Firefighters' popular fundraiser reaches 50th version

The Creston farmers who cobbled together their first neighborhood auction 50 years ago to raise money for firefighting equipment could not have imagined how big the event would become decades later.

Next weekend’s Creston Auction and Country Fair, arguably one of the biggest social events of the spring season in the Flathead Valley, is expected to attract more than 7,000 buyers from across the West.

Creston Fire Chief Gary Mahugh said he remembers watching his father help carry 100-pound sacks of potatoes for the first auction in 1966. Mahugh was 10 years old.

“It was pulled together by a few volunteer firefighters, who were mainly farmers, looking to update equipment,” Mahugh said. “My father got to see what they began become the largest auction in the Northwest.”

The time-honored auction will take place Friday through Sunday at Creston School. The three-day event is sponsored by the Creston Fire Fighters Association and includes a donation and consignment day, an auction day and an auto, recreational vehicle, boat and equipment day.

The original auction featured farming tools, produce and machinery scattered on the school lawn. The Creston Fire Department collected $486 from the sale — enough to make a down payment on a new fire truck to replace the converted oil tanker the 35-member volunteer crew used.

In its second year, the auction nearly doubled its profit.

“It was at that point that I think the guys who started this realized they had something going, but no one had any idea of what it would become,” Mahugh said.

The event grew from Creston farmers trading equipment and tools to include people from throughout Montana dropping off items such as furniture, classic cars and, every once in awhile, even an unused coffin.

The volunteer firefighters learned how to advertise, using billboards, press releases and more recently, posts on social media to drum up a crowd.

They also learned how to manage thousands of shoppers and hundreds of volunteers. The crew assigned tactical positions such as an incident commander to manage the auction.

By the time Mahugh joined the fire department, preparation for the event began the day after Halloween.

He said this year he expects the auction will have up to 13 rows of items for sale, roughly 50 yards long, spilling from the school’s fields into property the department bought for the event several years ago.

“This takes a lot of effort by a lot of people,” Mahugh said. “But for a lot of us, the auction has always been a part of our life. Like being a firefighter, I never questioned whether or not I would put in the effort.”

Retired Assistant Fire Chief Bob Kun said last year’s auction raised $39,000 for the department.

“We’ve learned what works and what doesn’t,” Kun said. “We know while a gold mirror could be sold, used tires typically won’t.”

He said the money raised this year will go toward firefighter training, education, equipment and public safety efforts.

The fire department’s primary budget comes from a taxpayer-passed mill levy that typically amounts to $200,000. Kun said while that’s sufficient to run the department, it runs out before the crew can update its equipment.

He also said each person who drops off an item at the auction receives a percentage of the sale.

“This is really beneficial for everyone,” Kun said. “The auction money allows us to bring our department to the next level without bringing those requests to the taxpayers. Plus, it’s a fun weekend for Creston.”

For more information, visit www.crestonfire.org or call the auction hotline at 406-250-7396.

Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.