| The Canton Fire Department celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on Saturday, September 14th. The day started off with a parade of department vehicles and units from neighboring emergency services agencies. The parade proceeded past the old fire station on Court Street and continued down Main Street and Riverside Drive to the current fire station. The parade route was lined with a large number of spectators, all cheering on the CFD on its 150th birthday. After arriving at the current fire station, the assembled members and guests took part in a short opening ceremony for the day’s festivities at the station. Firefighter Rob Larrabee performed the Star Spangled Banner and Past Chief Dale Gardner delivered the invocation. After a few short words from Fire Chief Bob Crowe, proclamations from NYS Senator Patty Ritchie (presented by Jim Reagan) and NYS Assemblyman Mark Walczyk were presented to the department. Following the ceremony, attendees were invited participate in the various aspects of the open house which included musical entertainment by Rob Larrabee, tours of the fire station, a multimedia presentation, a display of historic memorabilia, the fire safety trailer, as well as all of the department apparatus. The bounce houses and the kids’ firefighter combat challenge were the huge hits of the day. Free hamburgers, hotdogs, salads, ice cream, and drinks were provided to all those in attendance. The day of celebration ended with a fantastic fireworks display at the Canton High School that led to many “Ooos” and “Ahhhs” from the large crowd that had assembled.
The fire department would like to thank a number of organizations that assisted with the successful event: Fobares BBQ and Catering for preparing the food, Stewart’s Shoppes for the ice cream, Pepsi Cola of Ogdensburg for the fountain soda, the Hermon Fire Department for the bounce houses, the Potsdam Fire Department for the kids combat challenge equipment, Little Italy for providing prizes for the combat challenge participants, Sergis Pizzeria for the post open house pizzas, and Gavin Tent Rentals for the large tent and tables.
Commemorative T-shirts were created for the event and are still available at a cost of $20 per shirt. If you would like a shirt, please email cantonfd@cantonfirerescue.com . |
