Wilson rekindles field days
Fire company gets everyone involved in traditional event
WILSON — The dunk tank will be set up Thursday morning, and the grills will be fired up by late afternoon in anticipation of the start of Wilson Fire Company No. 1’s Field Days.
With only a few communities still providing what once was a popular event in every small town in the area, the Wilson firefighters are carrying on a tradition dating back to at least the mid-1920s in their village.
“We worked real hard to bring this event back [to its former popularity],” said Lori Brown, co-chairwoman of the event with Gordie Dietz. “We have 72 members in our company, and just about everyone participates in one way or another.”
Even with a large organization, the work usually falls to a few volunteers, but Brown said she has found a way to avoid that.
“I set up a work schedule,” she said with a chuckle. “And people may work behind the scenes, chopping food for the chowder, for example, or cooking or serving, and that’s important. We also have a lot of people from the community help out. They have a ball. We try and make this fun — not just work, work, work.”
Wendelville Fire Company in Pendleton and Shawnee Fire Company in Wheatfield are the only other two volunteer companies in Niagara County to stage field days events this year. The Youngstown Volunteer Fire Company canceled its long-standing Labor Day parade and popular field days this year due to a lack of amusement rides available for the holiday weekend. Youngstown firefighters said they hope to return with a bigger event next year.
“Thirty years ago, the [volunteer company’s] fire hall was the social hub for the community,” said James Volkosh, Niagara County’s fire coordinator and director of emergency services, adding that this extended to the popular field days held in every small community in the area.
“But it takes a lot of work,” he said. “And people just don’t seem to have that kind of time anymore.”
The three-day event, held on the fire company grounds at 250 Young St. and neighboring parking lots, kicks off at 6 p. m. Thursday with a Family/Kids Night.
“We keep it simple and have just hamburgers, hot dogs and fries, so that our own members can come out and enjoy themselves that night,” Brown said. “This is our third year of holding the Family Night, and I think it’s really popular.”
A one-price ride ticket for $13 allows festival-goers to ride the Hammerl rides from 6 to 10 p. m., and “Dunk a Firefighter” draws a crowd at the dunk tank.
In addition, wildlife conservation programs will be featured, as well as music by the Mount St. Mary’s Academy Jazz Ensemble.
The event continues from 5 p. m. to midnight Friday with a car show at 5 p. m. featuring a special appearance by the Hazzard County stunt team and the General Lee jump car.
Organizers also are holding a Daisy Duke look-alike contest for those 18 and older; and music will be provided by Route 66 at 8 p. m.
Monte Carlo games and a beer tent will be featured and organizers have brought back the old-fashioned game of dime pitch, asking contestants to pitch dimes into a variety of glassware.
The field days conclude Saturday, featuring the chowder sale at noon. Vendors open at 10 a. m., while rides run from 1 p. m. to midnight. Music
will be provided by Wildfire at 8
p. m., and the fun continues with the Monte Carlo games and beer tent.
The firefighters’ parade begins at 5 p. m. Saturday and will celebrate the village’s sesquicentennial, as well as the fire company’s 85th year of existence.
“We don’t make a ton of money on this,” said Brown, “but we want to keep it going for the community. They give so much to us, and we want to give back.”
The fire coordinator also called the dwindling number of volunteer firefighters “a critical problem.”
Volkosh said the county has approximately 1,200 to 1,300 firefighters — down from more than 2,000 in the 1970s, when the companies seemed to peak.
“There are a number of factors that enter into it,” he said. “First is the economics of this area — our young people are graduating from college and leaving the area. And, over the years, it’s become much more of a commitment on the part of the firefighters to get the required training to be a volunteer. We’re talking 80-plus hours just to start.
“And it seems the need to serve one’s community just isn’t as strong as it once was,” he added. “I’m predicting in five to 10 years that we will see consolidation of fire companies in order to maintain service.”
For now, Wilson seems to be bucking the trends.
“We’re almost to capacity [with 72 members], Dietz pointed out. “We go door-to-door and let people know we’re here to serve you and we give them applications. Everyone’s willing to help [with the field days] and we keep the company going.”
