On July 5, 1907, the Ely Newspaper ran an article titled, “Firemen Won the Library.” The merchants of Ely established a popularity contest among all the organizations and societies throughout the city and anyone in town could submit their vote at the City Drugstore for a period of five months. The prize for winning this unique popularity contest was a library of 115 standard books donated by the “Merchants of Ely.”
The Ely Fire Department took first place with Msgr. Buh and St. Anthony’s Parish taking second, followed by all the other businesses and organizations in the town which included the high school, the hospital, and all other churches. The incident makes abundantly clear that Msgr. Buh was not just a man of his parish but of the whole community. Every community he served in, even the non-Catholics looked to him as a community leader and servant worthy of recognition.