TOWN OF ULSTER COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Dozens of departments take part in Ulster County Volunteer Firefighters Association Parade

TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. » Tripp Bruhn sat on the curb in front of the Ulster County Business Resource Center on U.S. Route 9W and waved at the procession of fire gleaming firetrucks, firefighters decked out in their dress uniforms and marching bands marched by.

The toddler’s parents, James and Bridget Bruhn, of Kingston, said they learned of the Ulster County Volunteer Firefighters Association Parade through Facebook and signs around the community and decided to come

out and show their support for the volunteers who keep Ulster County’s communities safe.

“They do a lot for us,” said Bridget. “We’ figured (the parade) is something different

we decided to come out and support them.”

The parade, the culmination of the Ulster County Volunteer Firefighters Association annual convention, gives volunteers the opportunity to put their departments on display and for the community to show their support for the men and women who help others

in their time of need.

“Everyone that does this, we’re all volunteers,” said Samatha Riley, 14-year member of the Modena Fire and Resue Squad and an assistant chief of the rescue squad. “Today, we get together to celebrate what we love together.”

For Ed Mackey Jr., a safety officer with the Milton

Fire Department, being a volunteer firefighter is “a generational thing.

The 51-year-old said he is a third generation firefighter, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.

Taking part in the annual parade, he said, is both a source of camaraderie and pride.

“It’s the camaraderie of being with other firefighters and to show how proud we are to serve the communities of Ulster County,” he said. “They see us under times they don’t necessarily want to see us. This gives us the opportunity to show them the good days.”

The 84th annual parade featured representatives

from at least 41 of the 50 volunteer fire departments in Ulster County, as well as marching bands and pipe and drum corps from throughout the area.

The parade is held in a different Ulster County community each year. Last year’s was in Milton. Next year, the parade will be held in Highland.

TANIA BARRICKLO—DAILY FREEMAN Gina Marino of Marlboro waves a flag firefighters during the Ulster County Volunteer Firefighters Association Parade Saturday afternoon as the parade marches by along Boice’s Lane in the town of Ulster, the location for this year’s parade. Seated with her are friends Sarah Wohlrab, left, and her sister Emily, 13, rear, whose father Timothy Wohlrab is a volunteer firefighter in Marlboro. In the foreground is Marino’s daughter Madylan, 14.