Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Johnson, Kaufman
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 10/20/2021
Challenge Surpassed in Fundraiser for Hatfield FRD (2021)
A challenge was presented, and the community stepped up, raising almost $55,000 for the Hatfield Fire and Rescue Department to help with the cost of their new truck. Ninety-nine donations came in and Hatfield resident presented 99 checks to Hatfield Fire Chief Kurt Kaufman. The total included a matching Lunda Community Trust Grant. Contributed photo
By JoDee Brooke
Earlier this year, a challenge presented by a Hatfield resident who chooses to remain anonymous but likely is not, went out. The anonymous donation was for $1,000 to the Hatfield Fire and Rescue Department to go towards payment of the department’s new fire engine.
The fire and rescue department had already purchased a new engine from another fire department from out east. The department went from a 750-gallon truck to a 1,000-gallon truck, with more room for firefighters.
The checks were presented to the fire department Oct. 2 during a cookout held for those who contributed. No one knew what the amount was – except the challenger. “It was unbelievable,” said Hatfield resident Ralph Johnson. “We had a total of 99 families donate. Hatfield’s population sign says 50 residents in the winter. Some of the donors are part-time residents of Hatfield and some are fulltime.”
Johnson presented 99 checks to Hatfield Fire Department Chief Kurt Kaufman that night. Those checks, with the help of a matching grant from the Lunda Community Trust, totaled $54,550.
Of interest, the challenge letter went out July 8 and the challenge went through Labor Day.
While the department relies almost entirely on donations and grants for operations and with the cost of the new truck around $150,000, the challenge will help firefighters and first responders – all volunteers – continue to keep the Hatfield community safe.
