The return of this treasured piece of firefighting history in Hudson Falls started with a Sunday afternoon phone call to Assistant Chief Paul Martin from Glenn Miller (Yates County Fire Coordinator and a fellow collector of fire memorabilia) that went something like this -   “You have to check out what is on eBay!”  There on his computer screen appeared a part of Hudson Falls Fire Department history no one would ever have imagined still existed – the uniform blouse, belt and parade helmet seen in the photograph and display case.

Asst. Chief Martin began to contact other members of the Department to muster support for a member sponsored and funded purchase of these irreplaceable items. Support was unanimous; every single member loved the idea of bringing the uniform back home where it could be displayed and cherished by those to whom it would mean the most.

Research reveled that the seller had acquired the uniform items during the estate sale in Seattle, Washington, of former Village resident Kenneth J. LaPointe.  With the seller unwilling to stop his auction and sell the uniform directly back to the members of the HFFD, Martin contacted known bidders, explained the situation and hoped they would stand down their bidding and allow the HFFD membership’s bid to carry through. It appeared that efforts had succeeded until the auction entered it final hours. Bidding activity resumed.  The return of our history wasn’t secure. Its fate was not known until the very closing of the auction.