In 2013, Swan Quarter resident Harry Glyn Jarvis, owner of Oyster Creek Marina, donated $5,000.00 to the Swan Quarter Volunteer Fire Department to be used to build an outdoor shelter with a barbecue pit underneath it. The shelter and pit were much needed as a place that the department could cook barbecue pork or chicken without having to borrow cookers from throughout the community and then find a protected place out of the weather to park them while cooking the meats for their monthly fundraiser lunches/dinners.

The shelter and pit were to be built immediately behind the station at 25 Oyster Creek Road and work eventually got underway in August 2014, Under the direction of Swan Quarter resident Matthew Mason, various VFD members worked alongside Mason to build a 31-foot square shelter, complete with 6”x6” treated lumber support beams, roof trusses, and a tin roof. Mason whose carpentry skills are in high demand, donated many hours of his own time on this project.

Plans called for a concrete and cinder block barbeque pit with metal tops covering the cooking area. The blocks and masonry work was donated as was the work of a local welder. There is still some work necessary before the pits can be used, but the shelter has already been used as a place for portable cookers to be out of the weather and close by the station, making it easier to get the cooked meat moved inside to the station’s kitchen.

During the check presentation to the SQVFD, Jarvis told the members of the department: “By the time I was 20 years old, I had been around the world three times. I’ve served with the US Army in Korea. I’ve vacationed all over the world and, in my opinion, Swan Quarter has the best fire and rescue department anywhere!”

In accepting the donation, Fire Chief Jeffrey Stotesberry thanked Jarvis for his generous donation. He expressed the appreciation of the department’s volunteers: “We try to do our very best to protect and serve our community. We love what we do, but it would not be possible without special people like Mr. Jarvis.”