fire department

FIRE! A History Of Reedley’s Volunteer Fire Department (PART II)

by Jim Bulls



I became a Reedleyite in 1947 and I was in for a culture shock the first time I went out in Aunt Geneva’s backyard to play with the neighborhood kids. The countries represented included Mexico, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Italy, Portugal, Armenia, Lebanon, Japan, and Korea, to name a few! John Steinbeck introduced California to the new immigrants called “Okies” of which I was one, wearing high top shoes and overalls. But the games we played were all the same: kick the can, statue, or mother may I. My first friend was a Portuguese kid named Danny Enos, who lived down the street. We would usually meet at Ayubes Market for a coke or ice cream.

FIRE! Part I: The Birth of a Volunteer Fire Department

by Jim Bulls



In 1849, news of the California gold rush reaches the Portuguese Azores, original homeland of Manuel and Mary Enos. It isn’t long before the couple is on board a clipper ship, rounding the “Horn” and heading to San Francisco. The Enos’ will settle in the gold fields of Trinity County, where they raise a family of nine.

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