Effingham NH’s ‘Fireman’s Field Day’ Remembered

When I was about five years old, this event was like Las Vegas, The Olympics and Christmas Day all rolled into one, in a magical NH town in Carroll County.

Effingham's 'Fireman's Field Day' was scheduled on a Saturday in the middle of July as two separate events in two separate locations, one in the early afternoon and the other in the evening.

The day event featured Olympic style competitions between two teams of fire fighters.

Honestly, the only one that my faded memory has held onto was a hydrant drill.

Each team would have to assemble a hose that was in unattached segments across a field and after a set amount of time, the hydrant was turned on full blast. If the hose wasn't hooked up properly, the results were hilarious.

At night the festivities would happen outside the fire house in Center Effingham. There was a dunking booth, a couple of small rides that I thought were amazing at the time, and carnival games.

I can remember a Wheel Of Fortune game that resembled a roulette wheel in which you would put a dime on whatever number and then they'd spin the wheel.

I swear the first time I played it, I WON. I put a dime on the Number 5 and sure enough, beginner's luck shined through. To this very day, I still load up Number 5 on every roulette bet I make because of it.

Checking out the firehouse now on the Googler, it looks pretty much exactly as I remember it, but sadly, any references to Fireman's Field Day cannot be found anywhere.

Without fail every Saturday in the middle of July, I always feel like it's still going on and I'm missing out!