Days Gone By - Fireman’s Clambake
They say it takes a village, and this was pretty close. First, our thanks to everyone who assisted on this feature, especially Frank and Rosemarie Chew, and Lynn Schwartz and Kevin Scarpa. The Fireman’s Clambake was a summer tradition in Avalon every August for probably more than 30 years. It’s said to have gotten its start on July 22, 1963 as part of the Avalon Fire Department’s 50th anniversary celebration. There was a week of celebration events. The first clambake took place on Saturday, at the Black Eagle. It was so successful in its initial form, that it moved in 1964 to its permanent home on the parking lot at 30th Street, and at that point became an annual fundraising event for the fire company. The firemen apparently shopped local: The clams came from Shute’s Fish Market (later to be Sylvester’s). And the corn was grown at Conover’s Farm in Green Creek. Half-chickens, Coca-Cola and cold draft beer rounded out the menu. All the cooking took place on a long cinder-block pit that was built by the members of the fire company (shown here) with chickens already roasting. The firemen also went out to Conover’s the day before the clambake to shuck ears of corn right in the field (shown here). And for those old enough to remember, in its later years the firemen promoted the clambake with a series of signs inbound and outbound on Avalon Boulevard: Live Longer … Love Longer ... Be Sure to Make … The Fireman’s Clambake. A different time, but great memories.
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