PULASKI, NY – Volunteers from several Pulaski community organizations showed support for the Ringgold Volunteer Fire Department’s generous tradition, sharing the Halloween spirit with children of all ages on the evening of October 30, 2022.
Vehicles filled with costumed children lined up on Lewis Street as 6 p.m. approached and the clear evening sky began to darken. Directed onto the Pulaski’s legendary “Fireman’s Field,” also known as Dunbar Field, by student volunteers from Pulaski Academy’s National Honor Society, vehicles slowly cruised through a festively decorated route filled with costumed characters and an impressive array of scary and not so scary Halloween displays.
Small faces glowed with the colored lights cast onto the passing cars and trucks by carefully placed fixtures, and the darkening sky was filled with the sound of monsters and witches sending halloween greetings to the delighted children.
Christine Mintonye, a Pulaski Academy National Honor Society member, accumulated community service hours while she waved and greeted the loaded vehicles rolling onto the “haunted” field, and she said that it was “really fun” to participate in the evening’s festivities.
“It made me feel good to be there because the kids were really excited to come through,” Montonye said.
Ringgold VFD President Sam Parker said that preparation for the event starts several months before Halloween, with members designing the layout of the field, and coordinating with Play It Forward to begin lining up the donations that make the treats possible.
According to Parker, the month of October is a busy time for preparations. When the day arrives, the feeling is “amazing” as the cars begin to arrive.
“When the cars line up, I feel like I don’t want this to ever end…we are already thinking of next year,” Parker said.
This event showcases just one of the many ways that Pulaski’s Ringgold Volunteer Fire department serves the community, acting as a reliable supporter of the small village and surrounding rural area that it serves. Extinguishing fires and responding to vehicle accidents are just a few of the ways these dedicated community servants help to support and protect the people of Northern Oswego County.
Community activist Robin Philips helped her daughter Cassidy and other volunteers hand out goodie bags at the last stop on the route, and she spoke proudly of the way that caring people come together to make things happen, performing the unseen tasks that lie behind these events. Philips said that preparing and filling 500 bags was hard work, but that those involved give willingly of their time and never fail to come through when a need arises.
“This really is a great community,” Philips said.
As the evening cooled and the last vehicle collected goodie bags and headed home, a host of caring community members began packing up the decorations and taking off the costumes, already planning for the next celebration of the haunted season.
All photos below by Michael Johnson during the drive thru trick or treating event.
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