'Firemen own the town'

By Ginny Privitar
GOSHEN — The Goshen Fire Department's triennial parade on Sept. 8 continues a tradition that started in 1872, tracing an arc from the little band of firefighters and officials who marched through the streets, to fiery extravaganzas that attracted many thousands, to the more intimate community float parades of more modern times.
“It was different when I was a boy," said Elmer Budd, who has served the department for 53 years. He is now Goshen's first assistant chief and chair of the Fire Parade Committee.
"The whole town would turn out, and the streets would be packed," he said. "It was a longer parade route. They marched up and down almost every street. They would have band concerts and block dancing.”
For many years, the parade was held annually. It eventually became a biennial, and now it's triennial. It's a huge undertaking, with preparations beginning a year in advance.

A modest beginning
How did the tradition start? The now-defunct Goshen Democrat describes the first fire dress parade, which took place on Oct. 14, 1872: “The Engine, Hose and Truck Companies, headed by the Goshen Cornet Band, and a carriage containing the Board of Trustees, formed in line and marched through our principal streets....Our citizens should, and we presume do, feel a just pride and deep interest in their fire department.”
The writer further anticipates that “its efficiency will be greatly augmented when our water works are completed.”
Before that, only streams and natural bodies of water supplied the hoses.

50 years: An extraordinary celebration

The Oct. 5, 1893, parade celebrating the department's 50th anniversary was memorable. The Independent Republican titled its coverage “Firemen Own the Town," noting that the old-timers who started the department must have been struck by its growth.
“Everything about it from the old bell and hand engine, the only reminders left of the department’s early days, to the magnificent carriages and trucks in the line with their glittering decorations of silver and polished brass could not failed to have drawn their attention sharply to the superiority of the modern fireman’s accessories over those of the fireman of half a century ago," the paper said.
The "modern" equipment was still horse- or member-drawn. Bunting hung everywhere.
“With few exceptions every business house, public building and private residence along the line of march was profusely and tastefully decorated and in the evening some were illuminated,” the paper continued.
Edison had perfected the electric light bulb only 14 years earlier. So imagine the thrill of an electric-light-illuminated arch erected over Grand Street in front of the St. Elmo hotel (near the site of the present post office). Carriages filled the streets, and the Erie Railroad brought even more spectators. An estimated 5,000 visitors were in the village that day.
Bands from near and far entertained the crowds throughout the day: Robinson’s Band of Paterson, N.J., performed in the evening in the park. Other bands included the Goshen Band, the Newton Band, the Clayton Band, and the Walden Band. The Goshen Independent article noted: “The Chester Military Band and the Central Valley Band, from whom little was expected, proved a surprise to all.”
The different Goshen companies — Cataract Engine and Hose, Dikeman Engine and Hose, and Minisink Hook and Ladder — met their out-of-town visiting fire departments and guests at the railroad station. Guests were later feted at lunch and at dinner at the firehouses and other locations in the village: the St. Elmo, the Orange, the Music Hall. Chief Charles E. Elliott and his assistants hosted visiting chiefs and engineers from the various companies for lunch at the Cataract rooms.
The parade started at 1:40 p.m. and ended at 3:15 p.m. The Cataracts attracted the most attention in the line of march, “being the only organization which attempted to show proficiency in drill," according to the paper.
In the evening, a beacon fire on Slate Hill, visible for miles in every direction, burned. Fireworks from the Paine Co. of New York City, purchased by Goshen resident A.E. Potter, were set off over the Driving Park, now the Historic Track. The crowd was mesmerized by fireworks with fanciful names and even more fanciful gyrations: rockets, Roman candles, two "blazing suns" centered with a revolving iris wheel, two caprice wheels "with continuous eccentric reversible mutations," two revolving wheels surmounted by a "cornet of golden orbs," flying pigeons, one jet of jewels, two golden fountains, and four exhibition pieces consisting of "especially prepared fireman’s scenes."
The grandstand and band pavilion at the Driving Park were lighted with electricity during the fireworks.

100 years: Back to basics — and an awkward moment

In the department's centennial parade on Sept. 27, 1947, Fire Chief Clarence Frazier and Former Chief and oldest marcher Ed Farrell, 80, along with his brother Tom, marched the entire parade route: four and one-tenth miles.
“Nobody stole a fire engine, as happened when the Maybrook Department was an honored guest just before the war,” said Independent Republican. Trucks, packed with riding boys and girls, “screamed and clanged around the park just before the evening concert....Yet nobody was hurt.”
Just after Chief Fraser presented trophies, a woman bumped into Dikeman fireman Harry Larkin, who then dropped the Buick Cup for the best-appearing home company. The pedestal broke upon impact with the pavement.

Up to the present
Companies from all over Orange County and beyond will participate in this year's fire parade, which will also include 12 floats. It steps off at 3 p.m.
A gear-donning contest follows at 6:15 p.m. on Erie Street, near the former jail site. Awards will be presented there at 7:30 p.m.
The Goshen Fire Department and numerous visiting fire companies, bands, and other organizations will put on an old-fashioned parade led by Captain Daniel Caplicki and his two assistant chiefs, Elmer Budd and Richard Pearson. Equipment is judged before the parade — and the judges are meticulous. Awards will be given for best-appearing unit, uniform, apparatus, engine, truck, color guard and musical unit, among other categories.
It's a chance for the community to show its appreciation. With so many ways to entertain and distract ourselves, interest in the fire parade has waned, yet their service is unchanged.
If members of the community have any fire-related memorabilia, bring it to your local fire company for scanning, or donate it, if possible.

On their best behavior
From the Cataract Engine & Hose bylaws adopted March 2, 1900:
No. 12. Any person using profane or indecent language or being in liquor near the Engine while on duty or in the Engine House; for altering, defacing or damaging the Roll, or for taking any property of the Company or equipments of the members from the Engine House shall be fined one dollar, and on a repetition of either of these offenses he may be expelled from the Company.
No. 15. Any member bringing strong or spirituous liquors into the Engine House shall be fined two dollars and be liable to expulsion at the discretion of the Company.