Chronicle photo by Toni Milbourne Susan Davis, president of Independent Fire Auxiliary, worked a full week baking for the annual Breakfast with Santa and Bake Sale.

Independent Fire Company provided their annual Breakfast with Santa on Saturday morning, beginning at 7 a.m. Always a huge draw in the Ranson community, the breakfast, consisting of pancakes, eggs, homemade sausage, gravy, biscuits and drinks was enjoyed by many, including Santa and Mrs. Claus who were on hand to greet all of the children.

The taste buds were not just given a treat with the breakfast, however. Attendees were able to take home any number of delicious items on sale by the company’s auxiliary.

The treats, ranging from cookies to fudge to cakes and candy were, in huge part, provided by one loyal member of the fire company’s auxiliary. Current auxiliary president Susan Davis explained that she made more than 90 percent of the items for the baked good sale.

“I think I baked about 175 dozen cookies,” she said, as she began listing off the items that came out of her kitchen over the past week.

“I did peanut butter and chocolate fudge, banana bread, rolls, apple sauce cakes, chocolate with peanut butter icing, pineapple upside down cake and coconut bonbons,” she said. She kept adding to the list things like cinnamon candy, chocolate covered cherries, caramel apples, peanut brittle, pumpkin rolls, cupcakes. The list went on and on.

“It took about a week to get all this done,” Davis said. What she didn’t initially volunteer without some prodding was that that week consisted of 12-14 hour days spent in her kitchen rolling out goods for the sale.

“If you have a bake sale, you have to have stuff to sell,” she said.

All of these delicious treats came as a donation by Davis, who used nearly 200 pounds of sugar, not to mention all of the other needed ingredients.

“I’m a bargain shopper,” she laughed when asked about the cost of the ingredients.

“I enjoy this,” she said. I do it for the fire department.

She went on to explain, “I want to raise all the money I can for this department. Knowing we [the auxiliary] raise money to help have these trucks and ambulances that can get out and serve the community-that’s my motivation.”

Davis has been a member of the Independent Fire Auxiliary for nearly 18 years. Each year the group gives a donation of the funds they have raised throughout the year at the annual January banquet. Last year, Davis said, the auxiliary gave the fire department $21,000.

All of those dollars were raised by the auxiliary members doing things like this annual bake sale which, last year, brought in about $800. They also host dinners and cater parties and weddings. The group hosts quarter auctions and an annual Craft and Vendor Show at the fire hall each year as well.