Cambridge Train Garden Arrives on Time Again by Kate Emery General

Tsunamis and hurricanes are real threats living in Hawaii. A test of the Emergency Alert System and Outdoor Warning Sirens is performed on the first state work day of every month. It is a 60 second steady tone of 121 decibels. It’s very scary the first time you experience one, I pity the tourists at Waikiki. If the sirens go off any other day of the month, you’re to get to higher ground immediately. During my first visit to Cambridge in 1987, we were having a picnic at Long Wharf and the sirens started blaring! It turns out that the sirens here were to alert the volunteer firefighters. School children were taught the meaning of each siren, the longest and loudest meant that it was a really bad fire. I kinda miss the old sirens.

Members of Cambridge Rescue Fire Company are heroes!! They leave their regular jobs, run to their cars/trucks, drive to the firehouse, jump on the fire trucks, and put out fires. The firefighters also volunteer their time by visiting schools during Fire Prevention Week.

In December every year Cambridge Rescue Fire Company hosts its annual Train Garden. The Christmas Train Garden began in Baltimore in 1917. This is Cambridge’s 88th year! The location of the train garden is the Gay Street Firehouse, which is covered in brightly colored lights. The train garden is open December 1 – December 31. Monday through Friday 6 – 9 PM. Saturday and Sunday 1 – 4PM and 6 – 9PM. Admission is free but donations are appreciated. The theme this year is Hollywood Holiday, with cartoon characters, classic movie scenes, and superheroes. Buy a bag of the delicious popcorn and witness the incredible artistry of this train garden.

Christmas in Cambridge begins when volunteers hang the lighted wreaths on the light posts downtown. The crab basket tree on Race Street is another volunteer effort, it’s a little like watching a game of Tetris as the volunteers add rows and rows of baskets.

Cambridge’s annual parade is the kick off to the Christmas celebration. The theme of this 73rd annual parade is Crabby Christmas. It will be held Saturday, December 3 at 5:00 PM. The floats proceed up High Street, turning on Poplar Street to Race Street and ending on Washington Street. Families line the streets early to get a front row seat to watch the parade of marching bands, antique cars, club floats, and fire engines. Traditionally, the “icing on the cake” has been the arrival of Santa Claus at the end of the parade riding on a fire engine. It’s a Christmas Eve tradition in my family to drive around Cambridge’s neighborhoods which are filled with brightly lit houses. The sailboats in the yacht basin, the fountain at Long Wharf, and the Lighthouse are all decorated for the holiday.