Fighting fire in 1900 on display during Victorian Sleighbell Parade

Eastlake firefighters pull an over 100-year-old piece of firefighting equipment through downtown Manistee at a past Victorian Sleighbell Parade. (File Photo)

Fighting fire in 1900 on display during parade

As the Manistee lakeside community of Eastlake began to grow in the late 1890s, the residents recognized the increased need for fire protection and a volunteer fire department was formed.

Shortly after 1900, the volunteer group in the primarily residential town, purchased its first “modern” piece of firefighting equipment: a soda ash cart.

Using technology that had existed for nearly two decades, the cart was like a conventional “tank” style fire extinguisher found in offices at the time, except much larger and on wheels. Beginning in the late 1800s several companies began making the carts for both large and smaller communities like Eastlake.

The chemical carts were the quick attack fire apparatus of the day. Each had a tank holding a 14

prepared mixture of water and sodium bicarbonate, in which a bottle of sulfuric acid was suspended.

On the scene of a fire, the cart was tipped causing the stopper to fall out of the bottle. The acid would mix with the soda water solution generating carbon dioxide gas, propelling the water through the attached hose.

The Eastlake Volunteer Fire and Rescue team continued to use the cart for a number of years until finally purchasing a more functional truck. At the time, one of the volunteers on the team said the firefighters were always worried the soda cart “just didn’t blow up!”

Each year the Eastlake volunteers roll the cart down River Street during the Victorian Sleighbell Parade for everyone to see firefighting technology of 1900.

Fred LaPoint, former firefighter with the Manistee Fire Department walks the Manistee National Forest Festival parade route with a dalmatian. LaPoint and his dalmatian also make an appearance in the Victorian Sleighbell Parade in December each year. (File Photo)

Fireman Fred celebrates more than 30 years in Sleighbell Parade

When fireman Fred LaPoint, his wife Susan and their Dalmatian Blaze take their “evening stroll” down River Street this year, it will be one that they’ve done for nearly every Sleighbell Parade since the beginning.

LaPoint recalls that they’ve missed just one year in the event’s 33-year history due to an unfortunate medical issue.

While the lantern “guiding” them down the street has remained pretty much the same, this years’ Blaze will be the seventh or eighth Dalmatian that has made the walk with them.

LaPoint retired a couple years ago following 40 years of service with the Manistee Fire Department, aiding the community as an engineer paramedic. But during his final years with the department, LaPoint embarked on a “mission” that became an extraordinary gift to the community.

He began researching the history of the now 133-yearold fire station that sits at 281 First St. in Manistee and realized that it may, in fact, be more significant than anyone in Manistee realized.

LaPoint searched archives at the Manistee Library and Manistee County Historical Museum and began to understand the station, opened in 1889, just may be the oldest continuously operating fire station in the United States. After more than two years of research, he discovered the significance was even greater: the Manistee station is the oldest “manned” fire station in the world.

Because of LaPoint’s’ efforts, on June 17, 2019, the station was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest continuously operating fire station in the entire world.

This was “a labor of love” LaPoint noted at the time, and is “a way for me to pay it forward to my brother and sister firefighters and to my community.”

The fire station houses a small display of the historic building along with historic artifacts and photos and is open for tours daily except during mealtime or during an emergency.

DEC. 1 THROUGH DEC. 4

2022

LAKESIDE CLUB’S

SATURDAY DEC. 3

EVERY 30 MINS • 11A TO 4P

THE MANistee civic players

VICTORIAN SLEIGHBELL PARADE ROUTE

-PARADE ROUTE

2022 VICTORIAN SLEIGHBELL PARADE LINE-UP

1 Girl Scouts Flag Detail 2 West Shore Bank – Principal parade sponsor 3 Muskegon Regional Police Pipe & Drums Corps Wearing the ‘Hume’ Tartan honoring Thomas Hume an early Muskegon founder 4 St. Nickolas Common Gentry carriage 5 West Shore Bank Founded in 1898 – oldest area financial institution 6 Parade Grand Marshall – John Kaiser Former Manistee Business Owner / longtime parade volunteer 7 Miss Michigan – Melissa Beyrand Fm: Milford, MI / Ed: UoM College of Engineering / violinist 8 ‘Super Scooper’ Team #1 Pierport Pony Club volunteers 9 Victorian Ambassadors Community volunteers celebrate Manistee’s history 10 Manistee Public Library volunteers An Andrew Carnagie Library Founded in 1905 / MI State Historical site 11 Spirit of the Woods Garden Club– Living Flag Support and tend gardens throughout the area 12 Spirit of the Woods-Dancing Christmas Trees Support area gardening initiatives & education 13 Manistee High School Band Director: Andrea Mack 14 Shoreline Cycling Club Members from Manistee & Mason Co’s. 15 High 5 Guy Joel – Stilt Walker 10 feet tall – based in Bay City, MI 16 Trinity Lutheran School Shepards, Angels & Nativity scene 17 East Lake Volunteer Fire & Rescue 1st early 1900’s purchase – soda ash cart 18 Manistee Catholic Central & Brethern High School Marching Bands 19 Salt City Rock and Blues Victorian dress and wagon 20 Elsa & Olaf Frozen comes alive 21 Kennedy Elementary school 4th to 6th Graders- In every Sleighbell Parade 22 Michigan Wheelmen Keeping alive bicycling heritage 23 Repo’s Rescues Placing happy animals with loving families 24 Childrens Christmas Tree w/ Nutcracker escorts & Manistee Jaycee assistants 25 Golden Retriever Club Owners in Victorian dress & their dogs 26 Gordie (Dividson) the Organ Grinder Horse drawn wagon w/ a German Concertina-Concert street Organ 27 Authentic 231 Wagon by McCarry Clydesdales 28 Coldwell Banker carriage Horse & carriage 29 ‘Super Scooper’ Team #2 Pierport Pony Club volunteers 30 Little Manistee Watershed Council Protecting 145,200 acres of area wetlands Since 1996 31 Fireman Fred & Sue LaPoint w/ Blaze Engineer & Paramedic w/ City of Manistee for 40-yrs (Ret) 32 Horse & Carriage Marzinski Horse Camp 33 Nutcracker salute Manned by Manistee High School Football Team 34 Clare County Sheriffs Dept. Mounted Unit Volunteer unit provide crowd control at Events through Norther Michigan 35 Victorian Sleighbell Christmas tree w/ Santa Claus 30+ foot tree pulled by Ben Reed & Draft horse team 36 ‘Super Scooper’ Team #3 Pierport Pony Club volunteers

Everyone is invited to follow the tree down River Street for the lighting of the tree, caroling and fireworks to conclude the evening. The parade order may be slightly altered by last minute additions or withdrawals, due to weather, or availability changes.