An Auction Again

Some things have a stated purpose, but have an equally important—if not quite as obvious—secondary purpose. The Creston Auction has always been a way for the Creston community to raise additional funds for its all-volunteer fire department, but as the husband commented to me last night, this would be an important event even if all we did was break even. The secondary purpose of the Creston Auction is to strengthen to the web of community that holds us all together. We are people united in the common cause of making our community the best possible place to live, and right now, we’re raising money to build a fire station to replace the one we’ve outgrown. We didn’t have an auction in 2020 or 2021, and even though we had some other fundraising events, they weren’t quite the same as the Creston Auction.

I spent yesterday cataloging the information about the cars and equipment that were being consigned to the Sunday sale. (While I was doing that, the husband was outside on the equipment field getting the consigned items unloaded and placed.) I had two assistants. One was the retired secretary from my kids’ elementary school. I used to sub for her when my kids were in school there. She was my notary, because sometimes consignors bring titles that need to be notarized. My other assistant was a young woman who is part of the large family that helped found our Mennonite church over 100 years ago. She and DD#2 used to take dance classes together when they were little. She’s a sharp cookie and we like to train the younger people to take over some of these jobs.

I was struck, over and over and over again, by how deep and broad our connections are. People came in and out of our office. We visited. We reminisced. We commiserated about how much we hate the influx of “city folk.” Our fire department was paged out early in the day for a medical call and we found out later that someone we all knew had died. Updates on families were traded back and forth. We were getting ready for an auction, yes, but we were also re-establishing and strengthening the web of community in the process.

I went out to take pictures during a lull in the action, but I only got a picture of the general merchandise field because I got called back into the office:

I’ll try to get a picture of the equipment field today. We have a lot of equipment and vehicles to sell tomorrow.

I have to laugh again at the differences between men and women. I told the husband it’s analogous to when someone has a baby. If you ask a woman for details about the new arrival, she will be able to tell you the baby’s exact weight, the length, how long the labor lasted, and the baby’s full name. If you ask a man, he will say, “I think it’s a (girl or boy).” Getting information out of the men was like pulling teeth. I would ask, “What item do you want to sell?” and the man would respond, “A trailer.” I would have to say, “Could you give me more information?” because “trailer” included everything from a small homemade contraption to a 53' car hauler.

Thank goodness for all the knowledge I’ve assimilated via osmosis while the husband was watching car repair and heavy equipment videos. I may not be an expert, but I am at least conversant in the basics.

Today is a bit less busy for us. We have to do a bit of sorting and organizing for tomorrow’s sale. The husband will be out on the field answering questions from potential buyers. For the first time in many years, I’ll get to watch some of the general merchandise auction while it’s happening. And I am sure there will be a lot more visiting and reconnecting with old friends. Come find me if you’re out there.