Saturday night, the volunteer fireman all came out in their finest for a celebration of not just the year that was, but the century.  The Malad volunteer fire department was founded over a hundred years ago, and has been a bedrock of the community ever since.  

Although there were no firm numbers gathered, the number of chairs set out was 240, and the number of people in attendance clearly exceeded that at times during the evening, with an active dance floor, refreshment area, and general congregation.

The firemen and their spouses first gathered for a picture session at around 7:00, where several awards and plaques were presented.

Jason Schwartz was awarded the Fireman of the Year award.  10 year service plaques were given to Donny Hunt and Zack Blaisdell.  15 year service plaques were given to Doug Crowther, Rob Hess, and Jerry Thomas.  A 35 year service award, with a special axe plaque was given to Ceylon Reeder.  A 40 year service award was given to Ed Jones and Gary Shepherd.

Last year’s Fireman of the Year was Deric Wilson.  The 2020 event broke the consecutive 99 year streak when it was not held as usual due to the COVID restrictions in place at the time.  This year’s winner, Jason Schwartz, has hopefully ushered in a new 100 year era of the event, which is primarily a chance to acknowledge and celebrate the many contributions that Malad’s firemen make to the community.

During the Raffle drawing, a number of donated prizes were given out.  Two gun safes were given out to Hayden Schwartz and Ty Berry.  A custom bell, crafted by Doug Adams, was won by Sonny Blaisdell.  A pair of high powered binoculars were won by Colleen Montgomery.  1000 rounds of ammo were won by Richard Allen.  A cooler was won by Christine Ward. 

The event then moved to the Event Center at 8:00, where the Ball was held for the first time.  In addition to a raffle and a lively celebration, the Ball consisted of hours of dancing.  The music was provided by the “Rough Stock Band,” which played a range of country, oldies, classic rock n roll, and slow-danceable numbers.  Songs included “Brown-eyed Girl,” “Margaritaville,” Mountain of Love,” and many others.  The band, with founder and local musician Harry Sherman on guitar and sharing singing duties, introduced Elly Peterson on the fiddle, to join Jimi James Schaub on bass and vocals, Trent Porter on drums, Terry Morris on vocals and keys.

As the event wore on into the evening, the crowd stayed energetic and the overall sense of celebration and joy were fitting to the occasion and the season!