By Karen Braynard
Correspondent

The crowd was literally spilling into the street in front of the Wild Rover Pub in downtown Manchester, when Auburn Fire Chief Bruce Phillips sat down with a green Saint Baldrick's smock wrapped around his neck and allowed his head to be shaved. Raising more than $2,600 for children with cancer during this annual event, Phillips was more than willing to have his head shaved for a good cause.

Auburn Fire Chief Bruce Phillips squirms as his Assistant Fire Chief Dennis McCarthy puts the straight-edge to his head. An electric shave wasn't good enough for the cheering crowd, so Phillips agreed to have his head further shaved with the straight-edge razor. (Karen Braynard Photo)

"Everyone had a good time and we raised a lot of money for children with cancer," said Phillips. "Originally, I was shooting for $500, but I raised that so fast that I set the bar to $750. So many people were willing to donate - everyone wanted to see me bald - that by word of mouth or on the Internet, I ended up being able to contribute more than $2,600 (to the St. Baldrick's Foundation)."

According to the Foundation's Web site, St. Baldrick's is a whimsical twist on St. Patrick's Day, when brave volunteers agree to shave their heads bald to raise funds for childhood cancer research. The foundation has only been around for five years, but has already raised more than $7 million thanks to more than 5,000 shavees across the country.

This was Manchester's first St. Baldrick's event, organized by Andy Biron, a firefighter on Engine 11 of the Manchester Fire Department.

"We organized an event in Manchester and in Hampton. This was our first time in Manchester and we raised over $10,000. It was a huge success! In just a few hours, we had 30 people's heads shaved for donations. We gave away great prizes and raised funds through a silent auction and a raffle."

Some of the prizes were overnight ski trips, home improvement items and Seacoast attractions. Smaller prizes were also donated and raffled off during a break in the head-shaving event.

"The place when wild when Bruce sat down! People were cheering him on. He was the biggest fundraiser of the group," said Biron.

Even Phillips. son, 10-year old Alex, got into the act when he picked up a clump of hair and waved it for the crowd.

Although the barbers from the One Stop Gentlemen's. Shop shaved most of the heads, Phillips - sister-in law, Rita Cote, had the honor of shaving his head clean.

"I think she really wanted my mustache, but it's not going," laughed Phillips. "I had an offer of $550 for the mustache, but everyone knows I won't ever shave it off."

The reddish blonde handlebars are even more prominent now, without the hair.

Because the event was so successful, Biron says the next event has already been scheduled for Sept. 17, 2006, and the owners of the Wild Rover Pub on Kosciuszko Street have volunteered their time and establishment for the next round of head shaving.