June 2, 1994

Everything's coming up berries

       There’s more to a strawberry festival than strawberries. Ask Joel Thacker, prevention and public education specialist for the White River Fire Department.  Thacker is coordinating the food and games for the White River Township Strawberry Festival Saturday and Sunday at Pleasant Grove Elementary School, 5199 W. Fairview Road in White River Township. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days.  This is the second year for the festival, which began last year with just 50 gallons of strawberries. “They went very quickly,” Thacker said. He estimates about 2,500 people attended last year, and this year he expects twice as many.  To accommodate the expected crowd, Chuck Hagedon, a firefighter for White River and Warren townships who is in charge of the food for the festival, has ordered 500 to 750 gallons of fresh strawberries.  The strawberries are washed, sliced, and stemmed, Hagedon said. They’re also packed in syrup and ready to go.  They’ll be served on sponge cake with Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.  And that’s not all.  For the kiddies and the young at heart, there also will be pizza, hot dogs and popcorn, plus ice cream cones and frozen yogurt.  And there’s more. The White River Township Jaycees will have carnival games for kids, and sell popcorn and balloons; the Center Grove Optimists will sell beaver tails; and the White River Township, Greenwood and Bargersville fire departments will engage in some friendly combat.  The three fire departments will engage in car extraction contests and combat challenges.  The contests will pit firefighter teams, dressed in full gear, in contests on an obstacle course.  There they will have to perform firefighting techniques — such as climbing a ladder with a “high rise pack” that contains a hose, climbing up and down a ladder with a 100-pound dummy and pulling a hose up a tower. The Greenwood Fire Department will give snorkel rides.  And antique buffs will not be disappointed.  Thacker has arranged for antique fire equipment and two or three old fire engines that still work to be on display.  Popular crash dummies Vince and Larry, who demonstrate on television commercials how important it is to wear seat belts, will greet visitors.  On the more serious side, the Indiana Regional Blood Center will have a blood draw.  The Johnson County chapter of the American Red Cross will show off its new disaster van, purchased from Myers Ambulance Service and painted and modified to hold supplies.  The WRT Fire Department will hand out smoke alarms to any family without one.  Smoke alarms also will be for sale to families who already have one, Thacker said. There also will be demonstrations on how to use a fire extinguisher.  A booth will be set up with information on the 911 emergency number. “We still get calls on the old number and it takes more time,” Thacker said.  Food will be served under tents with tables and chairs for visitors to rest and eat. All activities will be held outdoors. There is no rain date, Thacker said.  Prices are nominal and the proceeds go to the fire department for educational programs and to update equipment.  Strawberry shortcake costs $2.50 and pizza $1.  Although the festival is a fund-raiser, there is another reason for the festival, Thacker said.  “We really want to draw together in a place where the community can come and see us, so they get to know us,” Thacker said.  “Especially since the area is growing so rapidly.”  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)

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