For many, the annual Strawberry Festival held at the Brandywine Hospital marks the unofficial start to summer in addition to Memorial Day. After a two-year break, another Strawberry Festival is in the books for Thorndale Fire Company. The volunteers for the fire company spend many hours preparing for this event by retrieving the needed equipment such as portable light towers, message boards and trailers that hold the many cones and barriers needed for this event. Several members spent a large portion of their Memorial Day Weekend traveling throughout Chester County in order to retrieve the needed equipment.

About 20 members gathered on Memorial Day to begin setting up the fields in which the patrons of the festival would park. In just a few short hours all the fields were setup, and we were ready for another year. Our weekly training night on Wednesday June 1st was used to finish up any preparations before the festival begin Thursday.

As Thursday came it was time to get to work. Thursday brought some rainy weather early. Volunteers had to think quick on their feet to ensure cars would not get stuck in the fields due to wet grounds. Friday brought nicer weather and a very steady stream of cars. Friday night is always a busy night for the festival but also for Thorndale Fire Company. The Friday night fireworks were a huge success and that could be seen by the number of vehicles in the lots.

Once again on Saturday there was always a line of cars waiting to park! Our volunteers did a fantastic job and made it possible to continue to park the line of cars waiting to come in. The weekend ended on Sunday with another steady day. As some volunteers collected money, directed traffic and parked cars, others were working on cleaning everything up before the evening ended. It was a great weekend that required a lot of hard work and a lot of hours by all.

During these five days, it’s imperative that the volunteers stay hydrated, fed and healthy. Squad 38 drove around constantly handing out drinks and food to those collecting money and parking cars. Without the help of some of the gracious donors, we would not have been able to provide our volunteers with the needed food and beverages throughout the weekend. The words “thank you” hardly seem enough. Thanks to these businesses and friends of the fire company, we were able to make sure the volunteers had enough to drink, eat and stay healthy during the long weekend with their gracious donations!

Belfor Property Restoration
BJ's Wholesale Club, Downingtown
Caln Pizza and Pasta, Thorndale
Chuck Kramer
Colonial Hyundai
Crops Market
Giant, Thorndale
Lisa Groff
Lori Grier, Caldwell Banker Realty
Lucky Pets Pet Sitting
Pizza Box, Thorndale
Primo Hoagies
Tiffany Manni
Walmart, Exton
Wawa Store #8011
Wawa Store #8098
Wings to Go
Wegmans, Downingtown

In addition to those generous donors, we would like to thank the following Chester County Fire Companies for providing coverage to Caln Township while we were committed to the festival.

West Whiteland Fire Company
Honey Brook Fire Company
Po-Mar-Lin Fire Company
Ludwigs Corner Fire Company
Goodwill of West Chester

Photos courtesy of Fire Police Captain Jim Mostyn and Fire Police Officer John Sciandra