Title: Food Thief
General Information:
- Place of collection: Hanover Fire Department – Hanover, NH
- Date of Collection: November 6, 2019
- Genre: Customary Folklore – Jokes/Pranks
Informant Information:
Michael Gilbert is a firefighter for the Hanover, New Hampshire fire department. He is currently 50 years old and lives in Hanover. However, Michael was born and raised in Franconia, New Hampshire. He is currently a captain at the Hanover Fire Department. Captain Gilbert is not particularly religious.
Context:
From time to time, the Hanover Fire Department has citizens who they had helped in one way or another bring in food for them as a way of saying thank you. However, since there are many shifts of different firefighters, the shift that actually helped that person is rarely ever on duty. In this event where the incorrect shift is on duty, that incorrect shift will eat the food (that is not intended for them), but leave the note from the person. Further, they will never tell the correct shift that they ate the food as a sort of joke.
Item:
If a person that the firefighters had helped brings in food for a specific shift, the shift on duty eats all of the food, but leaves the note every time.
Informant’s Comments:
Captain Gilbert said that this is one of his favorite pranks to do on his fellow firefighters. Not only does he enjoy eating the snacks, but he also enjoys hearing about the reaction of the correct firefighters when they see only the crumbs and the note left behind.
Collector’s Comments:
The use of jokes seems like a way for the firefighters to break the tension and stress of the otherwise very serious and dangerous job. Through these practical pranks and jokes, they are able to provide some levity and relief from the everyday stresses of their dangerous and unpredictable lives.