Spaghetti suppers are a South Coast fundraiser staple, but the Marion Firefighter’s Association’s spaghetti supper fundraiser is the only one where you’ll find Assistant Fire Chief Allen Denham’s special sauce – a recipe some people would love to get their hands on.
Assistant Chief Denham, who cooked up 28 pounds of meat sauce for the event held at Fire Station One on Spring Street, said he wouldn’t give it out to anyone and the evening of January 18 was no exception. He wasn’t revealing his secret ingredient to anyone.
“I started cooking it at noon,” said Denham. “It’s my secret recipe. Everybody is dying to get it.”
You could find Fire Chief Thomas Joyce behind the counter in the kitchen, putting heaps of steaming spaghetti onto paper plates and covering it with Denham’s secret savory sauce, the entire night as a steady stream of people arrived and stayed long enough to eat up a plate of spaghetti and salad, followed by vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce.
President of the Marion Firefighter’s Association, Ron Auld, said the proceeds from the fundraiser go toward local scholarships, as well as equipment for the department and assistance to firefighters and their families during times of injury and crisis.
Guests also bought tickets for a raffle and Chinese auction, winning items that were donated by local residents and a few local businesses.
The association hosts the event every year, and its next event will be a clam boil coming up in March.
By Jean Perry
