'A big day in Cove City'

COVE CITY — Children scrambled Saturday to collect candy flung from the fire trucks and passing cars in the Cove City Fireman’s Day parade to stuff it into plastic grocery bags to take home.

The parade was one of the main draws for the 34th annual Cove City Fireman’s Day that was organized as a fundraiser for the Cove City Fire and Rescue Inc. and as a community gathering for local residents to meet, greet, eat barbecue and have a good time.

“It’s a big day in Cove City, and it always has been,” said Elinor Hawkins, a Cove City resident who has been watching the parade since its beginning 34 years ago.

Before the parade passed by, Hawkins sat in a lawn chair in a friend’s driveway with her husband Carroll Hawkins. The parade included the West Craven High School Marching Eagles and  local notables such as Craven County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jason Jones.

Hawkins explained that she loves the parade, and the barbecue sold at the fire department, and she looks forward each year to buying cakes at the bake sale.

The couple had reserved a seat in the driveway of their friend, Bertha Boyd Zirnheld, who has also been going to the parade since its beginning.

 “It’s a wonderful occasion that bonds the whole town together for a community event,” Carroll Hawkins said.

As the parade passed by, Susan Villwock’s sons Payton, 7, and Ty, 10, and their friend Morgan Wells, 8, collected the candy that was tossed into the streets.

Villwock said the children have learned to space themselves out from other children so they get a better share of loot.

“If you stand by yourself, you get all the candy,” she said, adding that the children have been watching the Fireman's Day parades each year since they were in strollers.

Tina Stilley and her mother, Wilma, also watched the parade, collecting the candy for the younger members of their family.

“We always steal a piece or two as well,” said Tina, whose first interaction with the parade was when she marched in it as a saxophone player in the West Craven band. “We come to see the parade and the livestock show and support the community as well.”

Laura Oleniacz can be reached at 252-635-5675 or at loleniacz@freedomenc.com.