FIREMEN’S CARNIVAL: The Tri-County Firemen’s Association convention and carnival of 1964 must have been some event.
Long-time Rew volunteer firefighter Cliff Hastings described the event to us, and we started talking about it in Saturday’s column.
The carnival took place 50 summers ago at the Bradford Speedway. It was the first time Cliff ever remembered the parade being held under the lights at night. He doesn’t recall it happening since, either.
During the parade, Dr. H.D. Gardener, then fire chief for the Kane Volunteer Fire Department, pointed out the quarter-million dollars worth of fire equipment on display at the speedway. This was a sign of the times, as Cliff noted that amount would buy only one piece of equipment today.
The event also featured the massing of the colors, an appearance by Bozo the Clown and a marching band, all acts Cliff recalls with particular fondness.
He remembers Bozo’s performance being spectacular. “Everything was just class A, letter perfect,” Cliff told us. It was “beyond slapstick,” he said.
To this day, the clown’s true identity remains a mystery to most people. It was a mystery Cliff had hoped to unveil, but out of respect he contacted the family, who asked him not to. Perhaps some things are more special kept a secret.
Cliff recalls how the 1964 event caused a reawakening of public spirit, in part due to a re-emergence of bands. “Before the convention, public spirit was fading away,” he said.
He explained that by that point, marching bands no longer appeared for civic events, a practice that had been popular in the 1930s and 1940s.
To remedy this, four or five area band leaders were gathered to perform at the convention. “This led to a rebirth of band membership and competitions,” Cliff said. The band competition provided a “spark” which helped to “rekindle the fellowship” of previous decades. “People knew they had a band they could be proud of.”
In the spirit of everybody helping out, other area fire departments were also on hand to help their hosts from Rew.
He also remembers unexpected help coming when three girls from Port Allegany who were driving by a couple days before the parade stopped and asked why a carnival was being held “in the middle of nowhere.”
The girls learned about the firemen’s convention, and “all three came every night to help,” he said.
Cliff also shared some of the changes to Tri-County and local fire departments since 1964, which we’ll share soon.
