Fairville charter member turns 90
By Beth Hoad

Friends and family gathered at the Fairville Fire Department this past Saturday (November) 13 to honor Harold Jordan, and celebrate his 90th birthday.

He was born on November 9, 1914, the son of Esvond and Deborah Jordan, and attended Lyons schools. He has been a life-long farmer and also worked at Jackson & Perkins for 15 years.

He later worked for the State of New York as a heavy equipment operator until his retirement in 1977.

Harold married Arlena Brown in 1939 and had three sons - Richard, Robert and Larry.

Arlena, Rich and Harold are pictured at the open house.)

He is a charter member of the Fairville Fire Department since 1956, served as Chief for five years, President for one year and, in his words, 'was a member of just about every committee they had.' He was instrumental in remodeling the former schoolhouse as the first fire hall and helped build the present one.

Both Harold and Arlena have been active in Northern Central Firemen's Association and the New York and Wayne County Firemen's Associations.

He was a trustee in Northern Central for many years as well as serving on the Advisory Board for Wayne County. Their sons were active in the Fairville Fire Department as well.

Richard and Robert are past chiefs and Larry is a past president. Rich recalled growing up with fire department families and said for the first 20 years of its existence, many were first and second generation members. 'Dad always told us helping other people was important, and this was a good way to do it. He also taught us respect and good values,' said Rich.

Harold loves gardening, and was featured in the August 12, 2001 issue of Finger Lakes Times with his large gladiola patch; he has raised as many as 1500 plants annually. He gives the blooms to his church, the hospital and area shut-ins and has taken some as far away as Bloomfield to a shut-in couple. Gardening keeps him going and helps him stay in shape.

Reflecting on his fire department involvement, he said, 'Our first ambulance was a squad car with an army stretcher. Many thought it would just be for Fairville, but I said it would go further than that, and it's grown steadily since. Our ambulance is the best in Wayne County.' He is particularly proud of his long-time involvement with the fire department, and said, 'No matter where I go, fire department people are the nicest folks you could ever meet.'

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