Century

A large, fairly weighty object, tattered and yellowed by Father Time, recently found its way into my eager hands, as such things tend to do for some reason.

It turned out to be a century-old scrapbook-like compilation of old newspaper clippings — the vast majority of which are stories about local fires, fire department personnel and fire apparatus — compiled right around the time that motorized vehicles were gradually replacing horse-drawn equipment during the early years of the 20th century.

Several pages of clips are devoted to stories about an elusive firebug, or firebugs, who angered firefighters and kept residents on their toes. The clips suggest he, or they, were suspected of torching some properties but also of pulling false alarms over the course of nearly two years.

In one nigh