Provincial honours for local volunteers
In the early 1960s, Len Hershberger would regularly offer his bartender skills to the Stamford Centre Volunteer Firemen’s Association during social events held at the fire hall.
He didn’t officially join the service club until 1967.
“Members would be called out to fight fires back then. I joined right after they quit fighting fires…I’m afraid of heights,” the 85-year-old said with a laugh.
Flash forward five decades, and the Niagara Falls resident remains a familiar face at SCVFA events.
He was recently recognized for his 50 years of volunteerism with an Ontario Volunteer Service Award.
Fellow SCVFA member William Pool also received a 50-year recognition award.
When Hershberger first joined the association, members would meet at the fire hall on Longhurst Avenue.
“I was looking for something to do outside of work,” he said. “I knew some of the guys because I worked with them, and I always went to their carnival, so I signed up.”
One of his first duties as a club member was running the hamburger stand at the carnival. He’s held that position every year since.
Why hamburgers?
“It rhymes with Hershberger,” he replied with a smile.
He estimates he and his wife Ruth peel and chop hundreds of pounds of onions each year during the popular carnival.
A few years after Hershberger joined the club, the association acquired what is now known as Firemen’s Park, a 135-acre natural park on the Bruce Trail in the city’s north end.
“There are a lot of activities here and many things people can get involved with,” he said.
For Hershberger, he helps out with the Twilight Tuesday and Blues in the Park concert series as well as the upcoming Easter Egg hunt.
“I’ll basically do anything they ask me to do, except climb ladders,” he said.
The Ontario Volunteer Service Awards ceremony was held Monday at Club Italia.
Niagara had 117 residents honoured at the event including Wallace Cutts, recognized for 35 years with the 6th Niagara Scout Group; John Burtniak, 50 years with the Lundy’s Lane Historical Society; and Brunetta Sutherland, for 50 years with Girl Guides of Canada, Ontario Council, Community 10.
The awards recognize people who have put in from five to 65 years of continuous service with an organization.