Auction for academics
Annual auction benefits Amish school
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ST. IGNATIUS — Horse halters, furniture, homemade ice cream, log buildings, bunny rabbits and pretty much everything in between were for sale at the Mission Valley Auction held on Saturday. Usually the auction is held on the second Saturday of July at 13137 Foothills Road.
The St. Ignatius Volunteer Fire Department came out early to dampen the roads around the auction to keep the dust down according to Ed Beachy, one of the auction committee members.
The local Amish community sponsored the 8th annual auction to raise funds for its private school. The Amish school, a non-profit, receives 12 percent of the total proceeds from the auction. Anyone can consign items to the auction, and many Amish communities around the United States send quilts to sell here.
Quilt aficionados showed up early to view the nearly 100 handstitched quilts. The quilts, representing thousands of hours of work, started selling at 11 a.m. under a large tent. The tent protected buyers from the worst of temperatures in the 80s.
Repeat quilt customers said they come to the auction because the stitching is exquisite on the quilts and one-of-a-kind quilts come through the auction.
From high up under the tent top, quilts were clothespinned to a wire, displaying their entire length. As one quilt was sold, it was unpinned and Aaron Troyer carried it over to Lorene Yoder and Esta Miller, who quickly folded the quilt and tucked it into a plastic bag with the lot number showing.
The next quilt on deck was pulled on over using a bicycle wheel hooked to the wire so there was never a break in the action.
For hungry quilt buyers and other audience members, barbecue chicken dinners with mashed potatoes and gravy, cole slaw and a homemade roll were available for $8. Sweet fanciers could purchase homemade pie and ice cream. Cold water and soft drinks plus popcorn were also on the menu.
In addition to the quilt tent, two other auctioneers sold furniture, vintage and antique items and consignment goods.
