THE LADIES' AUXILIARY OF BRETON WOODS FIRE COMPANY NO. 1

Late in 1936, a group of summer residents of Breton Woods met to organize a Ladies' Auxiliary to the newly formed Breton Woods Fire Company.

After electing officers and setting up by-laws, the paramount order of new busineess that confronted the Auxiliary was raising money. The Ladies started on a small scale with cake sales, but soon advanced to selling prepared foods to summer residents. From this venture grew the annual County Fair on the Labor Day weekend.

With the growth of the community, the firehouse became the meeting place for many other groups. The need for a kitchen to help with all the activities became the primary concern of the Auxiliary. By enlisting the aid of the community to donate time and materials, the Auxiliary cooked and served a Sunday dinner once a month to help pay off the cost of an extension to the firehouse.

Through the years, the Ladies' Auxiliary has donated $1,200 to $2,000 annually to aid the Fire Company.

During World War II, confronted with a lack of manpower to respond to fire calls, a Women's Squad was organized under Civilian Defense. They trained, drove the truck, fought house and forest fires, and held weekly drills. Breton Woods was one of the few companies in the nation to have this kind of arrangement. The Ladies gave a splendid account of themselves, and won praise from federal, state, and local officials.

Since its founding, the Ladies' Auxiliary has lost none of its enthusiasm and is still a hard working, progressive group of dedicated women, loyally supporting the Fire Company in all its activities, whether at a fire, a wet-down, parade, dinner or bingo. The Ladies are always there, aiding the firemen to protect life and property in all emergencies.