The Gerry 5 Muster: A Blast from the Past

Hometown pride, antique firefighting machines and a sparkling late-summer day combined to make the finale of the handtub season a real corker.

Event organizer Erik Smith said the first and last musters of the season draw the biggest crowds.

Saturday's crowd was big at Reynolds Playground in Marblehead. Some 500 people heard bells, bagpipes and shouts accompanying thumping handtubs powered by shoulders and arms of 40-45 team members. 

The brass, wood and steel machines rolled out with pride and got hearty applause, each team hopeful they would throw longest stream of water.

Marblehead's teams pumped out long streams.

Marblehead Gerry 5 took first in the Class B division, streaming 188 feet 10 1/4 inches; and the Class A Okommakamesit from Marblehead came in second, streaming 220 feet 1 3/4 inches.

Allan MacMillan of Gerry 5 was exhilarated. The Salem State student was among team members celebrating by the tub of water that fed the machines' pumps.

Allan and a teammate willingly went under, getting dunked in the tub.

Erik Smith said it was a perfect day — to be capped off with a free fish fry at the Gerry 5 VFW in Marblehead.