AVFD to Participate in 2014 Memorial Day Parade

The Town of Avon’s Annual Memorial Day Parade will be held on May 26, 2014 at 11:00 a.m.
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The parade will proceed from the entrance of Sperry Park (100 Simsbury Road) south on Simsbury Road, stopping at the Avon Center Cemetery (behind the Avon Congregational Church) for a brief ceremony. The parade will then continue to the intersection of West Main Street (Route 44) and turn right onto West Main Street. The parade will continue west to the intersection of Ensign Drive and turn right onto Ensign Drive. Continuing north along Ensign Drive, the parade will pass the Town Green and end at the parking area adjacent to the Marriott Hotel, just past the Town Green. Spectators are encouraged to use the sidewalks on Simsbury Road and West Main Street to view the parade and motorists are asked to seek alternate routes.

In addition to its Fire Police Truck 6 and Color Guard, the Avon Volunteer Fire Department (AVFD) will have its Engine 3 in the parade. Engine 3 is the AVFD’s 1938 Mack Fire Pumper, the third of 184 Model 80 Mack Pumpers built in 1938-1939. It was delivered new to the Mystic (Connecticut) Fire Department (B.F. Hoxie Engine Co. 1) in December 1938. Mack was destroyed by a fire in the Mystic firehouse in 1945. Later that year, the AVFD purchased Mack for $1,000 and restored the vehicle. Mack served in both Avon Center (Co. 1) and Secret Lake (Co. 2) before being removed from “front line” status in 1974 and restored again for use in parades and other public appearances.