Citizen’s Hose gives out free spaghetti dinners in South Renovo
KEVIN RAUCH/THE EXPRESS
Members of the Citizen's were spread out cooking, passing out and delivering the spaghetti as members seen here (from left) Kyle Stewart, Bob Getz and Mike Goodling scoop out pasta in the kitchen.
The Citizen's Hose Company of South Renovo and their monthly spaghetti dinners not only serves as the most consistent fundraiser for the all-volunteer fire station but also is a favorite of many in the area.
Each first Monday of the month finds dedicated spaghetti lovers making the trip to South Renovo for one of their favorite meals. The amount of pasta and meatballs -- let along the fixings that go with it -- is basically legendary in western Clinton County. Not only is it simply delicious, but dinners are so large that a single dinner is often shared by family members, still often leaving some leftover for the next day.
About the only thing that could possibly make the beloved dinners any better would be getting one for free, and that's exactly what the Citizen's served up Monday evening, free spaghetti dinners for the community just in time for Christmas. After passing out the cooked meals for two hours on Monday, the fire company ended up preparing 231 dinners in an amazing gesture just days before Christmas.
The dinner was actually a joint effort between the Citizen's and Phil and Selma (Larson) Regan of Chicago. Citizen's president Kevin Tripp referred to the Regan's as "our great, great friends from Illinois." The couple set up a vendors stand in front of the Citizen's Hose Company every Flaming Foliage Festival Weekend. Selma is the daughter of Bobby Larson, a beloved western Clinton County veteran of the US Marine Corp and a retiree of the Renovo Railroad who passed away at 89 back in 2011.
"Phil and Selma covered everything, it was just something that they wanted to do not just for us but for the community," Tripp explained. "I talk with Phil quite a bit he's just a super nice guy, always doing stuff for us."
True to the dedication typically found with people that spend their lives volunteering their time, the Citizen's spaghetti cookers, servers, preparers and even those making deliveries (that's right, they delivered the free dinners to those that needed it) wanted to pass all of the credit to the Regan's.
Although it would not have happened had it not been for Phil and Selma many of the volunteer firemen have literally been hip deep in snow since last Thursday, so dedicating their time providing the dinners Monday showed the dedication that they have towards their Company.
Tripp figured that at some point 15-20 Station #28 members filtered in and out on Monday helping to make the evening a success.
Words of thanks were a constant to those driving through the parking lot, pulling up to the doors not even having to exit their cars as their meals were brought to them. "This is just so nice of them, such a perfect time of year to do something like this," Linda Logue said as she picked up supper for her and her husband Ray. Logue explained that she makes most of the monthly dinners throughout the year, saying that her granddaughter Sasha and her family "never miss one."
In addition to the pasta, slices of bread and cookies as a dessert, the Citizen's had eighty pounds of hamburger in making the meatballs.