( mooing & more for the good of a firehouse )

mooing & more for the good of a firehouse

by jennifer hetrick

    

what better way to spend a saturday in the finally warm weather of spring than waiting for a cow to do its business in the hope that you might win money, if the final plop lands squarely in your favor ?

     

this is something volunteers from ruscombmanor township fire company are setting into motion may 7 from 12 to 7 p.m. in efforts to fundraise for the nonprofit emergency services agency along pricetown road in fleetwood, berks county.

around 10 to 15 volunteers from the ruscombmanor fire department are working together on this cow-inspired fundraiser, a first of its kind at the firehouse.

     

vice president and assistant fire chief eric fox explained that a semi-newer member of the fire company, alan shinkus, moved here from the coal region where his former fire department held a greatly-praised and enjoyed cow chip bingo fundraiser in the past. with this prospect in mind, the chuckles bubbling from all directions for those listening to talks of the event, the fundraiser seemed well worth trying in little old berks county.

     

cow chip bingo, otherwise sometimes called cow pie bingo, is an outdoor game where a field has squared off blocks measured out, and people buy a ticket for one open slot. a well-fed cow is brought out onto the field, and wherever its eventual poop plops, the person who had that block wins the game. if the final winning marker lands across one or more block edges, the one with three inches in diameter wins the top prize.

     

blocks are two-feet square, with the field’s span in the game measuring to 40-feet-by-100-feet.

     

in the event that a cow can’t make bathroom rounds on the field, a backup cow will be ready for grazing the grass.

     

the two cows offering their services are from earl hafer & sons farm in douglassville, while a temporary fence to keep the cows in line is being donated by amity fence in muhlenberg.

     

the first prize is $1,000 while the second is $750 and the third is $250.

     

tickets for each block are $10 a piece, with some still for sale. blocks in this case are called deeds. those buying tickets will be known as landowners. in addition to a small block per deed, tickets also include one burger or hot dog and a drink.

    

landowners don’t need to be present to win the big money involved, but a special door prize winner will be announced at 5.00 p.m., and in that case, the winner does need to be present.

     

but aside from the main event at the fundraiser, live music is expected to be a part of the day along with pottery time at a small charge for kids, through clayote, a gallery and studio in boyertown. more food and bevvies will also be up for grabs.

     

volunteers with the fire company began selling deeds in the cold of winter, with more than half sold.

     

besides watching the cows, eating a bit, doing clay, and listening to sly tunes, some games will also be a part of the mix at this fundraiser.

     

fox said he and his fellow fire company volunteers are excited to test out the proverbial waters of a new, unexpected kind of fundraiser this spring. while volunteer fire companies generally always need to fundraise in their communities to keep their budgets going well, this is especially all the more crucial for them in a time when they are required to comply with a slow to happen radio system mandated upgrade at the county level, with most new equipment costing departments easily into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

    

and with this event, fox said he is happy to be able to bring such a festive and unlikely new element to the local landscape for a day in worthy support of the fire company where they average around 200 to 250 calls of service per year to area communities.

     

to find out more, visit www.ruscombmanorfire.com and search for them on facebook.