BATAVIA — Family and friends of Ralph Esten Jr. of Oakfield, who continues to battle a brain tumor, wrapped up what they said was a busy benefit Sunday for Ralph and his wife, Michelle.
Rose Campbell, who runs Holy Smoke Chicken BBQ & Catering, supplied the food for the barbecue.
“We’ve also been friends with Ralph his whole life,” she said.
Campbell and Danielle Esten, Ralph Esten Jr.’s sister, said things were busy early in the barbecue. Ralph Jr.’s father, Ralph Esten Sr., Ralph Jr.’s sister, Melissa, and Rachael Cook were also among those helping with the event.
“It’s gone by crazy today. We had three lines of traffic coming through all day today. It’s been phenomenal,” Danielle Esten said.
“We’ve got a bunch of friends. Angelique Newton is the one that suggested it, along with Nikki Kirkum, to do a fund-raiser for my brother, to help him and his wife, Michelle,” Danielle said. “We’re thankful for Rose and her boys, who blew this out of the water for us and made sure we had a very successful day ...”
There were a number of raffle items and the public did not need to be present to win.
“Everybody from the community ... we’ve got friends in Buffalo, Erie County, Genesee County, Monroe County, everybody who’s helped with us, it’s turned out to be very successful,” Danielle Esten said. “We just want to thank everybody for their help.”
The Town of Batavia Fire Department let the event use its parking lot, Campbell said.
“We want to thank the Town of Batavia Fire Department for letting us hold this very special event for Ralph. Without them, we couldn’t have done it,” she said. Asked how Ralph Esten Jr. was doing Sunday, Danielle Esten said today has been a good day.
“He was here earlier. It was crazy busy when he came through,” she said. “It varies, day by day.”
Newton, who organized the fundraiser with Kirkum and Laurie Nanni, said Ralph Esten Jr. has been a longtime Oakfield resident — very well-known, worked at the local pizzeria.
“Him and his family never ask for anything. Us ladies here, we wanted to reach out and help him,” Newton said. “It took a lot of convincing. The outpouring amount of support is unbelievable. We have a barrel of booze that has over 50 bottles of booze in it. We have a gift basket that has over $1,100 worth of restaurant gift certificates in it (that) were all donated. We have an overnight stay at Batavia Downs with some Free Play money. We have a Genesee Speedway season pass that was donated, a 65-inch television that was donated by Caryville Inn from Oakfield.”
“I know I speak for all of us here (Newton, Kirkum and Nanni). We cannot thank the Oakfield community (enough) for everything they’ve done. KMC Custom Cakes (of Batavia) donated all the cookies to go with the meals,” Newton said. “Lamb Farms donated the milk. Hats off to this catering team, Holy Smokes. They did an amazing, amazing job to put 770-plus people through their line today. I can’t say enough about everybody that has helped us put this event on. It was more successful than we ever could have imagined. It wasn’t just a one-person, it was a group effort that pulled this all together for them today.”
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