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Cullowhee Volunteer firefighters 'fired up' for 25th annual BBQ Saturday, Oct. 27

By Rose Hooper
Poster Haven Stephens, a seventh-grader at Cullowhee Valley School, won the poster contest promoting the Cullowhee Volunteer Fire Department's 25th annual barbecue dinner Saturday, Oct. 27. The contest was sponsored through Stephen Harrison's art class. Firefighter Clarence Pressley, left, presents Stephens, daughter of Chet and Vickie Stephens of Caney Fork, with two free tickets to the event. Her poster will be displayed throughout the community to promote the event. ­ Herald photo by Rose Hooper They started out with one cooker and 150 pounds of Boston butt. That was 25 years ago.

On Friday night, they'll crank up eight cookers full of 3,000 pounds of choice meat.

"Little bit of an increase in 25 years, don't you think?" said Mickey Luker, who will help with the all-nighter of cooking, smoking, turning, seasoning (and, oh, yes, periodically sampling) the tender pork while constantly adding chunks of dried wood to the night-warming fire.

Then comes the long-anticipated annual event. On Saturday, Oct. 27, the Cullowhee Volunteer Fire Department will serve up their famous Eastern-style barbecue from 3-8 p.m. at Cullowhee Valley School.

"Folks know it's always the fourth Saturday in October and those from out-of-town plan their vacations around our barbecue. They don't want to miss a good thing," said Luker, who has been with the department 10 years.

"We've cooked through rain, thunderstorms, sleet, snow ­ but, just like the post office, we've never failed to deliver, never had to cancel," said fireman Clarence Pressley.

The idea for a barbecue to raise money for the fire department originated with Pressley and Charles Stallings.

"I had the idea and Charlie had the secret ingredient," Pressley said. "And, after all these years, it's still secret."

In addition to Pressley and Stallings, some of those responsible for that first barbecue and the success of those that followed were Pog Hennessee, Ed Ulsenheimer, Wayne Hooper, Ralph Hooper, Roy Shuler, Austin Hooper, Jay Wheatley, Baxter Allen, John Beegle, Pat Angel, Jim Sutton, "Tater" Norman and Johnny Clayton.

"Back then we had an entertainment committee ­ Bill Rogers, Howard Rogers and Clifford Casey ­ who told jokes and kept the night young," said Pressley.

"When I joined the department in 1972, we just had one fire truck," said Pressley, the first non-Western Carolina University employee to become a member. "Now we have seven trucks in Cullowhee and three trucks at Tuckaseigee. We have 45 completely-uniformed and radio-equipped members. All of this has been made possible from the support of the community."

To Pressley, being a firefighter is "dangerous, hard work and takes a lot of dedication. It's caring for yourself, your partner, your department and your community."

"Cullowhee is fortunate to have quality men and such a strong department," Board member Bob Setzer said. "With the anticipated growth of the university and the area, we must continue to grow, too. That's one reason our annual barbecue fund-raiser is so important."

Back to Archive: 10/25/01.