Spencer, N.C. – One of the latest additions to the N.C. Transportation Museum will be unveiled during a local holiday tradition. The town of Spencer’s 1949 Mack Fire Truck, recently donated to the museum, will be displayed during the annual Rowan County Holiday Caravan Parade, Wednesday, November 26. During the parade, the truck will be parked at the front of the museum property, just across from Spencer’s Park Plaza.
The ‘49 Mack Fire Truck represents a piece of Spencer’s heritage, which is interwoven with the history of the N.C. Transportation Museum, the former Spencer Shops train repair facility. During more than 40 years in service, numerous volunteer firefighters, many of whom also worked at Spencer Shops, were perched behind the wheel when fire alarms sounded.
Spencer Mayor and longtime firefighter Jody Everhart says the ’49 Mack, “has a long history here in Spencer. The first day they got it into town, the truck went out on a call.” In fact, the ’49 Mack was the first truck Everhart drove when he started at the Fire Department in 1980. He was told that if he could drive the Mack, with a large steering wheel and no power steering, he could drive any of the town’s fire trucks.
Constructed in Allentown, Penn., Spencer leaders took delivery of the truck May 9, 1949. The town had the company cut the cab from the truck because, with such a small town, it was easier locate a fire simply by looking for the smoke. Everhart says the ’49 Mack was the “Cadillac” of fire trucks in the county for years.
Over the years, as newer trucks were added to the Spencer Fire Department, the Mack was used less. It was put into reserve in 1992 and taken out of service three years later. In the 13 years since, the ’49 Mack has been used only for special events. Earlier this year, town officials listed it as surplus.
The Mack Truck will not be disappearing from view, however. Mayor Everhart says he is thankful the ‘49 Mack will be kept in running condition and accessible to the public at the N.C. Transportation Museum. “I’d rather the Museum in Spencer have it than to put it up for bid, or for anyone else to take it anywhere else in the world . . . I’m just glad it’s not rusting somewhere,” he says.
This is the third fire truck to become a part of the N.C. Transportation Museum’s collection. The ’49 Mack joins a 1917 Brockway Fire Truck from the eastern part of the state and a 1922 American LaFrance from Lexington, N.C. The ‘49 Mack will be used for special events, like the Holiday Caravan Parade, to give visitors a chance to see local fire fighting history up close. The annual Rowan County Holiday Caravan Parade is Wednesday, November 26. The parade begins in Spencer at 1 p.m. The ’49 Mack will be parked in front of the N.C. Transportation Museum before and during the parade.
The N.C. Transportation Museum, located in historic Spencer Shops, the former Southern Railway repair facility, is part of the Division of State Historic Sites, Department of Cultural Resources. The Museum is located just five minutes off I-85 at Exit 79 in Spencer, N.C., and about an hour from Charlotte, Greensboro or Winston-Salem. For more information visit www.nctrans.org. Adding the 1949 Mack Fire Truck from the town of Spencer corresponds with the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources 2008 theme of “Telling Our Stories.” For information on the Department of Cultural Resources, call (919) 807-7385 or visit www.ncculture.com.