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Alaska residents used coupons to buy fire truck in 1969

The community saved five million General Mills coupons from people all over the country to buy the much-needed fire truck

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Coupons from all 50 states were donated, and the auxiliary group collected five million coupons, equivalent to about $25,000 in 1969.

Photo/Pratt Museum

By FireRescue1 Staff

HOMER, Alaska — A community saved millions of coupons in 1969 to purchase a fire truck.

Senior Voice Alaska reported that Homer residents learned about a promotion offered by General Mills that allowed people to purchase large-ticket items with coupons.

The Homer Volunteer Fire Department women’s auxiliary set out on a mission to collect enough coupons to purchase the much-needed fire truck for the department, and when the rest of the United States heard about their efforts, they pitched in.

Coupons from all 50 states were donated, and the auxiliary group collected five million coupons, equivalent to about $25,000 in 1969.

“Quite frankly, if it weren’t for the warm, genuine, friendly letters and notes of encouragement and interest from literally all over the United States and from all ages and walks of life, we who started the first little snowball on its way would have quit months ago,” Helen Jackson, one of the original organizers, said. “This is not an easy way to get a fire truck.”

Jackson, along with Homer resident Edna Morris, processed the coupons and got them ready for shipment to General Mills.

“We were not prepared to cope with the avalanche of mail requiring replies, nor did we realize the cost of the postage that would be involved in the project,” Jackson later said.

The city was able to purchase a bright yellow fire engine in 1971, and they named it Betty. The engine ran for the next 25 years before retiring in 1996.

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