Parade, Fireworks Celebrate GFD's 150th Anniversary

By TERESA WINCHESTER
GILBERTSVILLE

On August 17, 1874, a group of citizens living in the then-unincorporated Village of Gilbertsville voted to form a new organization to be known as “Eagle Fire and Engine Company.” One hundred and fifty years later, to the day, the Eagle Fire and Engine Company, commonly referred to as the Gilbertsville Fire Department, marked its sesquicentennial with a parade and fireworks. The parade began at 7 p.m.

Some 50 people lined Commercial Street to watch the event while others stood in front of their homes as the parade wound through the streets of Gilbertsville. Rolling along behind the color brigade was the company’s original hose and cart. The GFD’s “attack truck,” known as “Big Mike,” was accompanied by the department’s other vehicles—a tanker and a brush truck. The GFD was joined in the parade by other area departments and their fire engines: Sidney, Morris, South New Berlin, and Wells Bridge. The Sidney contingent also included a 1929 Model-A Ford. The parade ended at Centennial Park, where the Ladies’ Auxiliary sold hotdogs and other refreshments, and where a spectacular fireworks show took place at dusk. An anonymous party donated the fireworks.

Besides its anniversary, the department was also celebrating the arrival of a new ambulance for the emergency squad—a four-wheel drive Ford-F Chassis, one of the first of its kind in the area, according to GFD Fire Chief Dave Robinson. Donations to help defray costs of the new vehicle may be sent to Gilbertsville Fire Department, PO Box 72, Gilbertsville, NY 13776, said Robinson, who at a GFD clambake on August 18 was recognized as “Fireman of the Year.”