Clambake rounds out schedule of Dartmouth fire district fundraisers

A decades-old tradition had a slight break in timing, letting many firefighters and the community enjoy two days of feasts for a cause.

Normally held on the first Sunday after Labor Day, this year’s Fire District No. 2 clambake ran slightly later owing to a wedding many firefighters attended that day. It pushed the clambake back a weekend, but nearly 200 people still made it out to support the Russells Mills Engine Company and enjoy a clam dinner.

“We changed the whole clambake around because the whole fire department was at the wedding,” said Greg Edgecomb, a captain at the department.

Edgecomb explained the engine company, a nonprofit organization, helps support the department by fundraising to buy new equipment, fund scholarships for Dartmouth students, and donates money to charitable causes.

In addition to a fundraising aspect, it’s also a community event too.

“It’s a community event basically, the Fairhaven fire chief is here, retired fire chiefs from Dartmouth are here, Prudential Committee members, other town officials,” Edgecomb said. “They all come down, it’s nice.

Overseeing the signature clams was bakemaster Ken Gidley, a District No. 2 firefighter. He’s been serving up clams for years, a service he also offers to various backyard clambakes and for friends. For District No. 2’s clambake, he oversaw 11 bushels of clams.

Many of the same faces who attended a pig roast on September 15 for District No. 3 were also present at the clambake, including firefighters and leaders past and present from all three of Dartmouth’s fire districts.