Saxon-Gurney FD raises money

By MEGAN HUGHES

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SAXON, Wis. — The Saxon-Gurney Fire Department offered their annual roast beef fundraiser on Sunday, bringing back the tradition after a two-year absence.

The crowd at the Community Center exceeded expectations, according to Chief Stacie Ofstad. “We have had about 200 people come through so far, and the day isn’t quite over yet.” He said the last time it was held they served about 125.

“It started 30 to 35 years ago as a gun raffle,” he said. “About 18 to 20 years ago we switched to this weekend, the Sunday before the Super Bowl, to get better attendance.”

He explained that the funds raised by the meal will go toward purchasing new equipment for the fire department, specifically 10 sets of wild land gear meant for fighting wildfires.

“We got a grant from the Wisconsin DNR, which will be matching the funds we raise for them,” said Ofstad. “And the total is around $6,000, so we need to raise around $3,000.”

Members of the department began preparing the meal on Friday, with final prep beginning at 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning.

There were raffles as well, with items donated by local businesses and individuals, and that annual gun raffle, where two rifles are raffled off each year.

“We start selling tickets for that in October,” said Ofstad.

He said it was nice to bring the event back. “Mostly it was getting back into the swing of things, figuring out how the kitchen works,” said Ofstad about planning for the event. “The community loves it, we had people from southern Wisconsin today who were on snowmobiles, as well as people from Ironwood, Bessemer, Wakefield, Hurley.”

Fire department treasurer Corinne Ofstad-Blomberg said she was really pleased with the event. “We normally average about 130 people, so it has definitely been a good year,” she said. “Being in a small community, everyone knows everybody else, and we are really proud of our community.”