Borelli no-hits Newfound: See page B1 THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016 COVERING ALTON, BARNSTEAD, & NEW DURHAM - WWW.SALMONPRESS.COM FREE A lifetime on the fire trucks Boyd reflects on 59 years with Barnstead Fire-Rescue BY TOM HAGGERTY year. While he is no lon- Over the years the com- Contributing Writer ger “on call,” he contin- pany held fundraisers BARNSTEAD — To ues to serve the town of that brought them closer pursue the dangerous Barnstead as fire inspec- to the community, in- and time-demanding ca- tor and in leading and cluding auctions, Fourth reer in firefighting for participating in train- of July celebrations, and nearly 60 years requires ing exercises, including weekly Saturday night a person of strong char- judging the yearly physi- Bingo games. More re- acter and dedication to cal eligibility reviews re- cently, society has pro- the welfare of the public. quired of all firefighters vided more diversions Rodney Boyd, Deputy and EMTs. for families. That’s a Chief of the combined “I didn’t really choose good thing but has re- Center Barnstead and retirement,” he says sulted in dwindling Barnstead Parade Fire with a smile. “Fire pro- attendance, leading to Companies and Am- tection is a life I’ve loved. the end of these events. bulance squad, is such I’ve always felt, and still Nonetheless, our com- a person and one with do, that we firefighters pany has great rapport firefighting in his blood. are here, first and fore- with the townspeople.” He has carried on with most, to protect the pub- He has also found the distinction a four-gener- lic.” improvements in equip- ation tradition begun in Looking back on his ment very satisfying the late 19th century. 59-year career, Boyd in helping to make the In 1901, in Rich- cites constant educa- jobs of the firefighters COURTESY PHOTO mond Hill, N.Y., his tion and re-education and EMTs and the lives great-grandfather be- as essential for those of those they serve, saf- The Golden Triangle came the last chief of in his profession. He er and better. Among Buddy and Britney Haney of Suncook Lake spent 18 adventurous days traveling through horse-drawn fire equip- has taken a number of these are air packs to Thailand visiting many Buddhist temples, the long neck tribe, floating markets, Hellsfire Pass ment, as well as distin- state-sponsored cours- protect against smoke and the bridge of The River Kwai. They rode elephants and river barges with the Baysider guishing himself as a es, workshops, classes inhalation or asphyxi- at their side. Pictured here, the father/daughter pair brought The Baysider to The Golden baseball player for the at St. Anselm College, ation, infra-red camer- Triangle of Laos - Burma and Thailand. If you have a photo of you and the Baysider in a team that preceded the and twice attended the as to identify hot spots unique location, send the photo and pertinent information to [email protected]. Brooklyn Dodgers and National Fire Academy and locate bodies not getting his name in the in Emmetsburg, Md. visible through smoke Baseball Hall of Fame “Overall, getting ahead and flame, as well as im- in Cooperstown. Boyd’s in a small fire company proved auto extrication Cooking up a storm in Alton grandfather joined the is pretty easy -- not in the tools for getting victims fire department in Ja- preparation but in the out of vehicle wrecks Masons serve breakfast with a smile once a month maica, N.Y., beginning small number of com- more quickly and effi- in 1906, a few years after petitors.” The combined ciently. BY CATHY ALLYN the advent of motor-driv- companies now have six Of course, the most Contributing Writer en steam engines, and full-time members and difficult and disturbing ALTON — If you’ve served for many years as 25 on-call people. “When part of the job for all fire- ever used the phrase, chief. Boyd’s father was I started, we had a single fighters is dealing with “Are you on the level?” a member of the Inwood, 500 gallon-per-minute the deaths of victims. or, “They gave him the Long Island, department pumping engine and a Boyd himself remem- third degree,” you’ve and was chief there be- refurbished 1927 Ford bers at least 16 deaths evoked the Freema- ginning in 1947. truck with which to fight he has witnessed in fires sons, a guild turned “When my folks de- forest fires,” he observes, alone, and he reflects on fraternal organization cided to move to New “I’ve seen a lot of chang- them in a somber pause, that, in medieval times, Hampshire in 1956,” es over time.” quite at variance with was cloaked in secrecy. Boyd recalls, “I was 18 Boyd has fond mem- his usual upbeat man- Many of the stonema- years old and just getting ories of the people he ner. Propane gas leaks sons’ tools