This Volunteer Fire Department, the first in Bakersville, NC, was originally known as the Mars Volunteer Fire Department, as noted on the truck’s hood (MVFD). O.D. Calhoun, operator of the Mars Theater in Bakersville was instrumental in helping the group raise the money for their first fire truck, so BVFD was then known by the name of the theater. The truck to the left was built in Bakersville on the frame of a Ford truck, primarily by Wayne Wilson.

Not all the VFD members are shown in the photograph. Those who are include Ed Terrell, Harper Wilson, Bob Barron, Eli Sparks, Warren Buchanan. Brown Ferguson, George Morgan, and Edgar Young. All are deceased except for Ed Terrell and George Morgan.  The children photographed most likely are those of Terrell, Ferguson, and Morgan. The building was located near the corner of Hemlock and Thomson Lane in downtown Bakersville. The upstairs included a full kitchen and was often used for fundraising dinners, community meetings, and hang out for town kids, especially on school snow days.