According to Shoemakersville Fire Company Lieutenant, Dave Rubright, “well over a hundred” vehicles arrived to parade the streets of Shoemakersville on May 2 in the Shoemakersville Fire Company No. 1’s Lights and Sirens Parade. The hours of hard work of the volunteers under the direction of Parade Chairman, Tim Seyfret, became apparent as the crowds of residents and visitors to Shoemakersville lined the streets to enjoy the event, making the attendance the best for the fire company at a parade so far.
The Shoemakersville Fire Company Auxiliary was on hand with a bake and beer sale to support the fire company. President and Treasurer, Susan Lutz, also described the memorial garden that was slated for introduction during the day. The garden was planted next to the fire house in memory of all firefighters, and more specifically, past Auxiliary President, Mary Wentzel, The garden was made possible with funds donated by Wentzel’s family in honor of her 50 years of service to the fire company and will be maintained by the Auxiliary.
Shoemakersville Cub Pack 163 was hard at work distributing ice cream from a mobile ice cream stand from Candy’s. Steve Gilbert, Cub Master, had a large group of parent volunteers, as well as Scouts, available to work. The proceeds from the ice cream sales were shared to benefit the Fire Company.
Also present at the festivities were representatives from the Shoemakersville Recreation Board who had decided to donate all of their profits from running games for the children at the block party back to the Fire Company. The Recreation Board members stated that the funding for their free eight-week park program for the children in the Shoemakersville and surrounding areas comes from the upcoming Shoemakersville Children’s Fair.
Shoemakersville Fire Company volunteer fire fighters manned the registration table, and also distributed the commemorative books from the event. The free books included a detailed story on the history of the Fire Company, as well as listings of officers, patrons, and upcoming events.
Judging an event the size of the Lights and Sirens Parade required nine judges who were provided by Tri-State Judges from Lake Harmony. Ralph Lennon, of Lake Harmony ,supervised the judging of the vehicles registered for the parade. He described how the judges examined each vehicle in regard to the condition of the apparatus, the maintenance of the vehicle, as well as the condition, maintenance and type of equipment on the vehicle.
Additionally, the drivers were each quizzed to determine the level of knowledge of those who ride the trucks.
Lennon stated that Tri-State has “done this parade over the years. It’s a great event for the community.”
Lennon also voiced his concern that 50,000 of the 300,000 volunteer firefighters in the state have been lost over the last few years He stated that the loss is due in part to the demand put on firefighters, not only due to actually responding to emergencies, but also attending many training hours and participating in the fundraising activities required to keep fire companies afloat. A recruit and retention program is being instituted by the Pennsylvania State Fireman’s Association to try to keep volunteer fire companies in business through not only acquiring new volunteers, but by keeping them engaged for longer periods of time.
Lennon cautioned that the loss of volunteer fire companies would cause residents to have to pay high prices for emergency response. He confirmed that events like the Shoemakersville Fire Company No. 1 Lights and Sirens Parade are important to show the community the importance of the volunteerism that keeps local volunteer fire companies alive.
The Fire Company “would like to thank all the volunteers who helped us run the block party, all the people who came out to watch the parade and who visited the block party, and also all the fire companies who came to participate in the parade. All the money raised during the parade will help the truck crew purchase new equipment and to maintain our trucks to keep the community safe.”
Upcoming events at Shoemakersville Fire Co. No. 1 are ongoing. Karaoke occurs on the first and third Friday of each month at 9 p.m. All-You-Can-Eat Breakfasts are always on the first Saturday of the each moth from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Country Line Dancing is held on the second Friday of each month at 7 p.m. and Shrimp Night is on the last Monday of each month from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Contact the Fire Company for more information at 610-562-8091, or check their website, www.shoeyfire.com.
