Berlin Fireman's Festival: Another Successful Year
By Denice Rovira Hazlett
July 20, 2011
336
Summary: The unique activities at this year's Berlin Fireman's Festival had young people climbing the walls and jumping for joy.
Little Brent Miller hung upside-down, suspended thirty feet in the air above a crowd of thousands, but not a person, including young Miller, seemed alarmed. In fact, he was pretty thrilled to be up there, flipping, flipping, flipping, head over heels on the elastic bands of Steve Yoder's amazing flying machine, the sights and sounds of Berlin's Fireman's Festival alternating with his view of the bright blue sky.
"We take the machine out about every weekend, mostly to benefits, family reunions and company picnics" said Yoder, pausing every few seconds to grab a dangling child by their ankles, yank them low, and send them sailing toward the sky. "Some children aren't afraid of heights, so they just flip all over the place," Yoder laughed, unwinding a set of the thick bungees while the next young jumper waited eagerly.
Yoder's bungee contraption, a giant inflatable slide, and a rock climbing wall were just a few of the many attractions that drew lines of eager customers at last Saturday's Fireman's Festival, an annual celebration that gives both the community and East Holmes Fire and EMS department a chance to show their mutual appreciation.
According to East Holmes EMS Assistant Chief Steve Miller, who spent a large portion of the evening tying bright red helium balloons to the wrists of giggly children, the Berlin Fireman's Festival operated as Pioneer Days for several decades. When that gathering discontinued, East Homes Fire and EMS took it over and has been growing it ever since. When asked how many people were in attendance, Miller gazed out from under the information tent onto the sea of people.
"We've never come up with a number, but I'll tell you this; we made 2,100 halves of chicken, and they've been all for quite a while. With all of the other food that's available," said Miller, referring to the snow cones, fresh cut fries and sausage sandwiches at the brightly-lit food booths, "we estimate about half of the people buy chicken. So do we know how many people are here? No. Are there 3,000 or more? I'd say that would be a good guess."
Miller attributed the incredible crowd to the unwavering support of the county's people.
"There's amazing support from these folks. You don't have this level of support unless you have the kind of people we do in this community," said Miller.
Miller explained that the festival is their way of showing how much they value that support.
"We recognize it and try to make sure that we show our appreciation, that we train hard and have the best, cleanest equipment possible."
Young Brianna Stoneburner approached Miller, asking for an uninflated balloon. "We have a long car ride ahead of us," explained the girl's aunt, Christine Yost, who said that three generations had made the two-hour trek from Fairfield County to attend the festival.
"It's a family tradition that we have attended every year for the past fourteen years. My dad was a Fairfield County firefighter for 17 years and our festival was a big thing down home," said Yost, adding that the family especially loved seeing the department's Tower 8 extended 100 feet in the air. Her daughter, Tamika Baker, 16, enjoyed watching the firefighters' water battles.
"We get a lot of out-of-town visitors," said Steve Miller. "Some people come for the fireman's water competition, and some people just like to sit and listen to music all evening. There are enough different things here to enjoy that there's something for everyone."
As the sun went down, the activities, including Steve Yoder's magnificent bungee machine, closed for the night to allow everyone to focus on the fireworks display, which drew several hundred more people to the hillside behind Berlin Elementary.
As the last boom sounded, the crowd erupted in thunderous applause, and the streets of Berlin began to fill with people of all ages and every sort of transportation, from bicycles and buggies to motorcycles and minivans, a vivid reminder of just how diverse this supportive community really is.
"It really is an amazing community," said Miller. "And the whole purpose of this event is to let them know how much we appreciate them."
