“About a month ago one of our members received a phone call,” said Victoria “Vickie” Ciecuch, vice president of the Secaucus Fire Department Exempt Ladies’ Auxiliary, last week. A woman was calling from Florida about her sick grandson, Ryan Watson, age 13.
“He had stage four leukemia, sick as a dog and he was collecting patches,” said Ciecuch. Ryan wanted to know more about his great great grandfather, Frank Monnicka Sr., who used to be a fire chief at Secaucus Engine Company 1.
The Ladies’ Auxiliary, with the assistance of Ciecuch’s husband Ray, a former fire chief, assembled a package for Ryan. “All the firehouses donated patches and t-shirts and hats and we put together a box and we donated and got him a gift card,” said Ciecuch.
Giving back is the whole reason the Ladies’ Auxiliary exists. The two dozen or so women in the group participate in community events and fundraisers throughout the year. Annually they send a donation to the New Jersey Firemen’s Home in Boonton, a retirement facility for former firefighters. They also contribute each year to the Secaucus Emergency Fund.
A good portion of their donations are generated at one event: the annual Valentine’s Breakfast fundraiser at the Senior Center, 101 Centre Ave. This year the event takes place on Sunday, Feb. 8, from 8 a.m. to noon.
“We serve up a buffet with pancakes, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, bagels from Bagel Buffet, pastries and donuts from Panera and Dunkin,” said Ciecuch. “It’s really become like a community event. Now everybody comes out. The seniors can’t wait for it.”
The annual Valentine Breakfast helps support charitable causes throughout the year.
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The ladies of the auxiliary handle all the serving. “At the end we have a tricky tray, a couple of baskets and gift certificates from local vendors,” she said. “And then after everything is said and done, we donate any leftovers through the Knights of Columbus to a local charity.”
Renewed life
The Secaucus Fire Department Exempt Ladies’ Auxiliary was established on Oct. 3, 1934. “To be a member you must have a relation – husband, father, brother – who is an exempt firefighter out of the Secaucus Fire Department,” said Ciecuch. A firefighter must serve seven years and meet certain other requirements to become exempt, which allows them to receive certain perks and seniority, while continuing to actively fight fires.
In years gone by, there were both an active ladies auxiliary and an exempt chapter. “The active ladies’ auxiliary used to bring coffee to firefighters,” said Ciecuch. “The purpose of the exempt ladies auxiliary was for when they could no longer go out and do coffee and sandwiches. They might be assembling sandwiches in the kitchen but not going out to fires.”
Eventually the regular auxiliary closed, and over time the exempt chapter shrank in size.
“We were down to like four members,” said Ciecuch. “One of our members, Mrs. Mary Bildstein, talked to my husband and said she was worried because she didn’t want to see the auxiliary dwindle and go away, but funds were low and nothing was going on. Most of our members were elderly. Younger ones didn’t want to join. So Ray came up with a fundraiser to get a fund established for the ladies.”
Thus was born the first annual Valentine’s Breakfast. “And it just took off,” said Ciecuch.
A popular event
“We have over 200 people come,” said Ciecuch, who was elected vice president of the auxiliary in November and took office Jan. 1. “We have volunteers from other towns too. They come and hang out a little bit. The Kiwanis help.”
Funds raised at the event are added to the auxiliary treasury and disbursed over the course of the year to appropriate causes.
“In beginning we didn’t do much with the funds, just kept a little and made a donation to retired firemen in Boonton,” said Ciecuch. “Then as the treasury grew and the event took off, we were able to make donation two years in a row to the Emergency Fund in Secaucus.”
The group also holds an annual Thanksgiving food drive and participates in charitable events throughout the town. “If they’re doing something and need servers, [Mayor] Mike [Gonnelli] lets us know. He knows if he needs us to help him with an event we’ll be there.”
Breakfast tickets cost $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and children under 12, and are available at the door. For more information call Vickie Cieciuch at (201) 388-1058 or Alexis Leppin at (201) 723-5521.
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.