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 The Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall passes through downtown Wapakoneta Wednesday, September 1. Staff photo/William Laney By CARLA MEYER
Staff Writer
For 45 minutes, the roar of motorcycles could be heard passing under an American flag hanging from two ladder trucks. For 45 minutes, area residents gathered in the shadow of the Auglaize County Courthouse and Wapakoneta Fire Station waved and clapped as motorcyclists rode by.
The smiles and waves turned into clapping and cheers as the Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall passed down Willipie Street on its way to Custenborder Field in Sidney where it was greeted by a field of American flags.
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Auction hits all-time highs |
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Monday, 20 July 2009 |
 A series of theater seats painted with concession stand items brought in nearly $600 when purchased by Wapakoneta resident Jon Derryberry. Staff photo/Matt Nichols By MATT NICHOLS
Staff Writer
The mood was tense as the final seconds wore down in the 2009 “Chair-ity and Fun-iture” Auction Saturday afternoon.
Three bidders were hotly contesting a vintage set of four auditorium seats, and when a bid of $425 was scribbled down, event committee member Carrie Knoch had to make an executive decision.
“We didn’t want hurt feelings, so we gave each one a card and had them write their highest bid,” Knoch said. “and, incredibly, the top bid was $599.”
That final bid — the highest of the day — topped off the highly successful two-day event which auctioned off artistic chairs and furniture designed by area artists.
Knoch said the auction garnered more than $2,000, Flooring Committee members who expected a far less turnover. For ever item auctioned off, half of the proceeds went to the Riverside Art Center (RAC), who ran the event, and the other half went to the a charity of the artist’s choice.
On Sunday, Knoch said she never imagined the RAC would raise that much money.
“We really thought that if we raised a few hundred dollars, we would call it a success,” Knoch said. “But we ended up bringing in over $1,000. It’s just amazing.”
The event was held from 3 to 10 p.m. Friday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Bids were scribbled down on a clipboard next to each piece so bidders could see whether they had been outbid. If someone was outbid, they could come back to the RAC and write in a new bid.
Things were slow to start on Friday and early Saturday, but as the clock wound down to the final hour, business picked up. As time ticked away, it became evident the hottest piece was a section of four seats taken from the auditorium of the old Spencerville High School before it was demolished.
Each seat back was decorated with retro movie theater-themed food logos. Eventually the bids spiked high enough, only three bidders remained in the running. Knoch said the three bidders would write their price, pass the clipboard to the next bidder, who would top it. The process continued until the 3 p.m. deadline, when Knoch made her decision to give the final bid.
Knoch said Jon Derryberry was the bid winner, with his $599 maximum bid.
“When we were watching this clipboard go back and forth, it was like, ‘This isn’t happening right now,’” Knoch said. “It was just back and forth.”
Derryberry’s bid was easily the highest of the 2009 auction, the RAC’s first time heading it up. In previous years, the Wapakoneta Antique Specialty Shops (WASS) ran the event, but stepped down this year. With the RAC looking for more exposure, coupled with their membership with WASS, Knoch said this year’s switch as a natural transition.
This year was also the first time furniture was added to the auction. More than $600 of the final tally were attributed to purchased furniture.
“The furniture brought quite a bit of variety,” Knoch said. “We had over 45 pieces which was wonderful and we made much more than we anticipated, so we’re thrilled to have raised this much for the community.
“Everything went beyond our expectations,” she said.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 July 2009 )
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