Special thanks to Assistant Foreman Timothy Cosgrove Jones for the pictures and the great story.

Special Presentation Ceremony Held At Engine Company 15

August 13, 2006

On Sunday August 13, 2006, Mrs. Leola B. Pierce and her son Steven made a long trip from Portsmouth, Virginia to Engine Company 15 in Anacostia  for a very special presentation.

Mrs. Pierce is the granddaughter of Captain Charles Winfield Hopkins who was the first Captain of Engine 15 when it opened April 15, 1898.

Engine 15’s first piece of apparatus was a steam engine from Amoskeag Works in Manchester, New Hampshire. This Engine was bought new in March, 1867 for the Vigilant Fire Company of Georgetown and named the "Henry Addison” after a Mayor of Georgetown.

Upon Captain Hopkins’s retirement the men of Engine 15 presented this lantern to him from the Steamer “ Henry Addison”.

Mrs. Pierce was given the lantern by her mother and has had it all these years. When she decided her closet was no longer a good place for the valuable  antique, she and her son Steve found the phone number for Engine 15 and made a phone call that set this event in motion.

Walter Gold Executive Director and Mark Tennyson Curator of the Friendship Fire Museum were on hand to receive this outstanding piece of early DCFD History. Walter Gold said “this is truly a great day for the Museum and that this lantern will always be displayed in a prominent location within the Museum”.

The day of course would have not been complete without retired Deputy Fire Chief Frank Tremel in attendance. Chief Tremel’s grandfather worked with Captain Hopkins so Frank brought along a picture of him. Mrs. Pierce and Frank had a long conversation and many stories were told as you can imagine.

The Members of Engine 15 and Rescue Squad 3 also had a presentation for Mrs. Pierce and her son Steven. Company patches and t-shirts were a big hit and most importantly a Captains Helmet was presented to Mrs. Pierce.