Earleigh Heights Carnival in Severna Park

On Friday, I went to the Earleigh Heights Fire Company carnival.  The summer carnival allows the firefighters and community to connect with te under happier circumstances than when they usually meet. And it's part of a money-raising package that funds the $300,000 to $400,000 annual budget. The county contributes about $50,000 a year, according to fire company Treasurer Ken Walker. The company still runs weekly bingo games -- long the staple of fire station fundraising nationwide -- and hosts bull roasts, shrimp roasts and pit beef highway stands. The company rents its building for parties and its yard to Christmas tree sellers. It also sends an annual mailing to the community for direct donations.

"We own everything in here but the ambulance," Weitzell said. "We buy our own equipment. It's always up to date. We don't let it deteriorate."

The carnival, though, is the fundraiser that touches the widest range of people.

Within minutes of opening Monday night, the kiddie rides were under way, with cars, helicopters, dragons and bears ferrying the littlest carnival-goers in circles. The Ferris Wheel, Zipper and Street Fighter were under way with older kids, although most of the teens arrived closer to sunset.

Although a concessionaire runs the rides and game booths, the fire company operates everything under a red-and-white tent -- mostly gaming booths and food -- stuff like a $3.75 clam platter, a $4 sausage with peppers and onions and a $6 crab cake meal. The company lets the concession company prepare funnel cakes and those Oreo delicacies -- because they're no fun to make and too good to miss, said Michael Sohn, president of the fire company.

For Sohn, vice president Charlie Disney, Demasky and dozens of others, the fire company is a home away from home. Many have full-time jobs but spend up to 40 hours a week at the station. For Sohn, firefighting is a family affair -- his wife, Pat, and daughter, Nicole, 20, help with the auxiliary, and his son, Bryan, 26, fights fires for another station.

They all enjoy the carnival, which runs from seven to 10 days and engages all the official volunteers and other friends of the station.

Weitzell remembers the early days of the carnival -- it's been part of the Earleigh Heights tradition for 28 years. "Back then, all the tents were two-by-fours with a piece of plastic over them. We had a dunking booth, but the rides were nothing like now."

Fortunately, these types of carnivals -- and the volunteer companies they support -- show no sign of drifting toward extinction.