Fenton History Center president presents photo of Morton Club namesake George D. Morton
Fenton History Center president presents photo of Morton Club namesake George D. Morton
Pictured is the portrait of Thomas Goodwill, a retired captain, and former board member of the Morton Club and of its union, the Jamestown Professional Fire Fighters Association as well as current Fenton History Center board president, created by George D. Morton for the Morton Club.
Accepting a portrait of George Dewey Morton, namesake of the Morton Club, were Ryan J. Roush, acting Jamestown fire chief, left, and Brandon S. Fardink, a Jamestown firefighter and Morton Club president, right, with Thomas J. Goodwill, former firefighter and Morton Club board member, center.
Pictured is the portrait of Thomas Goodwill, a retired captain, and former board member of the Morton Club and of its union, the Jamestown Professional Fire Fighters Association as well as current Fenton History Center board president, created by George D. Morton for the Morton Club.
Accepting a portrait of George Dewey Morton, namesake of the Morton Club, were Ryan J. Roush, acting Jamestown fire chief, left, and Brandon S. Fardink, a Jamestown firefighter and Morton Club president, right, with Thomas J. Goodwill, former firefighter and Morton Club board member, center.
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A former Jamestown Fire Department captain and local history buff is honoring the memory of George D. Morton, the former city resident who is the namesake of the Morton Club.
George Dewey Morton was born April 13, 1899, to Edgar W. and Mary T. Moynihan Morton. Of his four siblings, two boys and two girls, all but one became connected to the Jamestown Fire Department. One sister, Mary Morton, married a civilian. The other sister, Catherine Ann Morton, married Paul Reinhold Waldemar, a Jamestown fire fighter.
Morton's brothers both retired from the Jamestown Fire Department as captains. The older brother, Charles Edgar Morton, served from 1912-1945 and the younger brother, Robert Carlisle Morton, served from 1935-1968.
"It's interesting that both were members of the group that honored their brother," Thomas J. Goodwill, noted in a news release. "The Morton Club Beneficiary Association serves as the social group, but is also charged with handling death benefits for members. "Today's Morton Club is a proud group of men and women who are current or retired members of the Jamestown Fire Department. The name is familiar in town, but there were only two very small, very fuzzy, pictures known to exist of the man who was honored."
Goodwill is a retired captain, and former board member of the Morton Club and of its union, the Jamestown Professional Fire Fighters Association. He has been interested in local history for decades, and currently serves as president of the Fenton Historical Society. He chose to honor George Morton by having his portrait made. Artificial intelligence was able to clean up one of the fuzzy photos. Then, AI colorized the photo, using the only clue Goodwill had – that George Morton reddish-brown hair. A good-quality color photo was then sent to a company that creates canvas prints, to which a frame and plaque were added.
Goodwill recently presented the portrait to the Morton Club in time for its annual picnic, and the photo now hangs prominently in the main meeting hall.