new location and received some much-needed cleaning along with several new coats of paint.”

The hose cart was originally painted a deep red, almost maroon, color with green and gold striping. It also had green steel panels nailed to the sides of the hose drum that protected the inner spokes.

A few coats of paint

“They were badly deteriorated, and eventually had to be discarded,” he said. “Since we did not have any spare money to spend on the cart, we opted to paint it red and black with a little gold to highlight or accentuate some pieces.”

Koons said all the fresh sanding and painting was done in his father’s garage with his assistance.

“It turned out fine, and was pulled in the Allentown Fairgrounds and many Four County parades including East Stroudsburg, Brodheadsville, Emmaus, Northampton and Hellertown, to mention a few, and oftentimes winning first or second prizes,” he said.

In 1986, the fire company added another addition on the building and the hose cart found a new home. Keeping the hose cart outside in the unheated hose house was starting to take its toll on the wood, and finding a home in the heated station proved valuable to preserving its integrity. It has been inside and upstairs until another celebration made a calling.

In July 2017, the fire company held a special event to pay tribute to John “Buddy” Miller, who died in a fire in Aquashicola attempting to rescue two trapped children in a house fire. All three perished in the fire and Miller was awarded the Carnegie Hero Award posthumously. A recognition ceremony was held and bronze medallion was placed on Miller’s headstone.

After the 2017 ceremony, members decided to refurbish the hose cart and give it a well-deserved overhaul.

“Once the refurbishment started, it seemed as if one thing led to another and there was no end in sight,” Koons said. “We then made a decision to fully strip all the paint and sand the entire unit.”

They discovered the original color was powder blue, (back in those days it was customary to paint the entire gig one color). It had gold leaf striping, tapered axles and the date it was built.

“Restoring this antique has uncovered a great deal of Aquashicola’s history. Hopefully one day, this unique antique will find a new home in a local museum where generations can admire its beauty,” Koons said.