For the community: Princeton holds seventh annual Community Day
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on June 3, 2017 4:17 PM
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Harper, 5, and Paisley, 4, Grantham brush a miniature horse in a petting area at Princeton Community Day Saturday.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Harper, 5, and Paisley, 4, Grantham brush a miniature horse in a petting area at Princeton Community Day Saturday.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Olivia Sears, 7, climbs onto a saddle as she prepares to ride one of the horses from Creekside Equestrian Center during Princeton Community Day Saturday.
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Several emergency response and display helicopters were an attraction at Princeton Community Day Saturday. Helicopter rides were also available for people who wanted to get a look at the event from the sky.
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Mr. Pig throws a softball at the St. Patrick's Masonic Lodge 617 fundraising booth during Princeton Community Day Saturday.
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Hailey Keller, 12, reacts to the weight of the same gun her older brother carries in the Army during Princeton Community Day Saturday. Also pictured is Airman First Class Adam Barnard from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and Chris Keller, Hailey's father.
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Lauren McLeod, second from left, pretends the be a victim during a demonstration with the Princeton Fire Department Saturday during Princeton Community Day. The demonstration showed how firefighters would have to rescue the victim of a wreck in they were entrapped and injured.
Hundreds came together at Princeton Elementary School Saturday morning, as the town held its seventh annual Community Day event.
With the theme "Honoring Our Military," the event brought together a group of military personnel from the past and the present, teaching about America's military history and highlighting its ongoing efforts.
Set apart from the inflatable obstacles and dozens of craft and food vendors, five helicopters set up in a field in front of the school. Two of them came in on a truck, Vietnam-era birds looked after by the N.C. Vietnam Helicopter Pilot's Association.
Ed Hughes, an association member, sat in the shade of an OH6 Layuse scout helicopter. The two-seater machine was used to survey enemy positions, with one pilot and either a co-pilot or observer sitting in the cramped cockpit.
"We would get in, find the bad guys, mark their positions and then get the heck out of the way," Hughes said.
As kids clambered in and out of the seats, Hughes explained that the association takes the helicopter, and the other Vietnam-era aircraft sitting behind it, around the country to air shows and special events. They have attended the presidential inauguration, Wings Over Wayne air show and dozens more occasions, with a busy schedule still to come this year.
Hughes said bringing the helicopters to events like the community day is part of a broader mission.
"We have to educate kids about the aircraft themselves, and for those who are old enough to ask we educate them about what we did in Vietnam," he said. "They don't teach that stuff in school."
On the other side of the field, several teams from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base set up demonstrations. Military Working Dogs and their handlers sat in the shade waiting for their moment, while the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team showed off their F6 bomb disposal robot. Made by Remotech, the quarter-million dollar robot is equipped with a manipulating claw, multiple cameras and a small shotgun used to blow open containers. Senior Airman Zackery Logan called it the go-to tool for bomb disposal. He also described the lengthy training process operators must go through, including nearly two years of high-attrition programs before they are even qualified to begin.
"Even after we're qualified, we still train all the time," he said. "We have to train at least 24 hours a week. That most of what our job is, to train."
Near 11:00 a.m., hardly an hour after the festival opened, the attendees were already flooding in. The Princeton Elementary Melody Maker's choir had just finished its set, and event organizer Kary Jones was happy with how things were going.
"We've had no major hiccups," she said. "For the time of day, this is a great turnout."