Creston Auction combines community, fundraising

The Daily Inter Lake

Annual event planned April 4-5

A community gathering, a fundraiser for a volunteer organization, a treasure trove of new and used items up for grabs: All that and more come out of the two-day, 43rd annual Creston Auction & Country Fair and the accompanying RV, Marine, Auto & Equipment Sale.

This year's event will be April 4 and 5 in Creston, 12 miles east of Kalispell on Montana 35.

This fundraiser for the all-volunteer Creston Fire Department draws more than 7,000 people annually, according to a news release.

Last year more than $27,000 was raised for the fire department, which uses the money to train and equip its firefighters. The department hopes to see that number rise this year.

"I like to see the community come together to help us help you," Fire Chief Gary Mahugh said. "Few things today involve the community like a fire department, especially a volunteer fire department."

Over the life of the auction, more than $1 million has been returned to the community. The Creston Fire Department has used the money to purchase safety equipment, build the Lake Blaine training center and make payments on fire trucks and engines.

Through the auction, the Creston Fire Department has acquired equipment that no other fire department in Western Montana has - equipment that is used to save lives and property and protect the firefighters, Assistant Fire Chief Bob Kun said.

"We try to think ahead and make sure that we can help anyone wherever, whenever," Kun said. "We're always thinking about the customer. We like to consider ourselves to be very progressive, and it costs money to be progressive."

The auction has grown over its 43 years from a two-hour sale run out of the back of a pickup truck by a dozen people to a multiday, 200-person volunteer effort filling the Creston School grounds and gym and Eastside Grange Hall.

The weekend is preceded by months of planning and preparations long handled by the Creston Fire Department's 30-plus fire and medical responders. This year, auction organizers are working to bring more community members into the process of setting up and running the auction to lighten the load for the firefighters.

"When the pagers go off [calling firefighters to an emergency] during the auction, we want to be able to jump in the trucks and go do our thing and not worry about the auction. It will still go on because community members will be there to step in," said Mahugh.

These fire and medical responders provide 24/7 emergency response 365 days a year to their 83-square-mile district.

In 2008, the Creston Fire Department responded to more than 230 calls, approximately 65 percent medical or rescue-related and 35 percent fire-related. In addition, each responder obtains hundreds of hours of training annually.

As Mahugh said, "The real value to this community is in the volunteer firefighters who don't get paid for what they do."

This year's auction begins April 3 with Consignment Day. Merchandise will be accepted from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the sale grounds in Creston.

April 4 is the main auction, featuring building materials, household merchandise, sports equipment, tools, tack, specialty items and a large array of antiques. Grounds open at 8 a.m. and bidding starts at 9 a.m. There is no buyer's premium this year, and $5 buys a bid number for the day.

Also on Saturday, arts and crafts will be on sale in the Eastside Grange Hall. A rummage and bake sale, featuring lefse, will be held in the Creston School gym (donated items for the rummage and bake sales are always needed and welcome).

Hot food will be available all day, including Montana beef sausages, freshly made chili and funnel cakes.

On April 5, the bidding starts at noon on cars, trucks, boats, recreational vehicles, tractors, farm equipment, trailers and other large items. The $10 bid tickets go on sale at 9 a.m.

For more information, or to list items for advertising, call 406-250-7396 or write to Creston Auction, 4498 Montana 35, Kalispell, MT 59901.

Information also is available at www.crestonfire.org.