A member of the Maydole Hose Company #2 replacing the flag on the grave of a former member in Mt. Hope Cemetery. (Photo by Sarah Genter)

NORWICH — Members of the Maydole Hose Company #2 spent Saturday morning replacing worn out grave markers and American flags at the resting sites of more than 120 former members at Mt. Hope and St. Paul's Cemeteries in Norwich

“We go and refurbish, take the old flags out, and then we always put new flags in. Always. And then repair any of the markers or change them, and we do it here [at Mount Hope Cemetery] and up at Saint Paul’s,” said Maydole Hose Co. President Pat Ford. “Then we have some members that take flags with them that have relatives or something that might be in Mount Upton cemetery or wherever. So that’s basically what we do.”

Volunteer firefighters with the Maydole Hose Co. visit the cemeteries every year on the weekend before Memorial Day to replace any aged or damaged grave markers stamped with the Company's name, and they replace all of the American flags placed on the graves of former members.

Ford said this practice has been a tradition of the Maydole Hose Company since it's inception 136 years ago.

This year, eight members of the Maydole Hose Co. assisted, as well as one member's teenage son.

Ford said the effort is made easier thanks to the hard work of Maydole Hose Co. Member Jim Williams.

"One of our members years ago came down and spent days going through the log ... and found Maydoles that we weren't doing. It took a long time," he said. “We do it by sections. So like Mike [Powell] will do this section, and somebody else on that section. We just wander around.”

The Maydole Hose Co. is one of four volunteer fire companies in Norwich, and was formed in 1887 by employees of the David Maydole Hammer Factory. 2023 marks the company's 136th year in existence.

The Maydole Hose Company also makes an effort to give back to the community. Each year they host a children’s Easter egg hunt in East and West Park, and they make donations to the Norwich Junior Football League, the Norwich High School SADD chapter for their after-prom party, a volunteer firemen’s retirement home, and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which provides housing to veterans, first responders, and their families.

This year the Company also made a donation to Stanford J. Gibson Primary School in Norwich, which provided a supply of children's winter hats, gloves, coats, and boots to kids in need.

Ford said they plan to continue the tradition of caring for their fellow firefighters and Hose Co. members.

“The fire department and the firemen themselves have a tradition of helping each other, and a lot of these people, we saw them all through their sickness and everything when they got sick, and helped their families. It’s just a continuation of our taking care of each other,” Ford explained. “You see these, you go by them, and you think of all the memories you had with this individual … A lot of the families aren’t around here anymore, so there’s nobody here to take care of the graves.”

“We’re here, we’re going to do it. As long as I’m around, we’re going to do it,” he added. “It’s just the right thing to do.”