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BURNHAM -- It doesn't take as long as you'd think to fill up a room full of empty rectangular tables.
At least that's what Teddy and Shawna Nearhoof, of Derry Township, claim when preparing prize tables for the 51st Annual Burnham Fire Co.'s Penny Bazaar.
"It takes 3 days to set up usually," shared Shawna, who was quick to add that there are other members of the fire company who help with the workload for the annual event. "I am not sure of an exact number yet but we have anywhere from 250 to 300 prizes just on the penny tables."
When the Burnham Fire Co. first started its Penny Bazaar a half century ago, members used to sell tickets door to door in the community. With the advent of social media, family, friends and community members come to them -- or the firehouse -- looking to show their support.
The Nearhoofs are thankful for not having to do that. Cold calls aren’t really their thing. The Penny Bazaar is slated for Friday, Aug. 14 and Saturday, Aug. 15 at the firehouse, located at 205 N. Beech St., Burnham, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
"There are lots of prizes," Shawna said. "There are three different things we do. The Penny table; there is no grand prize. We have a $1 raffle table then a raffle ticket. This year we are doing $5,000. Last year, we did $10,000. This year. we are doing $5,000.
During the bazaar, the donations are placed on tables throughout the fire hall with a corresponding bucket, and the public can put their tickets in the bucket for a chance to win.
The sheets of 100 tickets are sold for $1 each. That gives potential winners 100 chances — at a penny each — to win a prize. Which is where the name of the Penny Bazaar originated.
“They just buy a sheet of tickets, rip those tickets up and drop them in the bucket for the prizes that you want to try to win,” Shawna said.
The second change is that raffle tickets can now be purchased with credit or debit cards online. All other tickets must be bought in person. Food and games will still be cash only.
“It’s like a two-day concert here in Burnham,” Shawna said. “Thousands of people come through our doors, and everything is right here at our building.”
Attendance at the annual event has gotten so large that Beech Street is blocked off as people sometimes sit in the street waiting for prize winners to be announced.
Last year, Shawna said 10,000 to 12,000 sheets of tickets were sold for the event. “It only takes one ticket to win,” she added.
Fire officials have come a long way since the Penny Bazaar was started by Jim Bratton in 1975 — when they were going door to door and were selling hand-written tickets. All of the names of the winners also had to be written in a book; now everything is computerized.
“When you’re drawing a number, you type into the computer and it tells us who won, that’s the biggest change,” Shawna said.
When the Nearhoofs first became involved with the Penny Bazaar, they hoped to see it reach this milestone. Mission accomplished.
“My husband said when he took it, ‘I at least want to make it to the 50th year,” Shawna laughed. “So, here we are.”
The rising cost of firefighting has gone from $6,750 in 2020 to more than $22,000 in 2026. That includes the basics such as a helmet that cost $350 in 2020 and has doubled to $700 as well as coats and pants from $2,800 to $4,000 to $5,000 and even ladder trucks have skyrocketed from $700K to $1.7M to $2.0M.
For more information, find the fire company on Facebook.