Fire Destroyed a half block of Pleasant Hill years ago.
Three business houses, all vacant, were burned to the ground. The Gambles store was damaged when an adjacent roof fell on it. This photo was taken June 8, 1966. Three fire departments from surrounding communities helped Pleasant Hill fight this fire.
Contributed by Carolyne Conner Puskas
TRUSTEES PLAY A BIG PART IN FIRE DISTRICT
From Weekly Messenger, May 17, 2006
Contributed by Carolyne Conner Puskas
As a former Pleasant Hill fire department trustee, Jake Conner remembers when the fire house was behind the Church of Christ.
“After the district formed we decided we wanted a better place, easier to get too and bigger,” Conner said. “We asked about buying the old blacksmith shop on Main Street and was told it wasn’t for sale. Two weeks later Pappy Borrowman came to me and asked if we wanted to buy it.”
The site, now home of the Pike County Senior Citizens, was the home of the fire department until the mid-70’s when the current building was built.
“When we started we had a 1929 Model A,” Conner said. “We had no pagers. We did have a phone system. It was a place to start.”
Conner remembers when the district decided to buy its first fire truck. “We went to Batchtown and looked at theirs, we went to New Canton and Barry. It wasn’t easy,” he said. “We didn’t know a thing about fire trucks.”
Conner says he is still a big supporter of the fire department, even though he no longer serves as a trustee.
“It’s a must.” He said.
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