By Norma Martinez
Bird City Times – November 14, 2013
Submitted by Newz Group Clipping Service – November 26, 2013
The Fire Department’s Amish Haystack meal was a big hit and a big change of taste for a dinner meal. No one went home hungry after eating a plate full of meat, fresh vegetables, and condiments.
Servers started everyone off by piling fresh mashed potatoes on the plate and topping them with hamburger cooked and lightly seasoned with taco sauce. From then on, everyone was on their own as to what and how much they wanted to stack, haystack style, on top. Large bowls of chopped lettuce, cauliflower, radishes, celery, onions, chopped hard boiled eggs and green peppers were lined up and down the counter. All this was seasoned with your choice of Ranch or Dorothy’s dressing, and then topped with a thin cheese sauce.
One hundred pounds of potatoes were peeled, and 55 pounds of hamburger were cooked, and it was heaped onto about 150 plates.
The idea for this came from Wendy and Loren White. When they lived in Iowa, this was a popular meal to serve to a bunch of hungry people. Tina Sager made all the large assortment of pies. Dana Wright made a decorated cake for the fire department. Donna and Dennis Wright broke out their ice cream freezers from the Thresher Show and made homemade vanilla ice cream.
One they were through serving everyone, Cody Beeson presented Ned Smith, Dan Bowers and Dave Hickert with mirror plaques for their over 30 years of service to the fire department.
Cody Beeson introduced the three men as filled with bravery and resolve to get the job done, no matter the cost. They have dedicated a large part of their lives to protecting Bird City and Cheyenne County, he said, facing many hard moments and overcoming a lot of difficulties to get the job done.
Over the years, they have braved the weather, outdated equipment, and overwhelming odds, to be a protector of their community. They have left children and wives at home alone when tornadoes are near, and left their crops in their fields to protect their neighbor’s crops. Many times, they responded to the pagers, missing family gatherings or holiday meals because circumstances keep no calendar and know no clock.
“Each of these men, Ned, Dan and Dave,” Mr. Beeson said, “have put in 20 plus years as a Bird City Volunteer Firefighter”. This meant twenty plus years of sleeping with a radio near the beds, and giving their time to the community they live in.
As Mr. Beeson looks at the time frame of when they started on the department, one thing stands out: How much they have worked to improve the department. A lot of badly needed new equipment was purchased in mid to late 1970′s, at about the time these young men joined the ranks. Improvements in training and communication were made in the 1980′s, and a new building was built in the 1990′s. In the 2000′s, a training room was built, and security for firefighters hurt in the line of duty was established.
A lot of these improvements were paid for by generous members of the community and municipal funds, but the driving force behind them were the goal oriented members of the fire department at the time of the improvements. Dan Bowers, Dave Hickert and Ned Smith were dedicated to their duties as firemen through all these changes. Their contributions to improving the fire service in Bird City are priceless.
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