Volunteer fire department breathes new life into fair

The first time Gerald Mays went to the Brookville-Timberlake Volunteer Fire Department’s Fireman’s Fair, he was just a child.

The games consisted of a homemade beanbag toss and a bucket full of rubber duckies with numbers on the bottom.

Now, the 45-year-old fair — under way now through next Saturday near Brookville High School — is a much more complete carnival, with lots of rides, games and funnel cakes.

Mays, president of the Brookville-Timberlake Volunteer Fire Department, grew up to become a firefighter for the department. He took over the planning and coordination of the annual fundraiser 26 years ago, helping to carry on what is a tradition for many families.

Firefighter Keith Hudson, who co-chairs the event, has been working on the fair for the past 20 years. He said it is satisfying when families stop to tell him how much they enjoyed it.

Last year, the fair wasn’t held since the company that operated the rides backed out too late for the local folks to find someone else, Mays said. But this year, the fair is back.

“When we didn’t have the fair last year, we had several hundred calls on the answering machine asking why we didn’t have it,” Mays said. “We had to empty the answering machine every night.”

Between 5,000 and 10,000 people visit the fair each year, Mays said.

Depending on the weather, the fair raises between $6,000 and $25,000 for the fire department. Averaging about $13,000 per year, it is the department’s fourth-biggest fundraiser.

All of the money from admission and 30 percent of the ride ticket sales goes directly to the fire department, Mays said.

The fair and other fundraisers are essential to the Brookville-Timberlake fire department’s budget, which is $139,000 this year. The department receives $35,000 from Campbell County.

“It takes a lot of money to make up that difference,” Mays said. The rest comes from the fair, donation campaigns, golf tournaments, raffles and Brunswick stews.

One of Mays’ most entertaining memories of the fair is from about 12 years ago. He said the area experienced a torrential rain and water was coming down the parking lot in a river. People were scrambling to get back to their cars by climbing the hill below the parking lot.

One person would get almost to the top and lose their footing, taking out the others below.

“We just sat and laughed,” Mays said. “I can’t think of one year that it didn’t rain on us.”

Speaking of a good laugh, Mays said, try watching fair-goers race to put on the firefighters gear — an added attraction at this year’s fair.

Hudson said the fire department needs the community’s support and hopes that many will attend this year’s fair.

“Come out and have an enjoyable evening and enjoy your community fire department,” Hudson said. “We are here to support them, and we need their support. We’ve got 40 some members in the fire department ready on a moment’s call. We need the public to support us, too. It takes a lot of money to put a fire truck on the road.”

- The Fireman’s Fair runs through July 19 on the lower field off Laxton Road, just past Brookville High School. The fair opens each night at 6 p.m. and closes weekdays at 10:30 p.m. and weekends at 11:30 p.m.
- Admission is $1 per person.
- Monday through Thursday are Family Nights and an armband for unlimited rides can be purchased for $20. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays individual ride tickets are $1 and it typically takes four tickets per ride.

The annual Fireman's Fair, with a 45-year history, offers a carnival type setting while raising money to benefit the Brookville Timberlake Volunteer Fire Department.
CHET WHITE/THE NEWS & ADVANCE