April - May - June

JUNE 29
Feeling better today that I have in a long time, I got to work updating some of the weekly features, including "Met By Accident," "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly," "Dems Da Rules," "The Newark Shops," and "We Got A Job!" I'm hoping I'll continue to feel well enough to be able to at least keep up with the weekly features. I have lots more updating to do, especially with "The Latest NFD News," but I'll get there eventually.

JUNE 25
An addendum has been made to the "A Look Back... May, 1909" feature regarding the "Old Fireman" statue story, dated May 7. Have a look... I hope you find it to be as fascinating as I did.

JUNE 24
As those of you who visit NFH regularly have seen, the weekly features have not been updated recently, nor has any new content been added. This is all due to health problem complications, which have prevented me from being able to be at the computer for any length of time. As soon as I feel up-to-par, I will start updating the site on a regular basis. In the mean time, I'll try to do an update here and there, but I can't promise anything. Thanx for your patience and continued support.

JUNE 16
I have updated the "We Got A Job!" and the "NFD Box Locations - 1955" weekly features, and Engine Co. 8 and Truck Co., 2 have been added to the "The Boys Who Fight The Flames" feature, which can be found in the "Companies" menu. I'm hoping to add more content at least once a week, but we'll just see how that goes. Visit often to see what new items of NFD historical interest have been added!

JUNE 14
Well, I finally am feeling well enough to do some work on the site. I have updated "The Newark Shops" feature, and have added a couple of reports and some photos in the June section of the "Latest NFD News" feature. I am hoping that I'll continue to feel well enough to at least be able to update the weekly features as per schedule. I'm also hoping to be able to continue working on the June info for the "A Look Back..." feature.

JUNE 1
The "Good, Bad & Ugly" and "Dems Da Rules" weekly features have been updated, as well as new additions made to the May "NFD News" section. I am hoping to have a couple more additions to the "NFD News" and perhaps some additional updates to the weekly features later today. I'll see how I feel during the course of the day.

MAY 28
I am happy to report that the next installment of the "A Look Back..." feature, which is for May, 1909, has been posted. It can be reached by clicking on the "General" button on the home page. I hope you all enjoy the new installment. I know it's been a while in the making, but like good food, the preparation can't be rushed. Besides... good things come to those who wait.

Besides just not feeling well enough to be able to work on the site and my NFD research every day, I ran into a snag with scanning the images from the microfilm. When you need to access an image that's at the end of a reel holding 40 feet of microfilm, it's extremely difficult to do so. Adopting the traditional Marine Corps mantra of "Improvise, Adapt, Overcome," I was able to jury rig a system that made it somewhat easier to work with so I could achieve the scans I needed. I then designed a simple, reel-to-reel, manual winder, which a local engineering firm is making for me. It will be ready in about a week, which means when I need to scan the images for the June installment, it will be a snap.

When I thought that perhaps I was getting better, I was hit in the ass with a snow shovel yesterday and today. Just generally feeling blah. The doc says there's lotta shot goin' 'round and once it gets a hold of you it doesn't wanna let go! I can testify to that! And NO!!! IT'S NOT THE FUCKIN' SWINE FLU!! I'm gettin' so sick o' hearin' that shit already! As far as I'm concerned, it's a lot of bullshit hype being generated by the fuckin' media doom-and-gloom mongers! They can all kiss my big, hairy, Polack ass! When there's good news to report, the fuckers are nowhere to be found, but let there be a smidgeon of bad news to be had and those fuckers are on it like flies on shit, usually making it 1000% worse than it really is! It's just like with that asshole Obama! The media here was shoving him down everybody's throat leading you to believe he was the only asshole running for the office!! Now that the commie, Muslim lovn' fuck is in, and fuckin' everything up, the media here doesn't utter a peep!!!

Anyway, folks, the bottom line is that I'll start updating the site when I start to feel up to it. By the way, if you're one of the bleedin' heart liberals who voted for that Islamic-lovin' prick, don't write to me with your Commie-lovin' bullshit! I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT!!

MAY 19
I am happy to report that all of the weekly features have now been updated. I'm just starting to feel a bit better and getting some of my energy back, as well as a desire to move forward once again. Having said that, however, I'm not going to jump back in full-blast too quickly. I have created the NFH report for the May, 1909 report, but have run into a minor snag with the scans. No biggie... I just need to do it with a clear head. Now that I'm getting back on my feet, I hope to add some new content during the next couple of weeks... Good Lord willing.

