VFW to host chicken noodle fundraiser Friday for Doolin Flag

The Blackwell Veterans of Foreign Wars Women’s Auxiliary will host a chicken noodle soup fundraiser Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. to raise money for the Doolin Avenue flagpole. The fundraiser will take place in the Top of Oklahoma Museum club room at the intersection of Main Street and Padon Avenue.

It will offer chicken noodles, dessert and a drink for $8, with the proceeds being used to repair the flagpole. In April, the women’s auxiliary and the Blackwell Fire Department hosted an Indian taco fundraiser for the flagpole. “We sold out,” Sherry Landers, the auxiliary president, said. “We were supposed to go until 7 p.m., and we had to wrap up at 5 p.m.” The group used more than 40 lbs. of hamburger meat to make the cultural dishes, which were also served at the museum.

“It was so wonderful to see Blackwell coming together to support something like the Doolin flagpole, which means so much to a lot of people,” Landers said. The goal, Landers said, is to raise $10,000. During the 2020 Homecoming celebration, the fire department hoisted the city’s large American flag back up the flagpole after a six-month hiatus. Fire Chief Cory Hanebrink was said crews had to temporarily repair the flagpole beforehand. The cost to permanently repair the flagpole, which is owned by Blackwell’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary No. 2855, is approximately $9,000. Landers said she is eager to see it fixed.

“We can’t thank the fire department enough for their help so far, and I’ve had countless people reaching out to me after seeing this story in the newspaper and on Facebook,” Landers said in a previous interview with The Journal-Tribune. “The exposure really has helped.” Donations toward the purchase of a new flag and flagpole can be made to the fire department or to the VFW Auxiliary.

To contact the fire department, call 580- 363-5490. To contact Landers, call 580-262- 0121. An account has been set up to receive donations at BancFirst in Blackwell.