The 57th Annual Creston Auction

We were fortunate enough to settle in an area that has a long tradition of community coming together to get things done. And not just little things, either. Some of our schools, fire stations, and even roads were built with donations and volunteer labor. Sadly, that community-driven mindset is disappearing as people now expect to be taken care of by the government.

This weekend is our fire department’s 57th annual Creston Auction. This event raises money for our department to buy gear and equipment. Whereas most fire districts go to their residents, hat in hand, our fire chief is committed to making as many improvements as possible without raising taxes. The auction is our big money-maker, but we also have smaller fundraisers throughout the year. We are raising money to build a new station.

The husband and I have been working at the auction since he joined the fire department in 1994. When the girls were little, my mother-in-law would come out and take care of them so he and I could have the week free. I started out helping my friend Pat, who ran the food section of the auction for many years. When I became treasurer of the firefighters’ association, I ran Finance, which was a huge job but one that I loved. (I really like keeping track of pennies.) The husband was head of Logistics for most of that time. A few years ago, he moved over to run the Sunday equipment sale, so I moved there to help him.

We snagged a young woman, Amanda, to help us at the equipment sale last year. She is part of the large family that helped start the Mennonite church here in 1913 and I’ve known her since she was a toddler because she and DD#2 took dance lessons together. She is a sharp cookie. I decided that 2023 would be my last year of being in charge of anything at the auction, so we’re training her to take over for me. Another young couple, Nick and Brittany, are also helping out. The husband would like Nick to take over for him, and Amanda and Brittany would run the administrative end of the sale.

Yesterday was our intake day—people bring items from 7 am to 7 pm and consign them to the sale. The equipment sale requires having a notary on hand to inspect titles and notarize them if necessary. Linda, who was the secretary at the elementary school my kids attended, was our notary for the first half of the day. We had a new notary helping us yesterday afternoon—a friend of Elysian’s—and she and I discovered within the first five minutes that we had grown up a few miles from each other in Ohio.

[Cue It’s a Small World, After All]

I mostly supervised and served as institutional memory. Amanda and Brittany did a great job and I have no worries about them taking over next year.

Today is the general merchandise sale so we get a break. Tomorrow will be our big day.

These are the kinds of events that undergird a strong community. There was a lot of catching up happening yesterday as people emerged from their homes after a long winter—which is not over yet—and talked to neighbors and friends they hadn’t seen for a while.

We’ll have to see what the buying crowds are like today as the weather is supposed to be cold and windy. I’ll be all bundled up in my long underwear, wool pants, wool socks, and Carhartt jacket. (There is no such thing as bad weather, just poor clothing choices.) Maybe we’ll come home with some goodies.