Spaghetti at the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department fundraiser
0
Votes

Spaghetti at the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department fundraiser

By Shirley Ruhe

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department Fundraiser

photo

Photo by Shirley Ruhe

No salad on Rita Castellano's plate at the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department fundraiser March 11. Spaghetti, bread and a cookie is perfect. This is the second year for her brother, Azadi, who has decided to skip the sauce. Evan Lacopo from Wyder Brothers Real Estate says he started this fundraiser three years ago and hopes to raise a couple thousand dollars for the volunteer fire department efforts.

photo

Photo by Shirley Ruhe

Smiles light up when the heaping dish of steaming spaghetti is replaced on the buffet line at the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department fundraiser. The dinner was catered by Hungry Caterers and served by members of the volunteer fire department. If an emergency event takes place in the middle of the dinner? One of the volunteers explains there is a fully-staffed engine a half block away ready to respond.

photo

Photo by Shirley Ruhe

Four tables of 24 each are filled with families, neighbors and guests as music from the local Cherrydale Jazz Ensemble floats between conversations at the fundraiser Saturday night. The Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department was formed in 1898 with 10 leather buckets, a ladder and a group of volunteers, and the present Cherrydale Firehouse on Lee Highway was constructed in 1921. Today it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Timothy Horner, president of the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department, says now there are 60 volunteer members who depend entirely on donations to supplement the Arlington County Fire Department with personnel, apparatus and resources. Estimated cost per member for helmet, fire gloves, boots, breathing apparatus, portable radio and other equipment is $20,000 per member.

More like this story