After 50 years of service in the Quitman Volunteer Fire Department, Buddy Long has officially decided to retire.
In order to honor the years of dedication Buddy has provided the department, Quitman Fire Chief James Grantham and the members of the Quitman Volunteer Fire Department presented him with a plaque during a small ceremony at the fire department.
“The fire department decided to honor one of our own: Harlon Buddy Long,” explained Grantham. “He’s been a member of the fire department for 50 years. He decided to retire a month ago, so we decided to do a little retirement ceremony for him. It’s not that often that we have one of our own make it 50 years. Buddy has been a steadfast member of this fire department since 1973. It was the right thing to do to honor one of our own.”
While Buddy will be missed at the department, everyone there is proud for him and wishes him luck with his retirement.
“I wish you luck in whatever you do in the future,” declared Grantham. “Thank you very much for your service to this department and especially to this community. We don’t get told thank you a lot, but from the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
With so many years of service, Buddy has numerous memories from different calls, and he has cherished every moment.
“I’ve had 50 years of service to this community. I’ve enjoyed it while I was here. I’ve had some good times and some bad times. The good times beat the bad times,” recalled Buddy. “We’ve had some bad fires. Sellers burnt up down there. We had a brand-new truck, and the clutch went out. Larry Riley was the firefighter who had to pull it down there. I was number two and was behind there in the alley. If it hadn’t been for that firewall at Traweek’s, we would have lost the whole block. That night, we put seven five-gallon buckets of fuel in the trucks from 6:00 that evening until 10:00 the next morning. What’s scary, and we didn’t know it, is that in that back alley, there were three drums of paint down in the building that we didn’t know about. We’re thankful we got out. There have been tough times, and there have been good times. There are more good times than bad, and I’ve enjoyed every one of them.”
With his experience, he has some great advice to anyone who would like to volunteer with the fire department.
“Come in, learn, and be prepared to do whatever you’re called on,” advised Buddy. “Be sure you’re prepared to do it before you start something.”
Congratulations on retirement and thank you for your service!
