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A DreAm Come True Firefighters convention will be held in Jermyn By Christopher Cornell
ADVAntAGe eDitor
The 114th Six-County Firemen’s Convention will be held this year in Jermyn. It’s a great honor, but it’s also the fulfillment of a dream. The Crystal Fire Co. No. 1 of Jermyn is the official host of the convention, which will take place Thursday through Saturday, June 22-24. They are being assisted by the Artisan Hose Co. of Jermyn, as well as William Walker Hose Co. of Mayfield. The convention will be held in Lackawanna County for the first time in almost 50 years, and it is happening in honor of one of their own: Mark Coons. Coons was+a past president of the association, and his dream was to bring a firemen’s convention to his hometown of Jermyn. Unfortunately, he never saw that dream come true, because Coons died in 2011. After Coons’ death, his brother and sister firefighters have been working to make that dream a reality.
In the association’s 114 years, only three other Lackawanna County communities have ever hosted the convention and there hasn’t been one in Lackawanna County since 1971. The first convention took place in 1904, though the group was then known as the Four-County Firemen’s Association. Montour and Northumberland Counties were later admitted and it became the Six-County Firemen’s Association. Seven Lackawanna County firefighters led the organization as president. Among them were Walter Sawchak of Olyphant; Thomas Campbell, who was a fire chief for 16 years in Carbondale; H. Sylvester Davies, a longtime member of Wilson Hose Co. of Peckville; and Coons. Over the years, only Dunmore (three times), Carbondale (three times) and Peckville (once) have served as host to the convention in Lackawanna County. Each time, the convention brought large number of firemen and visitors to the area. This year’s convention should see not only fire companies from the Association’s members, but also companies from all over northeastern Pennsylvania as well as New Jersey. A number of New Jersey companies have become fixtures at the annual conventions. This year’s convention will open on
Get Grillin'
Thursday, June 22, with a delegate dinner at Saint John’s Hall in neighboring Mayfield. On Friday, delegate meetings will be held at the William Walker Hose Co. in Mayfield while the annual memorial service will take place at the First United Methodist Church in Jermyn. All these meetings are closed to the public. But the picnic on Friday night on the grounds of Artisan Hose Co., 20 Maple St. in Jermyn, will be open to the pubklic and admission is free. There will be food, beverages and entertainment from 5 p.m. to midnight. A basket raffle will be held, with proceeds benefiting the Mark Coons Scholarship Fund. Saturday’s big event is the annual parade. Vehicle registration will take place at the William Walker Hose Co., with judging afterward. The parade will begin at 2 p.m. and travel from Mayfield through Jermyn, ending at the picnic grounds on Maple Street. That evening’s festivities are also open to the public and admission is free. Food, beverages and entertainment will be available until midnight. Awards will be presented around 5 p.m. Almost 100 hundred awards will be presented. Jim Allan of the Crystal Fire Co., who is the chairman for the convention, and who knew Coons, said if Coons were around today, “he’d be tickled pink that this is happening. He’d be tearing his hair out like I am, getting everything organized, but hopefully he’d be a little more organized than I am.” For more information, visit 58fire. com, the Crystal Fire Co. No. 1 and Jermyn/Mayfield 6 County Convention
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Mark Coons had long dreamed of bringing the convention to his home town of Jermyn.
Facebook pages. Or call 570-906-9266 or at ladder58engine@yahoo.com. James Allan and Joe Klapatch provided much historical information for this article.
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