Fred and Evelyn Champion Barbara and lames. News Item, June 13, 1949 - designed to serve the residents of O'Leary and surrounding districts, the recently constructed 13 1/2 mile long twelve thousand volt power line from Mount Pleasant to Corner was officially taken over by Hon . George H. Barbour , Minister of Public Works and Highways, on behalf of the provincial government in a brief ceremony at O'Leary on Tuesday. FIRE DEPARTMENT The earliest fire fighting technique used in O'Leary was the buck¬ et brigade. Buckets filled at a nearby stream or central pumps were passed from hand to hand to the fire. Although men, women and even children worked very hard and sometimes at great risk to sub¬ due a blaze, this method was very difficult and not always effective. It is not certain how or when the O'Leary Fire Department was start¬ ed, but it is generally believed that in the late 30's, after a number of very bad fires in the village, a group of concerned citizens organized a fire department in an attempt to cut down on the terrible loss of property. 225