On March 20th, a cheque presentation was held at Scotiabank. The generous matching gift of $3,900 was awarded by Branch Manager Darren McCagherty, and was accepted by the Chestermere Historical Foundation’s President, Jen Peddlesden, and Treasurer Audrey MacDonald.
The money is donated to the fundraiser called, “The War Brides are Coming”, and will be used to help restore Chestermere’s first fire truck.
MacDonald and Peddlesden were all smiles while waiting for the cheque to be brought to the front. “It’s quite a bit of work to restore a truck such as this one,” Peddlesden says, “and we want to make it something fun that people can look forward to seeing it drive around town.” Peddlesden says they are looking to restore the truck with Dalmatian spotted seats, and that they want to restore the Ford truck with the same Ford engine it originally had.
The keys to the fire truck were first handed over to the Chestermere Historical Foundation in October 2011. The Chestermere Fire Department used the 1952 Ford truck in from the year 1979 to the year 1981. Restoring this part of Chestermere’s history is important in order to gain the public’s interest in the history of Chestermere, and by showing that Chestermere is not just a surface town–it has a past and is filled with stories from people of all ages. The fire truck is essentially the ‘tip of the iceberg’ in this situation.
This donation was made possible due to the Scotiabank Team Community Program, which matches funds raised by employees for local causes. The program essentially helps with additional funds for foundations and charities such as the Chestermere Historical Foundation.
Darren McCagherty believes that the restoration of the fire truck is important, “It’s part of the heritage of Chestermere,” he says, “and it’s something that older residents of Chestermere can reflect on, as well as the younger and newer residents that currently reside here.”
If you would like to learn more about the Chestermere Historical Foundation as well as the restoration of Chestermere’s first fire truck, you can visit chestermerehistory.org.
