EAST SPENCER, NC

East Spencer is a young town compared to most cities in North Carolina. The modern counter part would be called a bed room community.

East Spencer is where it is because of Spencer. Spencer sprung up almost over night as a result of the Southern Railroad Shops being built here. It all began just prior to 1900.

East Spencer became the town across the tracks. The White fire company of Spencer had already made a name for its self by winning races in the state tournaments and being invited to the worlds fair in St. Louis.

When water lines were installed in East Spencer in 1910 Bob Jones and C.A. Sides organized a fire department with Jones as Chief and Sides as assistant.

They were not ready to take a back seat to the folks across the track, and became the team to reckon with at the state tournaments, bringing home prize money from the annual events, with record breaking times for the grab reel contest.

In 1928 they broke the world record for the grab reel contest with 16 1/5 seconds and two years later set a new record of 16 seconds flat.

After getting the white fire company established in 1911, Jones and Sides helped L.L. Iddings organize an all black reel company.

By 1913 the White company had 19 members and Black company 17 men each manning a two wheel hand drawn hose reel with 550 feet of 2 1/2 " hose.

The population of East Spencer at this time was about 3,000. Two miles of water main of 4" to 6" size supplied 40 hydrants, the water coming from near by Salisbury.

The White Rose reel company of East Spencer was soon established as one of the teams to beat at the annual tournament of the North Carolina Colored Volunteer Firemen's Association.

They too brought home a number of prizes. They earned their reputation through hard work and many hours of training. Each evening in the cooler days they could be found "running the reels". This was an activity that the whole community took interest in.

Children gathered to watch the firemen as they ran their drills over and over. What a great place for a child to grow up.

The firemen not only set a good example in their work at the train shops but in their civic duties as well. East Spencer hosted the tournaments on several occasions finding room for the visiting firemen in their homes.

Mack Jones of Oxford, NC smiled as he talked of going to" Spencer" for the meetings, it was easy to know this was one of his favorite towns.

By the end of 1930 the White fire company consisted of a chief, an assistant chief, a captain and 20 men all part paid with two fire stations and one unpaid volunteer, while the Colored organization had an assistant chief and two men who were part paid and 13 volunteers with no pay.

The White fire companies had a Dodge purchased in 1924 and a model T Ford truck. The Black fire company was still running the hand reel from station number three.

The annual meetings of the firemen and later the ladies auxiliary was an event they all looked forward to. Mrs. Abernathy recalls that one of her neighbors purchased a new yellow Cadillac to drive to the 1977 meeting "down east".

Just a few of the members of later years that Mrs. Abernathy could recall were, Sylvester Holmes, Sylvester Turner, Sam Witherspoon, Robert Washington and of course James Abernathy her husband.

There is some talk of organizing the reel teams again. What a great sport this would be, and what a great example for the young children to once again watch the firemen train with the reels. Could it be the sport of the future? THE RUNNING OF THE REELS.

Citations:
1912 - The Salisbury Evening Post of July 31, 1912, reported that Bradley Hargrave, a member of the East Spencer Colored fire company, was badly injured "at fire practice," when the nozzle "slipped from his hand and struck him in the forehead." He sustained a "dangerous wound" and was unconscious for a period of time. "He is improving and will recover."

1923 - The Colored fire company was listed in the 1923 conference proceedings.