Ladies Auxiliary keeps Fairview Fire funded

Jan. 5--FAIRVIEW -- Over the years, the amount of volunteers for the Fairview Fire Department has gone down.

The station's chief, Steve Gillespie, said that although the number has declined, the current staff is able to keep the department and the town safe.

"You do see a decline, I've only got 17 members now," Gillespie said. "We do all we can do."

The Fairview Volunteer Fire Department firefighters do have someone, or a group of someones, in their corner, that being the Ladies Auxiliary. The group holds fundraisers every other Saturday in the Fairview fire hall, where volunteers come together to prepare and sell pizzas in order to raise money for the Fairview VFD.

"We give a donation to the firemen about every other month," said Rosie Tennant, president of the Fairview Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary. "And we're busy, sometimes we sell out of food."

Tennant said the auxiliary has been holding the sales regularly since 1975 when the building was finished. She said that volunteers help to support the Volunteer Fire Department, thereby supporting the people who help put out fires in the town.

"If it wasn't for volunteers, we couldn't do it now," Tennant said. "And they're all so helpful and they're all so nice."

According to Gillespie, the fire department has a number of bills it needs to keep up with, and many are due each month. The work the Ladies Auxiliary does to raise money helps the department to pay these bills, thanks to the regular donations.

"Insurance is the biggest," Gillespie said. "The insurance on this building, the worker's comp; I make a $28,000 truck payment once a year. It's a lot."

People started spilling into the fire hall at 3 p.m. Saturday when the sale began. The kitchen was a mecca of activity, but there was something missing from the action.

Shirley Moore passed away on Dec. 31, 2019, and she was a longtime active member of the Fairview VFD Ladies Auxiliary. In honor of her work with the department, everyone volunteering at the sale wore stickers with her name on them in recognition.

"We lost our best friend and our best worker and cook," Tennant said. "She was fantastic in everything; she was our salads person, she always made the salads."

Tennant said that the number of volunteers for the Ladies Auxilliary has been decreasing in recent years as well, and Moore's passing added to that decline. Gillespie, too, said he would like to see the void filled with younger individuals, to ensure the continuation of the town and the department.

"We need younger people," Gillespie said. "I'm fortunate, I've got some young members at our meetings."

Despite the hardships seen throughout the years, Tennant said she and the other volunteers still enjoy their time with the department, even after several decades of work. Seeing the number of people who come out to every pizza sale helps to inspire their cause, and Tennant said she is looking forward to continuing this work for the Fairview VFD.

"I love my work, if I didn't I wouldn't be doing this," Tennant said. "Everybody is happy and has a good time when we're working here."

Email Eddie Trizzino at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @eddietimeswv.

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