Fire Engine Muster brings out visitors

Kevin Wang couldn’t wait to climb into the driver’s seat of the 1934 Sanford fire engine.

The five-year-old from Catskill just loves fire trucks.

So when his parents, Bing Bin and Jian Wang spotted the fire trucks lining Fair Street in Uptown Kingston Saturday for the 14th annual Antique Fire Engine Muster and Show, sponsored by the Volunteer Firemen’s Hall and Museum, they knew they had to stop by.

“He’s always fantasizing about fire engines, so this is great,” said Wang, the boy’s father. “He says when he grows up, he wants to be a transformer and transform into a fire engine.”

The trio were among dozens of enthusiasts checking out the fire trucks and fire apparatus on display as part of the yearly fundraiser for the Volunteer Firemen’s Hall and Museum, located in the old Wiltwyck Firehouse at 265 Fair St.

Three-year-old Hunter Ferrante, the son of Laura and Jonathan Ferrante, of New Jersey, also took a turn behind the wheel of the vintage fire truck, not even waiting to don the fire helmet his mom tried to put on his head.

“We didn’t even know this was going on,” said Laura Ferrante. She said her family — who are vacationing at Hunter Mountain — stumbled upon event after taking a ride on the Catskill Mountain Railroad at Kingston Plaza nearby.

“We came down and rode the railroad, then we were getting lunch and we saw this,” she said.

Viviana Sarli, 8, of Highland, was in Kingston with her grandmother, Rosaria Peplow, her younger brother Christopher and her cousin, Hudson Peplow.

“We always come every year, said Viviana. “We like to support the firemen.”

In addition to giving visitors the opportunity to check out the fire apparatus, the event featured a 50-50 raffle and silent auction of items like a fire truck pedal car as well as baskets filled with merchandise donated by area businesses to raise funds, and the museum was open throughout the day for tours.

“This is to get the community to come in and see what we have,” said Bill Knowles, president of the Volunteer Firemen’s Hall and Museum.

In addition to raising funds for the museum, Knowles said the muster can help recruit a new generation to firefighting.

PATRICIA DOXSEY — DAILY FREEMAN Chloe Hyneman, 7, of Kingston and Kevin Wang, 5, of Catskill sit in one of the fire trucks on display during Saturday’s Antique Fire Engine Muster and Show in Kingston. Hyneman is the daughter of Jaime Hyneman. Wang is the son of Bing Bin and Jian Wang.

Hunter Ferrante, 3, of New Jersey rings the bell on a fire truck at the Antique Fire Engine Muster and Show. He is the son of Laura and Jonathan Ferrante.