Town Topics
3 July, 1991
Princeton firemen ready for parade
The annual Princeton Fire Inspection Parade will kick off tonight at 7 o’clock at the corner of Chestnut and Nassau streets.
The parade will feature the three companies of the Princeton Fire Department — Princeton Fire Co. No. I. Mercer Engine Co. No. 3 and Hook and Ladder.
The annual parade has been held for about the past 100 years, said ‘Princeton Fire Department Chief Pat Root. It allows the mayors of Princeton Borough and Township to inspect fire equipment, he said. And a trophy will be awarded to one of the companies for its maintenance of equipment.
This year’s parade will also honor I Army Staff Sgt. William D. Shields, a former Princeton , Borough resident who returned to his Bordentown home from the Persian Gulf last month.
Mr. Shields and his brother are members of Princeton Fire Co. No. 1. Their father is a former member 1 of the company. And Mr. Shields is a former chief of the Princeton Fire Department.
Also tonight, following the parade, members of Princeton Hook and Ladder will proceed to Grover Park to dedicate a bronze plaque to one of its members, Lester Stewart, whose construction company built two bridges over the park’s streams in 1988.
Mr. Stewart of A.M. Stewart Construction Co. was raised and educated in Princeton. He is a former chief of the Princeton Fire Department. Mr. Stewart has served Princeton Hook and Ladder as a trustee and as its president.
GREETINGS FROM THE TOP: Borough Mayor Marvin Reed shakes the hand of George Duryea of Mercer Engine Co. No. 3 during the line-up following the annual Firemen’s Inspection Parade on Friday evening. Skip Wright is next to Mr. Duryea.
FIREFIGHTERS ON DISPLAY: Firemen from all three fire companies in front of Borough Hall for the annual inspection of fire fighting equipment and the awarding of a trophy to the company that had maintained its equipment the best during the year. Sonny Perrine and friends are in the foreground.