VIDEOS/PHOTOS: It's always been a labor of love for longtime Chatham resident Jeff Davis when it came to restoring age-worn pieces of his Chatham childhood and adult life.
However, the 72-year-old Davis went above and beyond the call of duty this time to restore/fabricate an iconic Chatham Fourth of July tradition that began in 1953 and was carried on by the late George "Skip" Conlan until his passing in 2019.
The Chatham Borough Fire Department Association's 68th Fourth of July Parade will include its closing comedy act, the Independent Hose Company, thanks to more than 1,000 hours of work by Davis to put the 1917 Model T Cabriolet back into action. Davis has been working since November 2021 to rebuild the Independent Hose Company truck in time for this year's parade. The original 1917 Ford Model T Cabriolet was on its last legs and Davis took it apart and put it back together on a 1930 Model A chassis brought in from Delaware.