Elvin Rose and his wife of 60 years, Jean, still live in the same great looking historic house on Smith Street in the old Alvarado area. Al, as he is fondly called, grew up in that old Victorian house.

Al was one of the very first Union City Fire Chiefs in those old days.

Al was born on June 29, 19l8 and Jean, on February 13, 1918. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary recently.

Al's family lived in Union City all their lives. He knew August May, who was the owner of the very first bank in Union City. ``I remember going there as a kid.'' He said. Pete Decoto was the brother of August May's wife. ``There was also a building, which was the Alameda County first courthouse'', he said. Al went to Alvarado Elementary School, an old two story wooden structure, later demolished, and which was also in the site of the present school.

Antoinette Rose, Al's sister, married the late Peter Pinto. Antoinette and her whole family and relatives still live in the Old Alvarado. All the Rose' are parishioners of St. Anne Catholic Church.

Al joined the Fire Dept in 1944 as a volunteer. He acted as Fire Chief during that time. They remained firefighter volunteers for 13 years. After 6 more years, Union City was able to fund for two firefighters, one stationed in old Alvarado and one in Decoto. Al stayed to help until they got organized. He stayed as a volunteer firefighter for 20 years.

Al was truly a fireman. Over the years, the early exposure to the fire environment, produced a whole battalion of firefighters in the Rose's family.

His children followed his footsteps as firemen. They were in his team of volunteer firefighters, during that time that Union City did not have a paid fire department.

The following Rose's children were the volunteer firemen for many years under the direction of their Fire Chief father Al Rose. Their mother and their only sister Suzanne, were volunteers also. ``Sometimes Al directs calls to our house and we became the fire dispatchers.'' Jean recalls.

Danny, now age 56, lives in the old Alvarado, just behind his dad's house. He worked for 30 years in the Union City Fire Department. He was Assistant Battalion Chief and then as Fire Chief of Union City. At age 52, he retired and pursued his dream of making the most exotic and expensive fishing poles.

• Richard, 54, lives in Fremont and is a supervisor at the Livermore Laboratory.
• Stanley, 52, is a Certified Public Accountant and lives in Union City. He is the head of the Board of Equalization, in San Jose.
• Dale, 49, is a fireman in San Carlos.
• Marvin, 47, is a Public Works Director at Sunnyvale.
• Gordon, 44, repairs fire trucks for the San Ramon Fire District and still lives with his parents.
• Suzanne, 41, is in Solon, Iowa with her husband, who is Head and Neck Surgeon at the University of Iowa. She takes care of their home.

As you look around the old Victorian home of Al and Jean, you could see success in the rearing their children. First, they instilled volunteerism in their minds and then they made sure that they pursue their education. The children's photographs, in their graduation gowns and caps, lined up the walls of the house.

Al had his first job working for Holly Sugar Company as a weigh master at a beet collection station in San Leandro for one year. Al then went to Hudson Lumber Company, where he worked for about five years. It was there that he met Jean. They were married in 1939. From there he went to Standard Trailer Company as a shop supervisor where he worked for 52 years.

Al Rose, a full-blooded Portuguese and Jean, a French-Canadian, planned to stay in Union City. They are very active in church; they visit their nephew in Alaska, where they enjoy fishing.

In the early `70s, Al collected artifacts for a city museum and displayed them at the now demolished Kelly Moore store, at the corner of Alvarado and Decoto.

These days of the sprawling Union Landing, the half a million-dollar homes, the increasing numbers of residents and the settlement of their children, the Roses are very much contented with the outcome of their hard work. Although they reminisce the days of vast greens in the area, and they see and experience the present day problems of day to day traffic, they are thankful of the progress they saw in Union City through the years.

We will remember Al Rose as one of the early Fire Chiefs in Union City. The history of the Rose's will never fade in the minds of the Union City residents.