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Amish Community Auction returns to support school

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Handmade quilts were back on the auction block this year during the Amish Community Auction held on Saturday in St. Ignatius to raise money to run the school house.

“It looks like we might have a record crowd here today,” said organizer Marty Miller, as he looked out across the field on Foothills Road in front of the Amish Christian School. He saw two large event-style tents full of people bidding on quilts under one tent and furniture under another. A third auction was held across the field where various items like tools, buildings and buggies were being sold. On the north side of the field, people were lined up to purchase food items, including chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, pie and ice cream. 

The COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to the auction last year. As hundreds of people from across the country usually attend the annual event, it was canceled as a precaution to prevent the spread of the virus. Instead of an auction last year, people in the Amish community gathered to volunteer their time to build a house. A portion of the proceeds from the house went to provide yearly operating costs for the Amish Christian School. 

Every year, the people in Amish community volunteer their time and resources to raise money for the school house. Miller estimates that is costs about $30,000 a year to run the school with an average of 25 student each year. 

Along with a a canceled auction last year, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the local community with “a few people” getting the virus, Miller said. Thankfully, he added, “No one was really sick.” 

Miller reflected on the past two years since the pandemic started and said that wearing a mask in town hasn’t been the best experience. “It’s good to see the numbers go down so people don’t have to hide behind a mask.” 

Church services at the Amish Community Church were also impacted by the pandemic last year. Due to Centers for Disease Control guidelines, services were at the church were canceled at the beginning of the pandemic; but eventually, social gathering restrictions were lessoned in the state so church was back in session, but people still needed to stay socially distanced and gather, at the church, in family groups instead as one big group, which was difficult because social gatherings are important to the community. 

Miller said he was grateful that things are starting to get back to normal and people are able to gather, which included the auction. He said there was one good thing that came out of the pandemic, although he emphasized that he would rather not have had the pandemic. He said business has increased for people in the Amish community with construction projects. “Everyone was staying home and decided to remodel their house, put in new cabinets or buy a shed, so we have been really busy with things like that.”

The auction continued through the afternoon for several hours until the last slice of pie was sold and the last auction item was bid on. Miller said the auction will be back again next year if everything goes as planned. 

 

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