FORT WRIGHT — As a member of one of Fort Wright's founding families, George H. Kreutzjans saw the town's first government take the oath of office in his childhood home.

        After all, there was no City Hall.

        “Even though I was only 3, I raised my right hand and got sworn in with the rest of them,” Mr. Kreutzjans recalled with a chuckle.

        Today, the 63-year-old son of the late George Kreutzjans, the man who built much of the original section of Fort Wright, is among four generations of Kreutzjans living in the Kenton County suburb of 5,681.

        “There's a lot of community pride in Fort Wright,” Mr. Kreutzjans said. “Once people settle here, they tend to stay.”

        Longtime residents such as Mr. Kreutzjans will get a chance to visit with friends they haven't seen in years at Fort Wright's 60th anniversary celebration on Saturday.

        The celebration will be combined with the city's annual fire/EMS and police safety fair and open house.

        While most of the activities will take place at the city building and firehouse at 409 Kyles Lane, there also will be a parade through town, starting at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Paul Church on Fort Henry Drive.

        “People who live in Fort Wright are really proud of their community,” said Martha Moffitt, 48, another Fort Wright native, who figures she has “probably two dozen relatives” in town.

        “An awful lot of people who grew up here may have moved away, but in the end, many come back,” she said.

        Councilman Dave Hatter, a 31-year-old second-generation resident, said he hopes the celebration sparks interest in the city's history and prompts the formation of a local historical group.

        “The city has a lot of older residents, and there's a lot of history there,” Mr. Hatter said. “As they get older, sooner or later, we're going to lose that source of information.”

        Fort Wright took its name from an earthen fort built as part of the Cincinnati defense perimeter during the Civil War.

        The Union fort was named for Maj. Gen. Horatio Gou verneur Wright, a Connecticut native who helped design Northern Kentucky's military defenses. Maj. Gen. Wright, an engineering graduate of West Point, later served as chief engineer for construction of the Washington Monument.

        Incorporated in 1941, Fort Wright annexed neighboring South Hills in 1960 and merged with the neighboring communities of Lookout Heights in 1967 and Lakeview in 1970.

        “I was there when it was the original Fort Wright, before it merged with any other cities,” said Joe Nienaber, 55, who as bank officer and manager of the Fifth Third branch in Fort Wright lives and works in his native town.

        “It used to be that you knew everybody on every street, but now that's changed.”

        While he may know not all of his fellow residents, Mr. Nienaber, who has served as councilman, mayor, city administrator and assistant fire chief, says Fort Wright still is “a nice friendly community.

        “It's encouraging to see that there are a lot of younger people moving back in the city,” Mr. Nienaber said.

        A former assistant fire chief, Mr. Nienaber's late father, Pete, was one of the charter members of the growing city's fire department when it formed 51 years ago.

        To raise the $10,000 needed for a 1950 Howe pumper, the fire department's 36 charter members went door to door, collecting $25 from every homeowner.

        Back then, it wasn't uncommon for two or three generations to serve on the fire department, and helping one's community took precedence over liability concerns.

        In the fire department's 1997 video, Neighbors Helping Neighbors, Bob Wiechman recalled how three firefighters' station wagons formed the nucleus of Fort Wright's ambulance service.

        “When the alarm would go off, whichever one of the three of us was home would get down (to the firehouse), and put the cot and the first-aid kit in our own personal car,” Mr. Wiechman said.

        He added in the video, “I found out afterwards, our insurance was null and void.”

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