Restored vintage fire truck to be showcased at antiques show in Greensburg
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Greensburg’s fourth annual Antiques on the Avenue will offer an array of vintage items for sale Saturday on South Pennsylvania Avenue.
Set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the showcase of antiques will include dealers from Westmoreland, Somerset and Allegheny counties.
“It’s an eclectic mix,” said Amy Zimmerman, who is organizing the show for the Greensburg Business and Professional Association. “We have dealers with vintage jewelry, kitchen collectibles and everything in between.”
New this year will be dealers specializing in Christmas collectibles and Civil War memorabilia. Booths will be set up in the Buncher parking lot, next to the Greensburg post office, and along a nearby section of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Also new for the event, Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department will display one of its vintage fire trucks in the parking lot behind the Citizens Bank branch, at West Fourth Street.
The restored 1949 Seagrave pumper truck is among a collection of antique firefighting vehicles and equipment housed at the department’s museum, behind city hall, along with photos of past fires and toy and model fire trucks.
Originally purchased for $18,000, the truck was among the department’s primary engines through 1963, when it joined units from 30 other companies in battling a Jan. 28 blaze that destroyed three buildings on the campus of Saint Vincent College in Unity.
The Seagrave truck continued to serve Greensburg as a backup unit until 1970, according to Dick Johnson, an assistant fire chief and vice president of the museum. In following years, he said, “The North Hempfield Fire Company used it. Then, in 1977, the community college used it at their firefighter training center.”
When the Greensburg department reacquired it as a museum piece, it was restored at the Albion State Correctional Institution, west of Edinboro, Johnson said. Featuring its original red-and-yellow paint scheme, it captured a top prize at a recent Diocese of Greensburg car show, he said.
During the antiques show, tasty treats will be available from The Original Pie Shoppe of Laughlintown and Barry’s Italian Ice. Zimmerman also is encouraging those attending the show to check out downtown restaurants while they’re in Greensburg.
With the show, she said, “We’re trying to do our share in promoting shopping, dining and people enjoying their day in Greensburg.”
Antique shops in the city that will be open Saturday for browsing include Yesterday’s RAVE on Highland Avenue, a co-sponsor of the show; South Pennsylvania Avenue Antiques, a supporter of the show; and The Shepherd’s Keeper at Kinderhook on Maple Avenue, which is co-owned by Zimmerman.
The daughter of late local antique dealer Richard Casteel, Zimmerman said, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I grew up surrounded with antiques; I could go antiquing 24/7.”