MAY 12
Still feelin' a bit under the weather, but I have managed to complete the May, 1909 research. The next steps are to make the necessary scans from the microfilms, create an NFH report, and then post everything to the site. I can't make any promises at this time as to when it will be posted for your viewing pleasure. This virus leaves me feeling drained most of the time, with no desire to do anything. In other site news... I've made a decision to combine the "Hot Wheels" and "Oldies & Moldies" features into one new feature, entitled "Chariots of Fire." This new feature will show both color, and black and white, photos of fire apparatus. "Chariots of Fire" will maintain the former "Hot Wheels" slot on Wednesdays, while "NFD Box Locations - 1955" will be moved to fill the Monday slot left vacant by "Oldies & Moldies." This change will take effect immediately. I hope you all enjoy the new feature.

MAY 4
There is lots of new content in the April, "NFD News Section," taking a look at some of the major incidents handled by the NFD lads lately. I just got word that another three-bagger took place today at Broad and West Kinney Streets, but I have no further info at this time. It sounded like it might've involved the old Hotel Belmont. I am working on the May, 1909 history for the next "A Look Back..." installment. It's a very time-consuming process, but I'm almost done with the research end of it. There was a lot to report. Sorry that I haven't been keeping the weekly features up-to-date, but I just can't seem to shake this... whatever-it-is... which keeps me feeling like shit half the time. To those who have written with compliments and kind words, they are greatly appreciated, I assure you. A tip o' the ol' NFH high-eagle leather to ya!

APRIL 19
As promised, the first of the "A Look Back" series has been posted in the "NFD General Features" page. Since we are in the month of April, I figured I'd start there so you can see what was going on 100 years ago this month. I will then post each month as they occur. I will work on the months of January, February, and March as time allows. This feature is very labor intensive, but the information gathered from this research is priceless, as it doesn't exist anywhere else. There were hardly any photos with the news stories that I have researched, but I have included those here that did appear. Please keep in mind that they are taken from microfilms of newspapers that are over 100 years old. Therefore, they will not be the top quality one has come to expect in the 21st century. However, I have always maintained that a poor photo is always better than no photo at all. Bringing these photos to the website is an enormous task, but I will include them whenever and wherever possible. I hope you all enjoy this new feature here at Newark Fire History!

APRIL 17
Lottsa work done on the site today. I am pleased to report that all the weekly features are up-to-date, with the "This 'n' That, Hot Wheels, and Met By Accident" features done today. There is lots of new content in the "April, NFD News" section, including additional content and photos added to the April 7 fire story. Be sure to check it out! I am hoping to have the new "A Look Back" feature posted either tomorrow or the following day.

APRIL 10
All of the weekly features are back on schedule with the "Hot Wheels," "Met By Accident," "Good, Bad, Ugly," and  "Dems Da Rules" features having been updated today. I am currently working on the "A Look Back" feature, which will take a look at what was going in the NFD 100 years ago. I will start with April so that you can see what was going on this month a century ago. Then I'll work from the start of the year, but keeping up with the months as we go into May, June, etc. April is nearing completion, so watch for it soon!

APRIL 8
I have gotten back to work on the website and updated the "This 'n' That" weekly feature that was scheduled for today. The website will once again be updated on a daily basis. There is new content in the April NFD News section, also.

APRIL 7
Okay, the Old Newark Fire Horse is back from the pasture, and back in his stall at the firehouse! I'll start by updating the "This 'n' That" feature tomorrow, which is where I left off last week, and then get back to the daily schedule. I'm also hoping to add a couple of entries to the "Boys Who Fight The Flames" series soon. The break was nice, but I was, indeed, missing my research work. In the words of the Terminator... "I'm back!" Here's what I've been up to today...

I have constructed a page for the "NFD General Features," and it is now linked from the menu bar. There is no content as yet, and is currently listed as being "Under Construction." Also built in the General Features area is a "test page" for the new "A Look Back" series, so you can all see what it's going to look like.

There have been some minor "cosmetic" changes to a few of the feature directory pages by changing the page dividers.