One of the first calls I responded to when I joined the Brewster Fire Department (BFD) occurred during the latter part of 1976. It was early in the morning and almost the entire community was asleep. The structure reported to be on fire was Kobacker's Supermarket on North Main Street. Someone had called it into the Sheriff's Office. There was an orange glow in the rear of Kobackers. The Chief and responding fire apparatus arrived and reported that Kobacker's was not actually on fire. There was a ""Blood Moon" behind Kobacker's casting a shadow making it appear that Kobacker's was aglow.(Photos #7 & 8). Once the neighboring fire departments heard of the incident, we were called the MOONMEN OF BREWSTER for several years. Our fellow fire department on Long Island, Lynbrook, made T-shirts for members of the department displaying a caricature of the MOONMEN of Brewster.

One of the Chief's responding was the gregarious Homer Stephens (Photo #1). He was a teamster and drove Brewster Transit Mix Cement Mixers for a living. A number of the men who worked with him were also BFD members. During the winter, the cement business was slow. Chief Homer Stephens had to go to Workman's Compensation one day. He told the members of the department that while he was gone he wanted the apparatus pulled out, cleaned, bays washed, and the trucks pulled in. When he returned, he was livid. The bays and apparatus were cleaned but the vehicles were pulled IN NOSE FIRST. Doug Fox reminded him that he said he wanted the trucks pulled OUT and then pulled IN and that is what they exactly did! Under his new and improved orders, the vehicles were backed out of the bays and then backed them in. Homer was also instrumental in founding the Royal Order of the Blue Vests. Its an organization comprised of firefighters from the Hudson Valley. Its purpose is to assist in improving the quality of life for residents of The FASNY (Firefighter's Association of New York) Home in Hudson NY. His personal Blue Vest is at The Firefighter's' Home. Homer served with the Navy during the Korean conflict. Unfortunately Homer died at the young age of 50 of brain cancer. He is buried in June Cemetery in Croton Falls.

Another MOONMAN who responded was Chief Bruce Plunkett (Photo #2). He served in World War 2 on Saipan fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. He operated a flamethrower. When enemy soldiers and civilians refused to come out of caves on Saipan, he was ordered to light up the caves. This affected him the rest of his life. He also saw enemy soldiers and civilians commit suicide by jumping off cliffs. Mothers threw their children onto the rocks below before they themselves jumped. They had been told by the Japanese that they would be eaten by the American soldiers. These horrendous events were unforgettable nightmares. He had a good sense of humor but these traumas sometimes resulted in unusual events. One day he pulled into his garage too fast and his car ended up sideways. A crew headed by MOONMAN Joe Freeburn (Photo #3 & #11) responded. Joe was an excellent mechanic and a great emergency vehicle driver. With a portable jack they managed to turn his car around 90 degrees so that it could driven out of the garage. Another time Bruce was so angry at the New York Giants football team losing a game that he kicked the TV SCREEN AND BROKE IT. Even today, many years later, Giant fans can empathize with him. Don Maguire, his son-in-law, was a middle school Mathematics teacher in Brewster. Don later joined the BFD Department. Bruce is buried in St. Lawrence Cemetery.

As mentioned earlier, Joe Freeburn was an excellent mechanic who worked for Fischer Brothers Chevrolet in Carmel. He was an officer for Company 2, a fire scene company. He was also later a Lieutenant in the Rescue Company. Joe was the Assistant BFD Department Mechanic.Whenever I responded to an alarm from Maple Drive, I checked that Joe was not behind me because he wouldn't be for long! There were unsubstantiated reports of his car becoming airborne as he crossed the then old wooden bridge between Griffin Road and Prospect Hill Road while responding for calls at the Main Street firehouse. Presently, his son-in-law Domenic Cosentino is BFD Captain at Station 1 on Rt. 312, Joe's grandson's Joshua and Anthony Cosentino are also members of the BFD . Anthony is a BFD Lieutenant at the Main Street firehouse. Joe is buried in Union Valley cemetery in Mahopac.

Life member Tony "Shoes" Cutrera (on right of photo #4 and Photo #13)was another of the MOONMEN of Brewster. Before I was allowed to join the BFD in 1975 I needed two recommendations. One of the recommendations I received was from Tony. He lived on the same street as me. He was a fun loving, easy going guy who loved music. He was an excellent dancer and his dance card was always full.. He was President of the BFD from 1990 to 1992. He treated new members with respect by calling them by their proper names. Tony frequently marched in the Color Guard at parades the BFD attended. Tony passed away on October 23,2025 and is buried at St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx.

Doug Fox (Photo #5) was another one of the MOONMEN of Brewster. He also worked for Brewster Transit Mix. He was an excellent driver. One department meeting Doug and I got into a verbal confrontation. He was upset because the ambulance dispatch protocol sometimes broke down at night. This resulted in the entire department awakened to respond to an ambulance call. The protocol was for the Sheriff to call a BFD Ambulance dispatch number and one of four rotating dispatchers would answer it. That person would then call the ambulance crew. Occasionally the system broke down. I was an officer and a dispatcher of the BFD Ambulance at the time.. We became good friends after the incident. Doug would give you the shirt off of his back. Doug is buried in St. Lawrence Cemetery.

Whenever a weather reporter mentions a special moon, such as a " BLOOD MOON", full moon, half moon, pink moon, strawberry moon, harvest moon, the MOONMEN of Brewster Fire Department come to my mind.

About the author: Jim Delawder has been a BFD member since February 1976 and has written several other articles that appear on this official Brewster Fire Department website. To access refer to photo #12: The steps include 1.select News Archives; 2.select any year from 2021 to present; 3 click on SEARCH ; 4 select article. Some of the articles include:
2021: Two Four engine Planes Collide over Carmel
2022: Explosion! , as well as , Fire In The Reservoir!!
2024 Run Towards The Train!