Six days ago, I was host to dozens of wholesome teens and their families who used me as a home for a big event to give out high school student band awards.
Next week, I'll probably be home to a wedding reception filled with pink balloons, a perspiring bride and loaded plates of banquet food.
On a Saturday last month, more than 100 folks traipsed through my foyer on foot, in wheelchairs and walkers for their oyster and turkey supper.
And today, I'm the place that more than 500 law enforcement officers of various stripes have called home during the G-8 summit. I've been the source of breakfast lunch and dinner, the storage place for riot gear and the parking place for hum-vees, de-contamination tents and the grounds for training exercises for riot response.
I'm a fire hall, specifically the Lewistown Volunteer Fire Department's headquarters, and I serve many purposes for my community.
I'm an American institution, that combination of public need and private response; a kind of throwback to the days of Paul Revere and the riders who responded the call to the citizens to "come to arms" for the betterment of the community.
Am I a dying institution? Probably not. My very versatility, and the fact that I can respond to the needs of both the public sector (G-8 summit) and private parties makes me more relevant than ever. I'm the kind of public "institution" that will weather the cyclical debate about the role of government.
.jpg) |
| A wedding at the Lewistown Volunteer Fire Company's social hall provides such a contrast to..... |
No comments:
Post a Comment