Wonder Lake brothers get prized ride to school in firetruck

Colton Gillund, 12, a sixth-grader at Harrison Elementary School in Wonder Lake, waits in the front seat for his ride to the Wonder Lake Fire Protection District to begin Friday morning. Colton, along with his brother, Garrett, 9, and a few friends won a breakfast and ride with local firefighters as a silent auction item during a recent spaghetti dinner fundraiser in Wonder Lake. (Sandy Bressner – sbressner@nwherald.com)

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Friday was no ordinary school day for Colton and Garrett Gillund.

To close one of the final days of the academic year at Harrison School in Wonder Lake, teachers and aides plan an outdoor activity day called the All School Event Day. Children play games, participate in three-legged races, and are rewarded with Popsicles.

While all the students of Harrison School were excited about the day’s fun-filled activities, and for summer to begin, the Gillund boys woke up particularly excited Friday. In March, their parents, Jennifer and Jerry Gillund, participated in a silent auction fundraiser hosted by the Parent-Teacher Organization for the school.

Their prize was a ride for their children in a firetruck, complete with an early-morning breakfast at the firehouse with the firefighters, and polished off with a ride to school in the gleaming red truck.

“This is awesome,” 12-year-old Colton Gillund quietly exclaimed as the trucks pulled up. Colton and his brother, Garrett, 9, both were thrilled, even though they had been to a firehouse before on school field trips. Friends and neighbors Steven Dermont, 11, Elijah Nothdorf, 4, and Maxim Jinga, 3, also joined in the ride.

Firefighters warmly greeted the children as neighbors gathered to say hello.

The Board of Trustees of the Wonder Lake Fire Protection District served a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and pancakes, and the firefighters gave the boys a tour of the house.

“This is one of the positive things we can do for the community. And the kids obviously love it,” said Assistant Fire Chief Skip Sorensen, who has been with the department nearly 30 years.

This is the first year that Harrison’s PTO has had a silent auction, and Jennifer Gillund said she hoped that the organization would continue the fundraising event.

“Hopefully we’ll make this an annual [undertaking],” she said.