By: Gavin Schweiger, Follow South Jersey Community Journalist
GIBBSBORO, N.J. – On Sunday, October 5, the Gibbsboro Fire Auxiliary held an event for the beginning of the 2nd annual scarecrow building competition at the Gibbsboro Fire Company.
The event provided scarecrow frames and some materials, but encouraged families, organizations and other eventgoers to bring materials and their creativity. It kicked off the competition which will last two weeks.
People built their scarecrows with all kinds of clothing, costumes, and other materials. Some notable scarecrows built so far include one based off Rosie the Riveter and one that is Christmas themed among others.
The event was both a fundraiser for the fire department and a way to get the community to come together, according to Auxiliary president Marianne Colavita.
“Any kind of event we have here, a lot of these events that we do have been going on for years, long before my time. And just keeping those traditions going is nice,” Colavita said. “It’s nice to get out and just do something, get to know your neighbors.”
Fire department captain Barry Rothberg also enjoys hosting local events.
“To bring the community down so they can actually see the station, see the trucks, talk to the members that are here. So, we get face to face with the community members,” Rothberg said.
A part of hosting community events is recruitment. Given that the department is entirely volunteer based, and around 100 years old, recruitment is a vital part of keeping it going.
“We need to try to get some newer fresh blood in to try to keep this going,” Rothberg said. “We do a lot for this town, and we don’t want to see us disappear, as our sign says, we don’t want to become a memory.”
Eventgoers Tatiana Drogat and Robert Bermudez brought their kids to build a scarecrow. While they said they could have used more “child participation,” they enjoyed building and spending time out, nonetheless.
“Something different to do, other than the norm,” Bermudez said. “You know, when’s the last time you ever made a scarecrow? I can’t remember. I’ve probably never made a scarecrow before.”
People built their scarecrows in the warm sunset and put them up against the station. The scarecrows now stand in Cricket Field, where they were judged by public vote.
At the end of the day, getting families out and doing things together was a main goal of the event.
“It’s nice to see our parking lot full. And it gets them more comfortable with coming out to your local fire company for things,” Colavita said. “A lot of people don’t realize all the stuff that we do here. So, it’s nice to bring them out and it’s just nice to see them all come out and work together.”
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