Barbara Lawlor, Ward.  Ward has always been great at finding a good reason for a party, especially in the summer, when the wildflowers decorate yards and in the evening, it's warm enough to sit on the church steps.

On Saturday, June 24, Ward townsfolk organized a Chili/sausage/music/silent auction for the volunteer fire department and the food bank. Residents walked up the hill, brought their dogs and settled in for the night. Now and then they would fill their bowls with locally made chili loaded with moose sausage and vegetables.

Red cabbage and sauerkraut and a bowl of Bing cherries accented the rich, luscious chili. The specialty drink of the evening was Jungle Juice, a blend of mango, coconut, lemon, a few other fruity additions and a hefty slug of Everclear.

Amy Weinberg and Chris Current of the Nederland Food Bank coordinated the event, which is one of the largest supporters of the Indian Peaks Fire Protection District.

Sequoia Zahn, the acting chief of the department, says most of the money to support the department is raised by the residents. Chief Zahn grew up in Ward, attended Nederland and Boulder schools and then finished up in Grand Junction.

Zahn returned to Ward, because "it is his home and a great community." He started out as a volunteer firefighter 10 years ago and has gone through EMT, wildland firefighting, structure firefighting and command training. He and the Ward volunteers worked the Fourmile Fire and the Cold Springs Fire last summer and they respond to the many vehicle and motorcycle accidents on the Peak to Peak as well as rescuing lost hikers at Brainard Lake.

With 10 regular responders and 10 more they try to keep interested, the department has one of the smallest crews, but they cover the largest wildland area in Boulder County.

Zahn said the future of the department includes the writing of grants and using the funding that is to be had. "We do what we do well enough for a town of this size."

Bear, Blair and Bruce started the evening’s music and the Banshee Tree played into the night. The church pews were moved against the walls to create a space for dancing and people ate and chatted and enjoyed each other's company on a beautiful summer night.

Even the chili meat and sausage was donated by one of the local moose who became roadkill and the DOW gave the meat to the community.

It was a great event for an even greater cause.

(Originally published in the June 29, 2017 print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)