September is Firefighter Appreciation Month, and we have much to be grateful for.  Over the weekend in College Corner, the Liberty and West College Corner volunteer fire departments held their annual firemen’s festival, adding to the list of reasons we owe them a debt of gratitude.

There is a certain beauty and warmth in a small town gathering that brought tears to onlookers’ eyes, beginning in the morning hours on Friday as we witnessed the WCCVFD Firehouse parking lot  fill up with cars, semis, tractors, trucks, volunteers bringing in baskets.  All day you could see firefighters’ wives and children hard at work, and community members laughing and chatting, closing out the day with full stomachs, a gorgeous  sunset, live music, and a semi light show up and down the street.  And then we all got up Saturday and did it again!

An incredible turnout marked the fourth annual festival, the details of which will be covered in next week’s Herald.  At this moment, it feels appropriate to thank the many men and women who pulled off the event, the list of whose names would fill the entire paper.

It was a labor of love, as is the work our firefighters do each and every day in Union County.  As is the work of the community who holds them up, knowing that without each other we’d have nothing to work for. 

The festival raises money for VFD operations throughout the year, including basic needs such as radios, in WCC’s case, and a functional/updated firehouse for Liberty.  The cost of such necessities  often falls on the department itself.  This could then fall back on the taxpayers, which is why such fundraisers are so important. Liberty and WCC came together to not only raise said funds, but to also create a weekend full of lasting memories for their community.  Let’s return the favor by showing them we see their efforts. If you see a member of your local volunteer department out and about this week,  be sure to stop and thank them!