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In the sleepy town of Mangum, Oklahoma a light bulb has been
burning steady for over years! It has no special place of honor,
no designated power supply, no lines of wide eyed school kids
waiting to see it, but it has kept on doing it's job lighting
the entrance to the firemens bathroom for over 79 years. It has
been burning continuous at 110V with the exception of power outages
all this time.It has no wall switch except the circuit breaker
outside. As a matter of fact, it did it's job so well several
years ago someone painted the front side black to get some sleep!
Close Ups
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As you can see the paint is still on it. Fireman Cecil said
no one ever took the paint off. As best they can tell the heat
from the inside caused it to buble up and flake off all on it's
own. From the picture below you can see it is still glowing very
bright.
The Glow
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Annoying as it may be, it is now recognized as one of the
few bulbs in the world that has outlasted all the others, and
the firemen treat it with respect. However that dosen't mean
they have to look at it. A cover was made to go around that was
painted black, except for the side closest to the wall. Fireman
Cecil Lewis was kind enough to take off the cover and let me
take these photos.
Fireman Cecil Lewis shows us the Bulb
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The Firehouse Tour
After the visit upstairs Cecil gave us a tour of the
firehouse and trucks. If you notice the first picture of Cecil,
the phone and bells were behind him on the wall. The pole, still
in use, is just around the corner from the Bulb.
Fireman Cecil Lewis shows us the pole
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Here's a shot of Cecil and Kent in front of thier
favorite truck.
Fireman Cecil Lewis & Asst Chief Kent
Gambill
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Friendly help!
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After walking thru the Firehouse, Cecil took us across
the street to see his real treasures, the new trucks. These were
donated to Mangun by Altus AFB, and the last truck can go anywhere!
They are used for brush fires under SWODA/South Western Oklahoma
Developement Agency.
Cecil and Tang Nguyen
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MFD Logo
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Proud of the new building!
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This webpage, is due to the efforts of Chief Steven Slaton,
Asst Chief Kent Cambell, and Fireman Cecil Lewis. My thanks to
the brave crew of the Mangum Fire Dept. May the light be a symbol
of all the lasting good you all have provided over the years
and for many more to come!
Hisorical Pictures
These photos were laqured on plaques in front of the
kitchen. Dates unknown.This first one shows the Bulb as it originaly
hung upstairs.
Old news shot of the Bulb
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Old shot of the 2 HSP Truck
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Old panarama shot of Mangum
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Fire at the H.S.
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A timeless shot of Mangum
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A 1930's shot of the Station?
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Thanks to all the friendly folks in Mangum!
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This webpage, is due to the efforts of Chief Steven
Slaton, Asst Chief Kent Gambill, and Fireman Cecil Lewis. My
thanks to the brave crew of the Mangum Fire Dept. May the light
be a symbol of all the lasting good you all have provided over
the years and for many more to come!
(Please click thumbnails to enlarge) |
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