Hope Fire parade goes off in style

By Bill SamplePrint Story | Email Story
Mark Beaumont of Philmont, N.Y., strikes a pose with the hose of an 1860 hose cart during Sunday’s Hope Fire Parade in Great Barrington. Members of the Philmont Fire Department made the undercarriage of the float from an old pop-up camper.
GREAT BARRINGTON — Over 50 fire departments, along with thousands of spectators, civic officials, clubs and other local and regional groupsm gathered on the main street of Great Barrington Sunday to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Hope Fire Company with a grand parade. In 1854, 19 men had paraded through the same route to garner support for the need to establish and organize a town fire department. The community responded, and within a short time the Hope Fire Company was in business with its first piece of equipment and trained men to operate it. Prior to Hope’s founding, fires had been fought only with wooden bucket brigades. Antique firefighting apparatus from all over New England was evident, all lovingly maintained and at their shiniest, towed by men who have dedicated their lives to protecting others from the ravages of fire. Ornate hose tubs and carts festooned with flowers and quirky mottoes such as “Douse The Glim,” drew the admiration of old and young alike. Other entries, such as the Lee Fire Department’s 1873 steamer, were drawn by sturdy Belgian horses, to the delight of many, including young Margot Douillet of Housatonic, who sat on the sidelines with her mother, Georgia. “The horses are my favorite part of the parade,” Margot said with a wide smile. In all, over 190 units showed up for the parade, among them bagpipers, drum corps, Shriners, antique cars, politicians, Boy Scouts, many youth and charity organizations and the U.S. Marines. But the focus and the loudest applause went to the many fire companies marching in support of their brethren from Great Barrington, who were celebrating their 150th year in service. Larry Morse, tasked with driving the West Stockbridge antique firetruck in the parade, said, “This parade has an amazing display of antique firefighting equipment. I love to see this stuff. It shows how far we’ve really come in the last 150 years.” Boy Scouts Matt Dellea and Ian Girouard of Housatonic seemed proud to be carrying the banner of the South Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. They also were clearly enjoying the rest of the parade going on around them. “This is so cool,” Matt said during a brief pause in the proceedings. The pair then marched off in their crisp uniforms with heads held high, doing their best to keep the banner straight and their feet in step. The procession took about three hours to make its way from the north end of Main Street to the VFW building on the south end of town. No injuries or accidents were reported during the parade, which was blessed by pleasant mid-summer weather. Participating parade units were given more than 40 awards in several divisions. Top overall honors for the local marching fire unit category went to the Alert Hose Company of Adams, with the Canaan Conn. fire department claiming the same prize in the out-of-state category. The Stockbridge and Sheffield fire departments received awards, and in the antique apparatus categories, the Lenox Fire Department took top honors with three prizes. Lee was close behind, bringing home two. In the non-fire-department entry categories, grand prize for best float went to Joe Wilkinson Excavation of Sheffield. Adams-Budz VFW Post of Housatonic won the best appearing color guard prize. The Lakeville, Conn. Fire Department won that prize in the out-of-state firefighters division, with the Sandisfield Fire Department taking top local honors for best appearing company in regulation uniform. The Greenport, N.Y. Fire Department took top prize for regulation uniform in the out-of-state category. Other categories included prizes for coming the longest distance from in or out of state and for the oldest apparatus still in working order. The fire department from Bath, Maine won the longest distance prize for the out-of-state category, and the Newburyport Fire Department won for longest distance traveled in state. The prize for entering the oldest firefighting equipment in working order went to the state Department of Forestry.
Share
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."
 
The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School. 
 
The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday. 
 
The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season. 
 
The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations. 
 
"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said  interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.  
 
"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."
 
View Full Story

More Stories

Sports
image description

Lee Executes Game Plan to Perfection in Quarter-Final Win

Sports
Sports
image description

Lenox Volleyball Reaches State's Final Four

Sports
Sports
image description

Mount Greylock Boys Win 3rd Straight Regional Crown

Sports
Sports
image description

Mount Greylock Girls Again Top Monson in Western Mass Final

Sports
Sports
image description

Lenox Sweeps Its Way to Western Mass Crown

Sports
Community News
image description

North Adams License Commission Sees Little Need for License...

Community News
Latest Stories
Previous Next

What's Trending?