After Hiatus, Parade Returns to Tatamy, PA Town

It used to draw more than 50 fire engines from more than 20 departments in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The Tatamy Fire Department Parade was a tradition on or close to Independence Day every year.

For 80 years the firetrucks made the annual trek to the small Northampton County borough.

That tradition ended in 2012. It’s coming back this year for the department’s 100th anniversary.

“We’re super excited,” Tatamy Fire Department Chief Shawn McDonald said. He’s been chief since 2008.

“The borough is 100% behind us,” he said.

The rising cost of fuel for the firetrucks played a part in parade’s demise. And, reconstruction of the main bridge into town made it tough for the trucks to make it to Main Street in 2012. The bridge wasn’t ready by 2013. When 2014 rolled around, it was tough to regain momentum to restart the parade.

It didn’t help that a firefighter was charged with drunken driving after flipping over a tanker on the way to his department in the Slate Belt after the parade in 2010. The disposition of that case wasn’t listed in online court records.

As the years went by, it seemed less and less likely the parade would return.

Tatamy firefighters agreed, though, that the 100th anniversary of the department warrants something special.

“If this goes well, we’re talking about doing it again next year,” McDonald said.

Another strike against the parade was the firefighters’ carnival that followed the parade each year. Instead of raising money, the carnival started costing the company money, McDonald said. That’s been replaced this year by a block party. There will be food trucks and live music after the parade at the fire station.

The rest of the day should be like longtime Tatamy residents remember it.

“This is our 100th anniversary,” McDonald said. “We wanted to promote our past.”

It’s hard to say how many firetrucks will show up. In previous years 50 to 75 apparatus from 25 to 30 companies would participate, McDonald said. The fire department would send out hundreds of invitations. A quarter of them would be returned. Then three-quarters of the trucks invited would show up.

“We’ve never turned anybody away,” McDonald said.

The final parade route remains in flux. Main Street is a state road. The fire department and borough are negotiating with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for permission to use Main Street and temporarily shut it down as part of the parade.

The tentative route will have firetrucks stage on Commerce Lane near the Martin Guitar warehouse. The parade is expected to end at the fire station at 164 Bushkill St.

If you like loud sirens and shiny chrome, you might want to check it out.

The parade starts at 1 p.m. July 8. The block party runs from 3 to 10 p.m. at the fire station.

McDonald can’t wait.

“I hated to be the chief who shut it down. I never wanted to be that guy,” McDonald said.