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MADISON-ANSON DAYS: Event boasts parade, Firemen's Muster

By Scott Monroe smonroe@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

MADISON -- Before the competition started Saturday afternoon, team captain Lacey Erikson passed around a "lucky" acorn for the junior firefighters to kiss.

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GO-KART GO: The Kora Temple shows off stunt go-kart driving during the Madison-Anson Days parade in downtown Madison on Saturday morning.

Staff photo by Michael G. Seamans

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"We have an advantage no other team has," the 18-year-old Erikson said, giggling. "The acorn!"

Lucky for them, it worked. The "Explorer" team of junior firefighters from Madison and Anson emerged victorious among five teams during the 7th annual Fireman's Muster, held as part of the Madison-Anson Days celebration at the junior high school. The festivities also featured a parade in the morning and food and activities at the junior high school grounds.

The firefighters from Madison, Anson and Fairfield competed in three timed events over the course of two hours on the football field, laughing it up and tiring themselves out in front of crowds of spectators.

Before the competition started, though, firefighters held a moment of silence in memory of Donna Lightbody, 63, a Madison resident who died earlier this month. She was president of the Madison Fire Department Auxiliary and her husband, Roger, is the town's fire chief.

Her son, Jody Lightbody, the deputy fire chief, said his mother always helped out at the muster event and will be missed.

For the firefighters, though, the Fireman's Muster is all about enjoyment, Jody Lightbody said.

"Firefighters do service all year and this is their time to have fun," he said. "It's all about fun."

Erikson agreed, as she and her team waited to compete.

"Everyone comes together and cheers everyone on," she said. "It's an event we look forward to all year."

For the first "dry hose" event, firefighters raced across the field and assembled the four stations of the hose as quickly as possible, from the fire hydrant to two connecting couplings to the water nozzle. The Explorer team won that event with a time of 23 seconds.

Next came the "wet hose" event in which the firefighters had to assemble the hose and then spray the water at a small target and knock it over. Anson team No. 2 won that event with a time of 22 seconds.

Finally came the "mystery" event, which proved to be a dizzying affair. Teams laid out their firemen's gear in piles -- pants, jacket, boots, helmet and gloves -- and began at a starting line beside baseball bats. Firefighters had to place their hands and head on an upright bat and spin around in circle in between mad dashes to the piles, putting on one article at a time.

The crowds erupted in laughter as many firefighters emerged from their spins unable to walk straight -- or at all. The Explorer team won that event in two minutes, 28 seconds.

"This is hilarious," said Anson firefighter Carl Light, after finishing the event. "It's tougher than it looks. You start spinning around and you get up and it's disorientating."

When the final results were tallied, there was a first-ever tie among two teams -- the Explorer and Anson team No. 2. To break the tie, organizers added up the cumulative seconds each team took in the events, and the Explorer team came out on top, 217 seconds to 224.

First place winners get the Walter Hayden Memorial Plaque -- named after a former Madison fire chief -- which lists the previous event winners.

Scott Monroe -- 861-9239

smonroe@centralmaine.com