In 1945, Joe Brennan was on the very first athletic fire truck ride in Helena, with the state champion HHS Bengals basketball team.

On Thursday, Brennan returned to the Capital City 64 years later, for the community's latest sports journey aboard a fire truck.

The occassion was part of the induction ceremonies for the Helena Sports Hall of Fame, class of 2009. The fire truck took the new inductees from the Great Northern Town Center on ride through downtown Helena, and back again.

"After high school, I left Helena and have lived and worked somewhere else ever since," said Brennan, 81, who retired as the president of Quincy (Calif.) Community College several years ago. "But I never forgot about Helena, and there was always a special place in my heart for where I grew up. I've been back here several times over the years, and it's always nice to renew the friendships from youth."

Brennan was part of a group of 13 individuals and three teams who were enshrined in the HSHOF at the banquet at the GNTC Best Western Hotel Thursday evening. This is the Hall's fifth induction ceremony, which first took place in 2003. In addition to the firetruck ride, the festivities included a dinner, and a special DVD showing of the newest members.

Several inductees traveled from across the country to attend. Of the 1954 Freezers womens' softball team, Nancy (Nelson) Miller came the farthest, making the trip all the way from Alabama. Sisters Sarah (Patterson) Kain and Nancy Kain visited from Spokane and Arizona, respectively. Arlene LaFromboise and Donna (Gregor) Ruetten both traveled from Arizona, as well.

World famous skier Scot Schmidt came from California, while Callie Sparing, who was part of the 1998 CHS Bruin ladies volleyball squad, traveled all the way from Indiana.

Schmidt is generally recognized as one of the founders of extreme skiing, and during his acceptance speech, he emphasized how important it is to "follow your dreams."

"I've always been very proud of Montana, and very proud of being from Helena," said Schmidt, who has appeared in 39 films and on five national television programs.

Norma (Beatty) Ashby, who played for the '54 Freezers, went on to a highly successful career as a Montana TV personality, film maker and author.

"This has been a wonderful evening," said Ashby, who gave the acceptance speech for the Freezers to end the program. "God bless Helena, and God bless the Helena Sports Hall of Fame."

Curt Synness: 449-2150 or curt52s@bresnan.net