fbpx

50th Annual Harvest Dinner for Somers-Lakeside Volunteer Fire Department

By Beacon Staff

On Saturday, Nov. 2, the Somers Volunteer Fire Department will host its 50th Annual Harvest Dinner. The traditional “Thanksgiving dinner – with all the fixin’s” – will be held from 4-8 p.m. at the Somers Fire Hall, 27 Leslie Ave. in Somers.
The harvest dinner is a community event – and everyone is welcome.

Children under 3 eat free, children ages 4-10 eat for just $7 and adults get a generous dinner for only $13. All proceeds help pay for the food costs and support the fire department.

Notably, the dinner has been hosted by the fire department since 1963, just a few years after the volunteer department was established and this year marks the 50th anniversary of the harvest dinner.

This year, Hutterite-raised turkeys will be part of the main course, along with other specialties prepared by the fire department and other volunteers.

The dinner is a way for the fire department to say “thank you” for all the community support. And it’s also a way for the community to show appreciation for the fire department, which consists entirely of volunteers from the chief, to the officers, to the firefighters.
While the members of the Somers Volunteer Fire Department may be volunteers, which means they do not get paid, they train and respond just the same as paid professionals. For example, some of the training events this year included ice rescue training (in the river in January), and several vehicle extrication exercises, including removing fellow firefighters trapped inside damaged vehicles.

And when it comes to professionalism and money, there’s something to note about the Somers Volunteer Fire Department. The volunteer firefighters spend their own money for gas to respond to the fire hall for emergency calls. They spend considerable time away from family and friends every week for training. And they spend time responding to traffic accidents and brush fires, which sometimes means spending hours away from home – at the most inconvenient times.

Aside from responding to traffic collisions at 2 a.m. on a Sunday, several volunteer firefighters spent their Fourth of July celebrations away from their families – in an attic, in the dark, on their hands and knees searching for embers of a house fire caused by fireworks. And the Stoner Creek brush fire this summer had the Somers Fire Department assisting other agencies nearly around the clock, just to mention a few incidents of the past year.

So while the dinner is the Somers Fire Department’s way of saying thanks, it may also be an opportune time to say thanks to your local volunteers for all their hard work – or at least share some great food and hear some good stories.

If you cannot attend, but would like to show your appreciation for the fire department, donations can be mailed to: Somers Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 187, Somers, MT 59932.

The Somers Volunteer Fire Department hopes to see you there!

And thank you from the Somers Volunteer Fire Department!

Chief Mike Holetz; Assistant Chief Tom Havens; Captain/Vice-President Jeremy Hayes; Lieutenant Jayson Hayes; Lieutenant Mike Wilson; Fire Marshall John Helke; Firefighters Jeff Bounds, Chris Cassidy, JC Chaix, Al Diamond, Kevin Dickerson, Jimmy Dragon, Everest George, Dave Hayes, Mike Katchur; President Ted Richardson; Three-year Trustee Doug Rogers