The meeting with McCauley turned out to be a lucky “happenstance,” because McCauley is an enthusiast of local history, including his own family connection with the department — and an ideal broker for a Pearson family presentation Friday of a shadow box with items commemorating Pearson’s tenure at the station between 1924-63.

That tenure included promotion to lieutenant, then captain, and the co-founding of the department’s International Association of Fire Fighters union local 299 in 1929.

Gati got the idea for the shadow box after the death of her grandfather’s last remaining sibling led to the discovery of his old badge and a formal picture, along with the discovery of a button from his old uniform.

Those items went into the shadow box, along with a miniature bugle attached by chain to a miniature helmet and the figure “A” for Altoona.

The framed 1929 charter of the department’s International Association of Fire Fighters local contains the signatures of nine local firefighters — with Pearson’s first on that list. Courtesy photo

Such souvenirs belong more with the Fire Department than with the family, according to Gati.

Gati was only three when Pearson died in 1973, and doesn’t remember him, but another grandchild, Jeff Pearson of Smyrna, Del., was 13 then, and remembers his grandfather well.

He was a stern man, according to Jeff.

“If you did something wrong, you found out about it quick,” Jeff said.

His grandfather smoked a pipe that always seemed to be lit, even right after he took it out of his pocket, Jeff said.

The donated shadow box includes John “Willie” Pearson’s old badge and formal picture, along with a button from his old uniform and a miniature bugle attached by a chain to a miniature helmet and the figure “A” for Altoona. Courtesy photo

His grandfather lived near the Concordia, on the 200 block of Sixth Street.

He used to sit next to a Victrola radio — “an old tube radio” — in his recliner, waiting for a call, according to Jeff.

Their grandmother would sometimes take him a lunch if he was fighting a fire, Jeff said.

McCauley is enthusiastic about helping the department memorialize its history, according to Pete Gati, Suzanne’s husband.

That has included hanging pictures of former firefighters in the station lunchroom, using frames for which the Pearson family has donated money, Pete said.

John “Willie” Pearson’s tenure at the station between 1924-63 included promotion to lieutenant, then captain, and the co-founding of the department’s International Association of Fire Fighters union local 299. Courtesy photo

McCauley is a fourth-generation Altoonan.

He’s pleased to be working in the neighborhood where his great-grandfather, known as “Shamrock,” grew up, McCauley said.

His grandfather, Eugene “Dude” McCauley, used to walk by the Washington Avenue firehouse — Station No. 1 — on his way to school, according to McCauley.

The firefighters would always say “hi,” including Blackie Blackburn, who often sat on a bench out front, McCauley said.

Blackburn would have been in the department at the same time as Suzanne’s grandfather, according to McCauley.

Those were “fond memories” for his grandfather, McCauley said.

His grandfather attended Altoona Catholic High, until he got expelled for playing hooky to go hunting, according to McCauley.

Remembering such things “ties me back” to earlier times, to family members he’s never met and to the town that has nurtured his family and himself over the years, McCauley said.

“It’s interesting to see what seems to slip through the cracks,” he added.

Willie Pearson was born in 1901 and served in World War I as a sergeant in the 110th Infantry Regiment of the Pennsylvania National Guard, according to written material from the family.

He retired due to disability from his foot being run over by a firetruck in the aftermath of a house fire in 1963.