GREENFIELD — The Arroyo Seco Citizens Association came together on April 22 for its annual barbecue and silent auction to benefit the Arroyo Seco firefighters.
Currently there are three volunteer firefighters for the Arroyo Seco area and the fundraiser not only benefitted them but also the Abbott Lakes.
The Abbott Lakes consist of two lakes, an upper and lower lake. The upper lake is spring fed and feeds into the lower lake, but due to the drought it wasn’t producing enough water so the Arroyo Seco Citizens’ Association started supplementing the water from the pump. The pump is experiencing some wear and tear and the association has decided it might be time to replace it, according to past president Jay Holiday.
The fundraiser started out as a duck race and silent auction but over the years Miller’s Lodge closed down and the association had to find a new venue for the race that had enough parking for those interested in attending. It was started by Jerry Smith more than 15 years ago.
“We used to put the ducks in Miller’s Lodge and we had three prizes for that,” Claudia Smith, organizer of the Silent Auction said. “Through the years the people in Arroyo Seco have donated several things to our silent auction from hand paintings to hand planters, even cookies.”
The Arroyo Seco Citizens’ Association has a goal to bring back the duck races next year.
This is the first time couple Valarie Brown-Klingelhoefer and Andy Klingelhoefer have participated in the ASCA barbecue after moving to Arroyo Seco nine months ago.
“We moved here in the middle of fire season so we saw right away how important the fire department is and how valuable resources these are to our community,” Valarie said. “We want to make sure that we keep it going.”
In years past the big barbecue to benefit the volunteer fire department has seen 40 people attend, and this year 50 people had stopped by for ribs, chicken or hot dogs by 12:30 p.m.
