Quilts hot item at Amish school auction
Karen Peterson photo
Jason Miller catches bids during the quilt auction.
Karen Peterson photo
Boys hang around the sign advertising the auction.
Karen Peterson photo
Lorene Yoder's "Mayflower" quilt sold for $1,150 at Saturday's auction.
Karen Peterson photo
Lorene Yoder watches in amazement as the quilt she made went for $1,150 at the auction.
Karen Peterson photo
Future schoolchildren attend the Amish School Auction in St. Ignatius.
Karen Peterson photo
A load of watermelons were included in auction items.
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
ST. IGNATIUS – Quilts bring in hundreds of people to the Mission Valley Amish School Auction each year. Lorene Yoder watched auctioneers taking bids on the quilt she brought to the auction.
“Can I get $1,000?” Auctioneer Orlie Troyer asked the crowd shaded under a tent facing her quilt. Yoder’s eyes widened as Troyer continued to take higher bids until he reached $1,150. Quilts were averaging about $500 each.
“It was exciting,” Yoder said. “I didn’t think it would go that high.”
Small cloth squares, diamonds and triangles were sewn together to create the quilt’s design.
“It looks three-dimensional,” she said of the quilt she calls “Mayflower.”
Yoder started quilting 40 years ago in her twenties.
“I really enjoy the intricate designs,” she said. “I look forward to the winter months when I can sit next to the kitchen and work on a quilt.”
Many of the quilts were sent from different Amish communities as far away as Pennsylvania to help raise money for the school.
“This year we’ve got 112 quilts,” said Brenda Beachy, quilt organizer.
Local woman gather together during the year to turn the hours needed to sew a quilt into a social time.
“The ladies sit around a frame and talk and visit,” she said. “To piece a quilt together start to finish, it takes hours and hours and more hours. Some have an unbelievable amount of labor into them.”
Pat Winkler comes to the auction to buy quilts. A quilt she bought for $1,100 in the past spoke to her.
“It struck my fancy and said you should take me home,” she said. This year she was watching the auction for another quilt to take home.
Robert Miller’s homemade ice cream cranked out by an “old John hit-and-miss 1929 engine” was another attraction at the auction. Seventy percent of the ice cream profits go to the school, he says. The rest covers supply costs.
“It takes me 20 minutes to make five gallons,” he said as the engine rumbled loudly. He starts by stirring milk and a flavored dry mix in a metal pot surrounded by ice and salt.
“It’s zero degrees in there and outside here it’s 90 degrees,” he said. “There is nothing like homemade ice cream.”
Other items auctioned to raise money for the school included chickens, watermelons, old style washing machines, plants and furniture. This year a credit card machine was included to make it easier for people to pay for those items.
“People asked for it so we got one,” Ed Beachy said. “It’s more difficult for a non-profit to get one, but we did it.”
The auction has grown enough over the years to completely support 35 students, two teachers and maintenance costs at the school.
“The school is run on proceeds alone,” he said. “In earlier years we had a tuition fee.”
Marcus Bontrager, 12, said when the school is in session he gets up at 6:30 a.m. to do chores before riding his bike three miles to school. He said if he had the choice between a car ride and his bike “I’d rather ride my bike.”
Justin Yoder, 11, studied math at 8:30 a.m. when school was in session. He is spending his summer break “not doing a terrible lot of work.” It took him a moment to think back on the school year to decide on a favorite school subject.
“I ‘sorta’ enjoy math,” he said. “Fractions and multiplication are easy.”
During the auction Justin and Marcus watched as cars continually drove through the gates into a field in front of the school.
“It’s good the people come to help raise money for the school,” Marcus said. “It pays for books and the teachers.”
