“The best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” So says the old adage and Peggy Burns of the Putnam Lake Ladies’ Auxiliary. A long affiliation with the Putnam Lake Fire Department leaves their fire men and women in no position to disagree but singling out the obvious culinary acumen of Putnam Lake and the other county auxiliaries definitely does not do justice to all they mean to our fire departments.
“The ladies are a very essential part of our fire department,” says Putnam Lake Fire Chief, Mike Oliveri.
So of course, the value they bring in a hot cup
of coffee or a cool drink and a sandwich cannot be underestimated by fire fighters trying to snuff out a blaze. On the other hand, the offending heat can’t help but feel a little cooler and raise moral at the sight of these on-call sixtysomethings – whether it’s midday or midnight. “Personally,” says Oliveri, “it leaves me speechless.”Carol Kraus of the Mahopac Falls Ladies’ Auxiliary isn’t but she’s definitely modest and certainly pragmatic on why she first got involved in 1966. Going on to eventually become president of the auxiliary, she says, “When I started, there was nothing around for anybody to do.” She was asked, so she joined up.
She acknowledges that things have changed and with both parents needing to work these days, getting new recruits is a tougher sell. Nonetheless, besides the chance to serve the community, a large part of it is the fun of just getting out of the house. “Especially when we have a penny social, everybody is helping out and the public really enjoys it with us,” she says.
Back in Putnam Lake, Ms. Burns also has a lot deal of mileage on her service record and feels good about contributing to her community’s cause. She’s not short on the family lineage either. My brother was the chief in the early 70’s and much of my clan was in the department,
she says, “so it’s carrying on a family tradition.”Either way, she’s certain that these resourceful men and women would do just fine if the cooking was left up to them for the many community dinners and fundraisers that are held throughout the year. But again, Chief Oliveri points to fulfilling the types of needs that come under the category of intangible. “There’s lots of things that come up during the year that are unforeseen and cannot be budgeted for,” he says.
For instance, it occurred to the ladies’ grandmotherly instincts that firefighters shouldn’t be sleeping on the floor and the rigs when on-call at night. “They put forth the (fundraising) effort and found a great deal on some army cots,” he says.
Otherwise, they give this generation of firefighters a direct link to their history. “Our young guys so enjoy the old stories they have to tell about the department and what their husbands did,” says Tracy Noroian, President of Putnam Lake Fire Department.
At the same time, the stories are the only thing that betray their age, according to Oliveri. “You don’t see the numbers directly unless you actually think about it because they are just as young, chipper and energetic as a 20 year old whose just fallen in love,” he says.
Of course, the need for a new generation to eventually standby these ladies is obvious, but for now, he concludes, “For me to be working with these ladies is an absolute honor.”
