LOWGAP — The Skull Camp Volunteer Fire Department has reached a milestone of being in operation for 35 years, and will celebrate that Saturday.

An event is planned aimed at giving the department and community a chance to thank the individuals who got the unit started in the late 1970s to provide fire protection in the Lowgap area.

“We’re going to have an open house for the community — anybody is welcome to come by,” said Josh Moose, chief of the Skull Camp department. He added that a special invitation is going out to charter members of the firefighting organization.

The open house will begin at 1 p.m. at the fire station on N.C. 89, with a barbecue lunch to be part of the gathering. “We’re going to serve until they run out,” Moose said.

“We really just wanted to say ‘thank you’ to those who started the department,” he added.

Along with being treated for lunch, it is hoped that the early Skull Camp firefighters can offer stories about how the department was launched and detail some of the obstacles that had to be overcome.

“If it hadn’t been for them, the fire department wouldn’t be there,” Moose said, mentioning in particular Jerry Fore, a longtime member of Surry County’s firefighting community.

It is hoped that the dedication exhibited by their forerunners will make an impression on the present members of the department, “just to try to get the newer guys to appreciate our heritage,” Moose said.

The Skull Camp Volunteer Fire Department now has around 40 members.

Photos, scrapbooks and memorabilia from the department’s early years also are expected to be on display during Saturday’s open house.

Reach Tom Joyce at 719-1924 or tjoyce@heartlandpublications.com.