Citizen Staff
Beaver Dam Firefighter Alyson Skelton shows some of the scrapbooks that have been made for the department over the years. Skelton is in charge of scrapbooking the fire department's paper memorabilia.
There are firefighter picnics and awards and then there are structures that have been destroyed by fire or cars mangled as the result of accidents.
They all have a place at the Beaver Dam Fire Department where articles and photos are kept and stored to show the department's rich history and the impact it has had on the city of Beaver Dam.
Currently, firefighter Alyson Skelton is the one in charge of scrapbooking the fire department's paper memorabilia.
"When someone retired, they asked if I could take over the scrapbooking," Skelton said.
There are boxes of pictures that Skelton is sorting through.
"It's quite a big project," Skelton said. "It's unbelievable some of the stuff we have here."
The opera house in downtown Beaver Dam burning down has a presence in the scrapbook. There are still mountains of pictures in boxes from the Monarch Range fire in the early 1990s. Car crashes are documented as well.
"Monarch Range was one of our biggest fires," Skelton said. "We have tons of those pictures. I have to go through those and try to keep them in order."
The flow of information grows daily as items are added to the scrapbooks, Skelton said. After Daily Citizen is read, it is put in a box at the firehouse for Skelton to go through. She then looks through the papers and finds articles related to the fire department.
Stories about the flooding last summer are ongoing in Skelton's scrapbooks as the city continues to deal with the aftermath.
It is the older photos that are closer to Skelton's heart.
"It's neat to see how the personnel has changed," Skelton said. "If you look at pictures from 10 or 20 years ago, it's amazing to see how things have changed. The attire and patches are all different."
The pictures also show how the city has evolved over the years, Skelton said.
Old firefighters have also brought in their scrapbooks and contributed them to the collection.
Skelton has used firefighter records or she talks to old firefighters to find out about the timing of the photos and articles.
"Sometimes it's easy and the back of the photos are dated," Skelton said.
Even with smaller projects, Skelton said to make sure that everything is dated so you can make your scrapbooking projects easier to organize.
"Keep records and stay organized," Skelton said. "It's also important to have a theme. Our theme here is obviously firefighting."
"It's nice to look through and see our achievements and be recognized as contributing to the community," Skelton said.
She also hopes to take pictures out of the books and place them on the walls of the firehouse.
"There is something about the black and white photos that is so nostalgic," Skelton said. "They are neat to see."
Skelton said the scrapbooks at the firehouse date back to the early 1930s.
Skelton, who came to the department five years ago, said it's something she will enjoy seeing her career advance in over the years.
"It's always nice to reflect on the department," Skelton said.