Trio collects cans for fire department
By Tim Gallagher, Journal staff writer | Posted: Monday, December 10, 2007
SLOAN, Iowa -- A little coffee-shop moaning and groaning has worked wonders for the Sloan Volunteer Fire Department.
Thanks to chief groaner Kay Ping and her gang.
Ping joins Ruth Brenden and Kathy Stoulp once each month at Sloan City Hall collecting aluminum cans. Those cans are redeemed for cash that helps the local fire department.
How much? This can collection effort has raised $8,194.95 since August 2004. The drive helped the trio buy new appliances and a firefighter statue for the new fire hall.
"We have a very good fire department," said Brenden. "Our department is special."
Special. That's what the assistant fire chief calls the department's "Can Ladies."
"They go out of their way, way beyond what anybody can imagine," said David Cole, assistant fire chief in Sloan. "I saw them getting sweaty going through those cans this summer. We appreciate what they do. They're always there for us. They are there all the time."
The can drive dates to a few years ago, according to Ping, who served as city clerk for years before her retirement in 2004.
"I used to sack cans at city hall, and we'd collect about $1,000 per year," said Ping, who used the money to buy lime for the community's little league ball diamonds. "We also bought playground equipment with that money."
When Ping prepared to retire from her city clerk position three years ago, her successor had other duties that needed attention. It appeared the can-collecting project might be trashed, so to speak.
"We asked some groups if they wanted to take this project on, but nobody wanted it," Ping said. "So I was moaning and groaning in the coffee shop and Ruth suggested we keep doing it and donate the money to the fire department."
Her suggestion coincided with the department's effort to build and open a new facility on the north edge of Sloan.
"We were about to build this new fire department building and we knew they wouldn't have enough money for a stove or microwave," said Stoulp. "They got all brand-new stuff because of this."
Sure enough, the facility opened, and the local fire-fighting volunteers got to enjoy new appliances, including a generator, compressor, stove, microwave oven, refrigerator and washer/dryer set. Officials can launder their suits or other clothing items when they return from a smoke-filled fire scene.
Although Ping has a connection to the fire department (her husband, Cliff, has been a member for 35 years), neither Stoulp nor Brenden has a relative on the force. But all three agree it's an essential component of their hometown. It was a natural fit, they agree, for their effort.
That effort, of course, is ongoing, The three women still convene at Sloan City Hall from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on the final Saturday of each month. They open the doors and wait for residents to pull up with sacks of empty beer and pop cans.
"We sort them and then give them to a recycler who pays us for them," said Ping.
She's amazed when she sees how much they've purchased in the effort.
"When we started, I was going to be tickled if we got a stove and refrigerator," she said. "We got that, plus a lot more, and a statue out front which we unveiled when the building opened. And what's nice is that no tax dollars were used."
Thanks to chief groaner Kay Ping and her gang.
Ping joins Ruth Brenden and Kathy Stoulp once each month at Sloan City Hall collecting aluminum cans. Those cans are redeemed for cash that helps the local fire department.
How much? This can collection effort has raised $8,194.95 since August 2004. The drive helped the trio buy new appliances and a firefighter statue for the new fire hall.
"We have a very good fire department," said Brenden. "Our department is special."
Special. That's what the assistant fire chief calls the department's "Can Ladies."
"They go out of their way, way beyond what anybody can imagine," said David Cole, assistant fire chief in Sloan. "I saw them getting sweaty going through those cans this summer. We appreciate what they do. They're always there for us. They are there all the time."
The can drive dates to a few years ago, according to Ping, who served as city clerk for years before her retirement in 2004.
"I used to sack cans at city hall, and we'd collect about $1,000 per year," said Ping, who used the money to buy lime for the community's little league ball diamonds. "We also bought playground equipment with that money."
When Ping prepared to retire from her city clerk position three years ago, her successor had other duties that needed attention. It appeared the can-collecting project might be trashed, so to speak.
"We asked some groups if they wanted to take this project on, but nobody wanted it," Ping said. "So I was moaning and groaning in the coffee shop and Ruth suggested we keep doing it and donate the money to the fire department."
Her suggestion coincided with the department's effort to build and open a new facility on the north edge of Sloan.
"We were about to build this new fire department building and we knew they wouldn't have enough money for a stove or microwave," said Stoulp. "They got all brand-new stuff because of this."
Sure enough, the facility opened, and the local fire-fighting volunteers got to enjoy new appliances, including a generator, compressor, stove, microwave oven, refrigerator and washer/dryer set. Officials can launder their suits or other clothing items when they return from a smoke-filled fire scene.
Although Ping has a connection to the fire department (her husband, Cliff, has been a member for 35 years), neither Stoulp nor Brenden has a relative on the force. But all three agree it's an essential component of their hometown. It was a natural fit, they agree, for their effort.
That effort, of course, is ongoing, The three women still convene at Sloan City Hall from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on the final Saturday of each month. They open the doors and wait for residents to pull up with sacks of empty beer and pop cans.
"We sort them and then give them to a recycler who pays us for them," said Ping.
She's amazed when she sees how much they've purchased in the effort.
"When we started, I was going to be tickled if we got a stove and refrigerator," she said. "We got that, plus a lot more, and a statue out front which we unveiled when the building opened. And what's nice is that no tax dollars were used."
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Rhonda W wrote on Dec 10, 2007 10:18 PM:
Michael T wrote on Dec 10, 2007 9:22 AM: