THE WEST CRAVEN
HIGHLIGHT
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Fireman’s Day - -1978
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Record crowd
attends festivities
Vanceboro, N.C.-Over two
thousand people thronged
the streets of Vanceboro
during the annual Fire
man’s Day festivities Octo
ber 7. The annual parade,
which took a three mile
route, featured fire trucks
and firemen from Vance
boro and all of Craven
County. Highlighting the
parade was the West Cra
ven High School Marching
Band under the direction of
Mr. Joseph Sizemore. Also
in the parade were the Cub
Scouts, Girl Scouts, Boy
Scouts, and. two beauty
queens. I Charlene
Page, Miss DcjCA and Miss
Donna Pappas, Miss Flame
of Cove City gave a touch
of grace and beauty to the
parade. The United Taber
nacle Holiness Church and
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
both sponsored floats in the
parade. Bringing up the
rear was a fleet of motor
cycles, bicycles, and horses.
After the parade the rest of
the day was spent in fire
truck rides, games, and
eating the homemade bar
becue pork and chicken
that has made Fireman’s
Day famous. The barbecue
pork, seventeen hogs’
worth, was gone by three
o’clock forcing firemen to
purchase extra barbecue to
feed the record crowd. The
afternoon began with sev
eral gospel groups per
forming in front of the fire
station. These groups
included the Gabriels and
the Vanceboro Christian
Church Choir. Later, the
attention shifted to the
playing field where young
children and older children
participated in the egg
throw, the greasy pole
climb, the frisbee throw,
sack races, and bike races.
Soon, action shifted back to
the front of the fire station
where the First Annual
Fireman’s Auction took cen
ter stage. The Fireman’s
Auction was the culmin
ation of a month-long pro
motion by the merchants in
Vanceboro in which they
gave away over 100,000
Fireman’s Bucks to custo
mers. Auctioneer Richard
Cannon auctioned off mer-
Photo by Rick Cannon
(Photo by Tonv Gatlin)
chandise and services do
nated by the merchants.
Over 500 anxious bidders
clutching their handfulls of
Fireman’s Bucks watched a
$35 power saw bring over
5,000 “Bucks,” $5 worth of
gasoline bring over 1,000
“Bucks,” a 8-Track tape
deck bring over 4,000
“Bucks,” a $30 Camera
bring over 3,000 “Bucks,”
and a $2 meal at Vera’s
Diner bring over 900
“Bucks”. All in all about 50
diferent items brought over
43,000 Fireman’s Bucks.
Cannon announced that
Sutton’s Supermarket
would take any unspent
Fireman’s Bucks in a draw
ing for ten $25 Savings
Bonds to be given away
December 23rd. Raleigh
Ipock was the winner of the
drawing for the black&
white T.V.
Photo by Rick Cannon
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More Fireman’s Day photos Page 5
Photos by Tony Gatlin
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