BALDWINSVILLE — After more than six decades of parades, parties and fundraising, the Lysander Fire Department’s Ladies Auxiliary has decided to dissolve.
The six remaining members of the auxiliary held their final meeting Aug. 18 at Tassone’s. The women cited declining membership — at its peak, the auxiliary had 40 members — and the age of the remaining members as the reasons for bowing out.
“[We used to] march in the parades — now we’re lucky if we can march to the car,” laughed Millie Bednarski.
Bednarski, who grew up in Lysander but didn’t join the auxiliary until 2000, recalled when the auxiliary marched in parades through the hamlet of Lysander. She also has a vivid memory of the Lysander Fire Department responding to a tornado around 3:30 a.m. June 2, 1969 — it was her 18th birthday.
“Trees were down, the power was out from the Four Corners down, wires were down,” she recalled. “They had people up at the fire barn. It was a good week at least to even get that all cleaned up and get through town.”
“My husband had to go down to Lords store to try to get the power back on,” said Annie Edgbert, past president and treasurer of the Lysander Auxiliary.
Edgbert said she joined the auxiliary because her husband was a firefighter. While the official meetings are at an end, the women of the Lysander Ladies Auxiliary have vowed to continue to get together for holidays or social occasions.
“It’s part of my life,” Edgbert said.
Edgbert served as treasurer for 49 years before Nancy Kline took on the financial duties.
Kline joined the auxiliary in 1978. She detailed some of the auxiliary’s activities: organizing fundraisers and social events, assisting with training and supporting the volunteer firefighters.
“If there was a fire, they would take the coffee cups and serve coffee to the firefighters,” she said.
The auxiliary raised money for local causes such as Vera House, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York, Meals on Wheels and more. Each year, the auxiliary would send birthday and holiday cards to retired volunteer firefighters living at The FASNY Firemen’s Home, a nursing home operated by the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York in Hudson.
“A lot of these people never got a card from family or anybody. They were so glad to get a card from us,” Bednarski said.
The auxiliary also hosted holiday parties for local children around Halloween, Christmas and Easter.
“Vickie was always the Easter Bunny,” Kline said.
Vickie Czajkowski joined the auxiliary in 2009 as a way to give back to the fire department after her brother passed away.
“I love my ‘old ladies.’ I say that with no disrespect,” Czajkowski said.
“She’s the baby,” Bednarski said of Czajkowski.
Czajkowski said she loves hearing about the fire department’s history from older auxiliary members.
“They’re just great people,” she said.
“It’s nice to hear about the old days and the old ways,” Bednarski added.
With busy families occupied with jobs, school, extracurriculars and more, fewer people have expressed interest in joining the auxiliary.
“There isn’t any interest in it. Lysander families have changed so much,” said Edgbert.
“It’s a lot of demands, too, for the firemen,” Czajkowski said.
Since the 2013 merger of several area fire districts into the North West Fire District, the volunteer firefighter community in Baldwinsville has been a bit more spread out, the ladies said.
“We wanted to go out as Lysander Ladies Auxiliary. It meant more to us,” Edgbert said.
Editor’s note: Millie Bednarski is Ashley Casey’s aunt.
