Hope Works and Friends, a program of the Hope Library, continues this fall with a talk by Andy Swift of Hope who will share the story of Firefly Restoration Co., the Hope-based company that is known as one of the best fire engine restorers in the U.S.
This event will be held at the Firefly Barn on Barnestown Road on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. Attendees should enter the barn on the Robbins Road end, near the caboose.
Hope Works and Friends is a program of Hope Library showcasing the makers and creators in Hope and communities nearby.
Andy Swift has always had a love for fire engines, beginning when he received a fire engine peddle car when he was a child. At 19, he converted an old fire engine into a hot dog wagon to make money in the summers.
His first full restoration was when he was a paid firefighter in Valdez, Alaska. Recognizing his talent, his fire chief assigned him to restore a steam fire engine the town purchased in the early 1900s.
Returning to Maine, Andy started Firefly Restoration Co. 40 years ago in a newly built barn in Jonesport, Maine. After 10 years and the birth of his two sons, a chicken barn in Hope, Maine came up for sale. Thinking this was the perfect place to move his business and family, the barn was purchased.
Andy has restored more than 100 fire engines and is nationally known as one if the best fire engine restorers in the country. While he currently is working on only horse and hand drawn fire engines, he has also done many motorized vehicles. Current restorations in the shop include several steam fire engines and a Cretors popcorn wagon.
Hope Library is located at 443 Camden Road, in the Hope Town Office Building and is staffed by volunteers and funded by donations.
Online at hopelibrary.me and on Facebook.
