How you can help

Donations to restore the Engine 9 weather vane can be sent to:

Lawrence Firefighter's Local Union 146

PO Box 533

Lawrence, MA 01842

LAWRENCE — The copper weather vane of a steam engine pumper being pulled by a team of horses once sat atop the Bailey Street fire station.

In 1983, the weather vane was taken down for repair, then never seen again.

A recent inquiry from a reader and native Lawrencian, who remembered the vane from his childhood, led The Eagle-Tribune on a quest to find it.

Now the mystery has been solved.

The weather vane is not lost. It has simply been forgotten about for 25 years and left in a vault at City Hall.

"That's great news. I'm very pleased. I've been hoping right along that it was misplaced," said Walter Joncas, in a telephone interview from Cazenovia, N.Y.

He remembers his mother pointing out the weather vane from their home on Salem Street. Joncas was in the city over Christmas and as he always does when he visits, he looked up to the tower on Engine 9 to see if the weather vane was back.

"I was disappointed that a treasure like that can just be forgotten. It's a piece of fancy artwork, otherwise it would just be a flat piece of metal," Joncas said.

Jonas Stundza, president of the Lawrence Historical Commission, said there was never any serious talk about selling the weather vane because it was part of Lawrence's firefighting history.

"The amount of money you get doesn't make up for the historical significance because once it's gone, it's gone," Stundza said.

The four-member commission has talked about restoring the weather vane. They have been in touch with Patrick Driscoll, president of the Lawrence Firefighters Local Union 146, to start a fundraising campaign.

"This is part of the Fire Department's heritage that we like to keep and we want to make it look good," Driscoll said.

The firefighter sitting on the wagon and other parts of the 4-foot-long weather vane are corroded due to aging and damage from the weather.

Fire Chief Peter Takvorian said when he was captain of Engine 9 about eight years ago, he knew it had been removed for expensive renovation to the copper.

Capt. James Loffredo remembers carrying the weather vane down the ladder after it was removed from the hose tower.

"I remember being frail," Loffredo said.

He was pleased that the weather vane was found.

"That's fantastic. I feel great about it. I thought I was never going to see it again," Loffredo said. "It's something that is very dear and near to me. This is an important part of the Fire Department's history and it should be preserved."

Engine 9 was the only firehouse in the city sporting a weather vane, although Engine 8 on Ames Street, Engine 6 on Howard Street and Engine 7 on Park Street were all built in the early 1900s.