and rituals ready to train for the In- has met when saving are amongst the worst have slipped into our wood department. On them from danger in an causes of combustion, language as words. CATHY ALLYN Nov. 13, 1956, I joined the emergency. “Folks are since with the oxygen And many of their MASONS from the Alton lodge are busy the third Sunday of Center Barnstead Fire so grateful and let you used up, as soon as a door charitable deeds are felt every month keeping up with the appetites of customers at their breakfast buffets. Friendly service and a wide variety of Company. Since 1927, know it in many ways. SEE BOYD, PAGE A10 right here in the area, items draw people from all around the region. the Center and Barn- centuries later. stead Parade Companies Local Freemasons, Gilmanton Iron Works. what this organization had operated as sepa- usually referred to as The lodge was char- is all about. Members rate, non-profit entities. Masons, belong to Win- tered on June 13, 1866, of medieval Europe’s Eventually, however, A look at Alton nipisaukee Lodge 75, and the current build- stonemason guild trav- the selectmen wanted using the spelling of the ing is getting a bit of a eled from town to town a single budget for fire lake that was popular in facelift for its 150th anni- as jobs arose, unlike protection, and a merg- the 1800s and indicating versary on June 11. Next those of bakers and er was effected in the Central School it was the 75th lodge ap- month, Masons will be shopkeepers who stayed mid-1980s. Rising in the proved by a Grand Mas- getting together for a in one place. They need- Center Company from ter. It pulls members painting party to repaint ed a way to identify each firefighter to officer, he from Alton and its villag- the entire downstairs. other. One secret led to served as chief from 1976 survey results es, New Durham, Barn- Working together another when they were to 1984 and as Deputy stead, Gilmanton, and is their forte, as that’s SEE MASONS, PAGE A3 Chief before and after BY MARK FOYNES 4 school board meeting, that time until his retire- Contributing Writer where some ATA repre- ment on Nov. 30 of last ALTON — Data com- sentatives had hoped to piled in an Alton Teach- share key findings. That Robotics team heading back INDEX ers’ Association-spon- incident precipitated t sored survey illustrates an April 7 “emergency to St. Louis, financial assistance sought a learning environment meeting” attended by Volume 10 • Number 16 in turmoil as the district perhaps 150 parents, ALTON — The Pros- Windham as its alliance England Championship, continues to navigate an faculty and taxpayers. pect Mountain High partners to enter the BOB is ranked eighth Business .......................A7 extended period of flux Many attending the fo- School Robotics team eliminations with. The overall (out of 181 teams) Churches ......................A8 and churn. rum cited the study’s was in Hartford, Conn. team was eliminated in in New England. Classifieds ..............B6–B9 The survey was exe- findings in criticizing this past weekend com- the quarterfinals, but the BOB will again be go- cuted by the ATA as the the district’s current tra- peting against the top 63 cumulative point rank- ing to St Louis to compete Editorial Page ..............A4 union seeks to make its jectory. teams from New England ing system of this year’s against the top robots of John Harrigan ............A11 positions known to top The ATA survey solic- in this years FIRST Ro- game did not leave BOB the world on April 27-30. Letters .................... A4-A6 administrators, board ited input from teachers, botics Challenge, FIRST out of the big show. With The team is looking for Obituaries ...............NONE members, and taxpay- support staff and admin- Stronghold. points earned earlier in support to help defray Sports ...................B1 - B5 ers. istrators and features After two days of in- the season as number the costs of the trip. Any- The “Alton Atmo- metrics that evaluate tense qualifying rounds, one seed and winner of one interested in helping 22 pages in 2 sections sphere Survey” came to current workplace con- the PMHS team, Big Bad both the North Shore, out can visit the team’s ©2016, Salmon Press, LLC. the fore following a high- ditions and the overall Bob, found itself ranked Reading, Mass. event web site at frc319.com or Call us at (603) 569-3126 ly-publicized walkout learning environment. seventh. BOB selected and the UNH event com- call mentor Brian Hikel email: [email protected] by Superintendent Mau- Specific measurables team 1058 from Lon- bined with performance at the high school at 875- www.salmonpress.com reen Ward at the April SEE ALTON, PAGE A9 donderry and 3467 from points from the New 3800.