By Rob Potter
CALLICOON — July 3, 2001 – Much to the delight of the scores of spectators and dozens of firemen on hand, it did not rain on their parade Sunday afternoon.
A brief, 30-second mist fell just before those marching in the Callicoon Fire Department’s Centennial Parade took their first steps down the river hamlet’s Main Street.
(About 45 minutes after the parade’s conclusion, however, Callicoon – and the rest of the county – was hit by a powerful line of thunderstorms.)
Scores of people lined the street to see the proud members of the Callicoon Fire Department lead the parade. They were followed by several other area fire companies along the parade route.
Those other companies included Callicoon Center, Cochecton, Hankins/Fremont Center, Horton-ville, Jeffersonville, Lackawaxen Township, Pa., Long Eddy, Narrowsburg, North Branch, Rock Hill, White Lake and Youngsville.
Several classic cars and members of the 143rd New York Volunteer Infantry Civil War Re-enactors also participated in the parade. And students from the Hrynko Family’s Sullivan West Martial Arts put on a demonstration for the crowd.
“The parade couldn’t have gone smoother,” said Callicoon FD Assistant Chief Ed Navetta. “And the community response was excellent.”
Navetta and fellow firemen Darren Doetsch, George Gattus and Jeff Jensen served as members of the department’s centennial parade committee.
The day’s activities also included a wetdown ceremony for the Callicoon Fire Department’s two newest trucks, a 1981 Pirsch 85-ft. ladder truck and a 2000 KME 4-wheel-drive mini-pumper. (Although only the mini-pumper was “wetdown” by one of the Hortonville Fire Department’s water hoses since the ladder truck is being repaired.)
Following the parade, several firefighters and parade watchers gathered at the firehouse for refreshments.
Navetta noted that the day’s activities might even help recruitment efforts. Currently, the department has only 21 active members, whereas as recently as the 1960s there was a waiting list to join the volunteer company.
But those 21 members are dedicated to protecting and serving those in Callicoon and beyond.
“It’s been here for a hundred years,” Callicoon Fire Department Chief Will Maxwell said as he stood in the firehouse. “And the department should be here another 100.”