Southwick Fireman's Carnival

The Southwick Fireman's Association sponsored a carnival in July 1948, starting a tradition that would become cherished and celebrated for decades. (Like most towns, neighboring Suffield, Connecticut, also had a long-standing tradition of a firemen's carnival, theirs dating back to the 1930s.)

Central to the Southwick Fireman's Carnival was its parade. Added in 1950, it was more than a display of fire equipment; it was a vibrant showcase of community pride. Fire departments, marching bands, businesses, and organizations across New England participated, making it a regional celebration. Guest judges awarded trophies and prizes to winners in various categories, including Best Appearing Equipment, Most Distance Traveled, Best Appearing Unit in Jackets, and Best Musical Unit. Over the years, parade organizers added new categories and eliminated others. Some years, they had as many as twelve.

Hundreds of Southwick residents and those from surrounding towns lined the parade route. The long sound of the fire siren atop the new fire station signaled the parade's start. Over the years, the parade route changed, but it ended at the town complex most years, marking the official start of the carnival's final night. However, the parade initially took place on the carnival's opening night.

Like its predecessors, the 1954 parade started at the New Cemetery and traveled down College Highway to Depot Street. Starting in 1955, it began on Powder Mill Road at the new junior high school (today's Powder Mill School), turned west onto Springfield Street (today's Feeding Hills Road), left on College Highway, and east on Depot Street. By 1960, it started on Feeding Hills Road at College Highway. By 2012, the carnival had moved to the school grounds, so organizers used the 1955 route in reverse.

The 1956 parade is notable because it was bigger and better, thanks partly to the 35-plus organizations that participated in it, including a Coca-Cola distributor, who entered an antique Mack delivery truck, reportedly the company's first. (In comparison, there were roughly 15 participants in the 1951 parade.)

Paradegoers in 1958 were in for a real treat when the Melha Shrine Temple Band marched in the parade with the Hadji Shriners' famous mini cars and other vehicles. The parade grew even larger in 1961, with 50 units participating. 

To support their fellow firefighters, members of the Southwick Fire Department participated in other towns' parades. In 1977, they drove their old pumper in the fireman's parade in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. As the aging truck turned the corner, it made a grunting noise and stalled. The truck started rolling backward. Firemen from Cromwell, Connecticut, leaped into action. The men pushed the Southwick fire truck forward. It roared to start and continued down the parade route. (In 1970, Southwick firefighters won the oldest piece of motorized equipment category in a parade sponsored by the Hazardville, Connecticut fire department.)

The Southwick Fireman's Association used most of the carnival's proceeds to buy equipment, including an ambulance, which they proudly displayed during the 1950 carnival. In 1953, the Association used carnival proceeds to purchase one of the two short-wave radios the Southwick Volunteer Fire Department received, making Southwick the first town in Western Massachusetts equipped for direct contact with the state's forestry department.

Carnival goers enjoyed games of skill like Cat Game (a wooden ball toss game), Hoopla (a classic ring toss game), a dartboard, dunking booth, and Dish Toss, as well as rides such as a Ferris wheel, a merry-go-round, and pony rides. Attendees could test their strength, and if they rang the bell, they would win a cigar. They could also purchase refreshments and other items; the pastry booth was popular. (The Firemen's Wives Association sold more than 500 pounds of fried dough during the 1978 carnival.)

Southwick's 1916 Model-T as shown in 1965

The Southwick Fireman's Association routinely awarded various door prizes, many generously donated by area businesses. The door prizes, featured as a special attraction, were typically reserved for the end of the carnival. (In 1959, Debra Mihlek of Southwick won an electric rotisserie, Annette Bascom of Southwick won luggage, Paul Furey of Springfield won a portable radio, and V. Brazee of Indian Orchard won a cooler chest. In 1971, the prizes included a trip for two to Bermuda, Polaroid cameras, and a mini bike.)

The site of the carnival varied. The Fireman's Association started it on the town building grounds, but it moved around periodically, some years on school grounds or at the Southwick Recreation Center.

Controversy struck in 1983 when the Southwick Fireman's Association approached the Town of Southwick with plans to hold their carnival at Prifti Park. Former selectman Vivian Brown became a vocal opponent of the move, citing concerns that the carnival would damage the field. The dispute lasted about a month, with the Fireman's Association reluctantly scrapping their plan for the time being. (Vivian Brown, the first woman elected to Southwick's Board of Selectmen, has appeared on the Southwick Time Machine before.)

Then, Prifti Park, about a seven-acre space on the grounds of the former Consolidated School, was a park in name only. It was created in 1981 to honor former Southwick Selectman Nuchi Prifti, who dedicated many years of his life to public service and made many contributions to Southwick. He passed away in 1980. (In 2010, Southwick's Parks and Recreation Commission started the process to make Prifiti Park an official park, which was still years off.)

Calls for service sometimes interrupted the festivities, as was the case in September 1987, when a tobacco barn on North Longyard Road went up in flames as the parade was about to step off. Dressed in their best, Southwick firefighters and several visiting fire departments participating in the parade responded. They fought the massive blaze side-by-side in an impressive show of dedication and teamwork. Despite their best efforts, the fire destroyed the barn and its contents. 

The carnival's attendance numbers fluctuated over the years, but in 1952, they rebounded with an estimated 2,000 attendees on the final night. The 1956 carnival, with its expanded parade, set a new attendance record, as did 1959. The carnival had its fair share of dismal years. Organizers almost canceled it in 1994 after raising a mere $4,000 the year prior, its steepest decline since 1980. The losses resulted in organizers putting cost-cutting measures in place, some forced, some voluntarily. For example, the number of games was reduced in 1994, and officials at Riverside Park helped by steering the Fireman's Association to a supplier of stuffed animals (for game prizes), who provided them at a lower cost.

