Photographer Sarah Edwards has an eye for hunky guys. Last year, she photographed the Treemen Calendar (which included a picture of her boyfriend, Cord Kenyon, aka Mr. January), which raised $25,000 for the daughter of an arborist named Rafe Kozaka who died in a logging accident in 2008. This year, to help the Sheffield Hose Company #1 raise money for its firehouse, she recruited firefighters from South Lee, Stockbridge, Barrington, Egremont, Sheffield, Canaan, and Sandisfield (who often respond to one another's calls) to pose playfully for the 2010 Hosemen Calendar, which goes on sale this Saturday at the Sheffield Beer and Cheese Benefit at the Town Park. "For $20, you get the calendar, two beer tickets and all the local cheese you can eat, and dance to two great bands" Dan Jimmerson, the creative director of the Marketplace Kitchen, who is helping to organize Saturday's party.
While Edwards, who specializes in weddings, cajoled the the tree guys (most of whom she knew as friends) out of their clothes to pose for A Full Monty centerfold with their private parts hidden by a single log, she could not persuade the firefighters to be as risqué. "They're a little more serious," she says. "Their work is really about life and death." Nevertheless, she wanted the calendar to have a sense of humor and for the cover she got eight members of the Sheffield Hose Company to have a tug of war with a fire hose—one team was bare-chested and the other team wore jackets and boots but no pants. The most daring model was Wayne Wilkinson, who agreed to pose on bearskin rug in front of an outdoor fireplace. "He was hilarious," says Edwards. "He was the perfect Mr. December." 2010 Hosemen Calendar Release PartySheffield Town ParkOctober 17, 3 - 8 p.m.
Photographs by Sarah Edwards
