Lindbergh Swaim was there at the beginning and the end of the Jonesville Fire Department, more than 50 years apart.
He was assistant chief when the department was formed in 1958 and became chief the next year, serving from 1959 to 2002. Swaim, who is the mayor of Jonesville, also had served as interim chief since August when the former chief resigned, and was chief when the department ceased operations for good at midnight on New Year's Eve.
"I think (the department) has meant a lot of security for the citizens of the town," he said. "It's sad to see it end, but maybe it'll work out in the long run. We hope so."
Fire protection for the town of 2,300 will be provided by Arlington Fire and Rescue, which is about three-fourths of a mile away from the Jonesville station. The towns of Arlington and Jonesville merged in 2001.
The Jonesville Fire Department had struggled with dwindling membership that saw its rolls drop to about 10 people. The state had told the department it needed to increase its membership and response time. People had rallied and more members had joined lately, but town leaders worried the increased membership would drop back off over time and wouldn't be sustainable, Swaim said.
Kerry Hall, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Office of State Fire Marshal, said that generally about one fire department in the state closes down each year, while a new fire department comes on line about every two years.
"Most of those that end up going out of business are merging with another department," she said. "As the circumstances change they have to adapt to it."
Swaim said that some of the members had already moved over to Arlington Fire and Rescue before the closing of the Jonesville station. He said he doesn't expect the change to affect fire protection, insurance ratings or costs. Some of the equipment will be sold, including the fire truck purchased a year ago.
Harold Welborn, who served 30 years in the Jonesville Fire Department, was also there at the beginning.
The station was in the old Jonesville Town Hall on West Main Street for decades while the volunteers worked and saved money to build the current Station 17 building in the 1990s.
"Cranked a lot of ice cream (for fundraisers)," Swaim said.
"Chicken suppers," said Welborn, who was treasurer and went back and forth with banks to get the best interest rates.
"We cooked a lot of port-a-pit chicken," Swaim said.
"It was work, but I enjoyed it," Welborn said.
Swaim, 83, worked as a wholesale oil distributor most of his career, then bought an interest in a golf course and ran it. Welborn worked third shift at the Chatham Mills plant for 40 years, making sure the fabrics were dyed the right shade.
They and the other volunteers were ready to drop what they were doing when the fire alarm sounded. Swaim figures there were usually about 30 calls a month, mostly medical calls, with about two to three fire calls in the mix. That's more than 19,000 calls over the life of the department.
"Personally it meant a lot to me, for what it stood for, for one thing, for protecting community and people," Welborn said.
"For the friendships between the members," Swaim said.
"When you go fight a fire, you wouldn't believe how much people appreciate it," Welborn said. "I really hate to see it fold."
"I think we all did," Swaim said.
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