For decades the Weedsport Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary has benefited the community in many ways, and to my mind has received little credit, or thanks, at least publicly, for its efforts. In this column I'll speak of the beginnings of the auxiliary and some of the good it has done for the community. The obvious issue is the aid that they have provided for firemen working long, cold, or hot hours at extended blazes, floods and other emergencies.
As a fireman for nearly 30 years here in Weedsport, I can tell you I sure appreciated a hot cup of cocoa at 2 in the morning with a howling gale blowing snow so thick I couldn't see, or on a blazing hot day a cold drink was sure welcome. At one time the auxiliary marched with the firemen in parades all over central New York; now the fire department doesn't even march much any more. I can recall marching in three or four parades a week sometimes.
When I say march I mean march , not just showing up with a piece of apparatus. The Weedsport Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary was organized on March 8, 1951, at the suggestion of Gladys Hazzard and Bea Barrows. A committee of firemen was appointed to assist them in their efforts.
This committee was comprised of Dwight Goodwin, Vassos Saroodis, Chester Hazzard, Howard Lippoldt and Floyd Bush. The first officers of the organization were as follows: President Mary Doran, Vice President Zilpha Colvin, Secretary Dorothy Wethey, Treasurer Ida May Saroodis, Chaplain Leone Van Hoover and Historian R.