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LEWISTOWN -- About two weeks before Bob Barlett died, Mayor Deb Bargo visited him at Greenwood Village and read a proclamation honoring his service to Lewistown.
The visitors also brought lunch from Mission BBQ in Harrisburg. Barlett's favorite was barbecued salmon with mac and cheese.
For years, Barlett helped arrange moments like that for others. When a local athlete or team accomplished something worth celebrating, he called Bargo and started planning a parade. He wanted the athletes on a fire truck and the community along the route.
This time, the proclamation was for him.
Barlett died Sunday, Sept. 27, at age 74. The former Lewistown fire chief was serving as vice president of the borough council. He spent more than five decades in the fire service, worked 29 years for the Mifflin County School District, and became known to generations of students as "Captain Bob."
Bargo called him "a nice guy" who cared about young people. She said she'll miss his calls about parades.
Retired firefighter Pat Pauly knew Barlett for 51 years. For about 25 of those years, they answered the same alarms with the Lewistown Fire Department. Pauly belonged to Fame Fire Company and passed City Hook & Ladder, Barlett's company, on his way to the station.
They eventually became captains of their respective companies. The positions came with a degree of rivalry. Pauly and Barlett didn't always agree, but they resolved their differences and remained friends.
Pauly visited Barlett several times near the end of his life. With decades behind them and no alarm demanding their attention, they spent the time telling stories.
At a fire, Pauly said, Barlett rarely allowed the urgency around him to take control of him.
"Ninety-eight percent of the time, very calm and collected," Pauly said. "He took care of business."
One of their most difficult calls came on Goose Day in 2002, when a firefighter became trapped inside a burning home on West Fourth Street. Barlett was Captain 14 at the time.
Pauly wrote an account of the fire. His article placed Barlett outside the building, where he acted as an unofficial rescue liaison, suggested tools and helped coordinate the effort to free the trapped man. After a prolonged effort, firefighters brought their colleague out alive.
Barlett's career had begun 34 years earlier. He was 16 when he joined the McVeytown Fire Company as a junior firefighter in 1968. He moved to City Hook & Ladder in 1975 and began holding leadership positions in 1983. He served as lieutenant, captain, and district chief before becoming Lewistown fire chief.
After retiring as chief, Barlett continued serving City Hook & Ladder as Chief 14. The company remained part of his daily life. For many years, he lived across the street from the firehouse.
Pauly, who spent 30 years teaching at the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy and continues to teach in the field, said Barlett kept taking training throughout his career. He also gave young firefighters the time and attention needed to make them feel part of the company.
"He spent a lot of time with them trying to keep their interest, get them involved," Pauly said.
Barlett understood how much that early encouragement could mean. He had entered the fire service as a teenager during a year that brought one of the darkest days in Lewistown firefighting history.
On June 1, 1968, an explosion at the Dairy Land silo fire killed three junior firefighters. When Mifflin County marked the tragedy's 50th anniversary in 2018, Barlett spoke to the county commissioners. He told them that the Lewistown Fire Department had never forgotten the young men.
His concern for young people followed him outside the firehouse. A 1970 graduate of Rothrock High School, Barlett worked as a custodian for the Mifflin County School District before retiring in 2016. His job title at school may have been custodian, but students knew about the uniform he wore elsewhere.
They called him "Captain Bob," Pauly said.
Barlett helped organize victory celebrations after the Lewistown Lady Panthers won consecutive PIAA basketball championships in the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons. Other athletes and teams received similar treatment over the years. Bargo said Barlett called her when he believed someone deserved a parade and a ride on the fire truck.
"That was Bob, man," Pauly said. "That meant so much to him, helping those kids be recognized."
Stacey Bickel witnessed another side of Barlett while working as Lewistown's borough secretary. During their roughly 10 years together, she saw a man who introduced himself, offered his assistance, and remained calm when someone needed help.
"He treated everyone the same, whether you were a friend of 50 years or five minutes," Bickel said.
Barlett once bought tickets for a City Hook & Ladder raffle and gave them to borough employees. Bickel's ticket won a prize that included lottery tickets. Barlett told her that any lottery winnings would pay for their next meal together.
"We, in fact, did share another round of Texas Dogs and a milkshake from Twin Kiss," Bickel said.
His move from fire chief to councilman changed his seat in the borough building, but it didn't change one of his priorities. Bargo said Barlett remained passionate about helping the fire companies grow and thrive. As chief, he had urged the council to address equipment needs and worked on grants and the consolidation of two companies. He was serving as council vice president when he died.
Barlett's wife, Edwina "Winnie" Barlett, died in 2015. He is survived by his sons, Brian and Ryan; grandchildren, Sidney and Dillon; and other family members. He also followed the Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins.
Pauly said Barlett's family came first and City Hook & Ladder followed close behind. The young firefighters, schoolchildren, and athletes became part of the life he built between those two loyalties.
After Barlett died, Pauly thought about the victory parades and the work required to organize them.
"I don't know who's going to pick that ball up and run with it," he said.