The 2012 carnival lacked a fireworks show and most of the rides. In 2013, members of the Carnival Committee, with the help of their fellow firefighters and the Southwick Fireman's Association, revived the carnival, which ran Thursday through Sunday on school grounds. Marchers from about 90 fire departments participated in the parade on Saturday night. In addition to the usual amusements, there was a car and motorcycle show. Scibelli's helicopter rides and the fireworks display were back. (2013 Carnival Committee members were Jessica Bishop, Adam Hart, and Brian Schneider.)

Sadly, 2013 was the final year of the Southwick Firemen's Carnival. 

The girls of Camp Dibble marched in the fireman's parade (as shown in 1957)

Edited Out/Author's Additional Research Notes


Before the Southwick Fireman's Carnival, the Southwick Fair Association held a mainly agricultural fair (established circa 1931), which took place most years at Consolidated School. The most popular attraction of the 1932 fair was a spectacular flower display by Gillett's Hardy Fern and Flower Farm as part of the fair's garden exhibit. (Southwick's legendary plant expert Edward Gillett died in 1931.)

Southwick firefighters initially held their carnival in July, sometimes September. Most years, the carnival occurred on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Some years, it was Friday, Saturday, and Sunday or Thursday through Sunday. The carnival typically started at 7 p.m., sometimes 8 p.m., and as early as 6:30 p.m. It would end around 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. 

The American Legion in Southwick held a carnival on Point Grove Road in the forties.

In 2003, the Southwick Firemen's Association donated $40,000 to help pay for a $120,000 ambulance. Between the donation and service fees, the ambulance purchased cost taxpayers nothing. (The new ambulance replaced the one the Association bought in 1995.)

The Southwick Fire Department had 25 members in 1948.

 Gillett's Hardy Fern and Flower Farm closed in 1946, a few years after Edward Gillett's son's death.

The Parks and Recreation Commission's budget was slashed in 2014, threatening the fireworks show.

In 1992, the Southwick Rotary Club catnapped a three-foot-tall papier-mache lion made for the Southwick Lion's Club float in the Firemen's Carnival parade. The lion, along with people (including many town officials), was put in a makeshift jail in the produce section of Big E's Supermarket to help raise bail money that would be used for charity as part of the American Cancer Society's Jail and Bail program. Those jailed would have to call friends and family to raise enough money for their release - all funds going to the American Cancer Society. About 50 "prisoners" participated in the 1992 charitable event.


Only five fire companies participated in the 1960 parade.

The 1959 carnival had a home-baked food booth. Residents were encouraged to contribute their baked goods, which would be offered for sale.

Turtle races at the 1956 carnival were a big hit. The 1965 door prizes included an electric broom, a color television, a recliner, and an electric knife.

The 1963 parade lasted about an hour and a half.

Some of the carnival's sponsors were The Summer House, Kitchens of Distinction, Village Pizzeria, Southwick Florist, Interstate Building Supply (IBS), Blossoming Acres, Pioneer Dairy, Saunders Boat Livery, Moo-Licious Farm, and Country Colonial Gift Shop.

Starting as the Fireman's Carnival, it eventually became known as the Firemen's Carnival - both names were used interchangeably.

The clambake was a separate fundraising event that sometimes coincided with the Carnival.

The 2014 Southwick Days was held Friday - Sunday.
The 2016 Southwick Days' firefighters parade went from Hudson Drive to the Southwick Recreation Center - where the carnival was held some years. (The carnival had been held on school grounds, at the Rec Center, in Prifti Park, and on the grounds surrounding the fire station.)

The school was renamed Powder Mill in 1970.


In 2016, Southwick held a firefighters parade for its Southwick Days, a four-day celebration featuring fireworks, a car show, and a grilling competition. The parade went from Hudson Drive to the Southwick Recreation Center.

The Southwick Fireman's Association held an annual picnic as early as 1939.

The Rotary Club of Southwick ran the carnival for the next few years as part of Southwick Days but canceled their sponsorship in 2017 after midway vendor Commerford Rides & Amusements decided not to participate in the community event.

Without amusement rides, the Rotary Club did not feel the carnival would have the attendance numbers needed for a successful event. Secondly, the $10,000 fireworks display price tag would generate a net loss for the small club. At the time, businessman, Rotary Club member, and Southwick Select Board Vice Chairman Joe Deedy said: "The vendor wasn't the reason this went away. Some Rotary Club members really felt they shouldn't be paying for fireworks; they felt the town should come up with the money." (Deedy was one of two Rotary Club members who voted to sponsor the carnival. He had spearheaded its continuation in 2014 following a community outcry over the Fireman's Association's cancellation of the beloved long-running event.) 

With the Rotary Club pulling its sponsorship, Deedy started forming a nonprofit organization to keep the event alive. (Deedy and Robert Fox spearheaded the fundraising efforts for the initial Southwick Days.)

Southwick Days started in 1959.

The One Call Away Foundation held a First Responders Appreciation Parade in 2017. The parade started on Hudson Drive and ended at Whalley Park, where organizers treated first responders to a cookout.

The Southwick Firemen's Carnival was one of the last surviving events of its kind in Massachusetts, if not the final.

 

 

 

 
If you enjoyed this story, please click the appropriate button below, as this helps me gauge the type of content readers like when developing future story ideas.


Shop History and more on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, the Southwick Time Machine may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.